Writing is part of the adventure

Amica Liburd, a PGR in the Department of Theology and Religion, attended many of the workshops as part of the Postgraduate Researcher Online Writing Summer School 2023, held 10-14 July. Here, she reflects on what she gained. To access recordings of all the workshops, enrol on the Canvas module.

Amica’s work desk

What if there is more to the PhD journey than simply writing a thesis? Participating in PROWSS2023 online workshops helped me to appreciate the value nurturing the skill of writing so that after years of “writing towards a thesis”, I can emerge as someone who can effectively communicate to others about the ideas that I am passionate about. Since starting the PhD journey in September 2020, I’ve wanted to dedicate a week to attending this annual workshop. Back then it seemed like the ideal way to start the journey. Unfortunately, it took three years to attend and even then, I still had to negotiate attending some sessions alongside a Conference that was being held simultaneously. Fortunately, both events were online and all the resources for PROWSS2023 are also now available online so if I missed a session, I could easily access it later. Prioritizing the sessions which were relevant to my stage in the PhD journey was an excellent decision and at the end of the week there were at least three sessions I was glad that I didn’t miss. The perfect conditions for attending this year’s PROWSS did not come, however two of the sessions I attended and found most helpful were Managing Writing Momentum and Shut up and Work!!

Managing Writing Momentum

Point me to the PhD student who has perfectly mastered the art of maintaining writing momentum! The week was certainly off to a great start with this topic. We were reminded by the Dr Emma Foster that writing momentum is something that can be cultivated and thereafter maintained with practice. To cultivate such momentum, writing must become part of one’s daily routine. Writing every day can help me professionalize something that I already enjoy doing. And if I’m not enjoying it on any given day, … I’ll just have to try pretending that I do. Alternatively, I can imagine that I am a renowned author/academic with an readership who is eager to read my next publication. This session reinforced just how closely related the researcher’s holistic wellbeing is to maintain sustainable patterns for engaging with research and writing well. The image of writing as a muscle that must be strengthened was insightful. But even more sobering was the caution that unhappy writers often lack inspiration, are melancholy, aren’t as creative as they can be and are starved of determination. Prioritizing breaks so that the subconscious can creatively blend ideas is imperative, unless of course you fancy a quick burn out. Not only do regular breaks replenish creativity but it goes a long way to keeping the writer happy to produce quality work. A bit of light yet meaningful humour … “Don’t stop unless your rear end falls off. And if it does fall off, put it in a paper bag and take it with you. Stopping is what kills momentum!” Perseverance is key.

Shut up and work!!

The Online Shut-up and Work Sessions organised by the Graduate School have over the past three years been quite helpful. No surprise then that the day of focused work with other researchers who were determined to accomplish some set tasks was equally valuable. Using the Pomodoro technique with regular intervals helped me to catch up on work that I needed to get done, after a week of online conference and workshops. Being able to identify key areas for follow up the next week gave me a plan for my next workday.

Interestingly the two sessions I reflected on were the start and the end of PROWSS2023. This is not to say that what happened in between was not pertinent to the overall experience. The online resources state otherwise. The start and the end of PROWSS2023 reflect what holds the PhD experience together if we choose to persevere in what could be an edifying adventure.

Ten tips for organising an online conference

We are all learning to do more online, including conferences. In this post, Sharon Smith, a PGR in the School of Education, shares her experience of organising an online conference. For more detail, see Sharon’s full post on her personal blog.

At the beginning of September, a friend and I ran an online postgraduate conference for students studying philosophy of education. We initially started thinking about the conference late Spring, but decided not to rush into hosting it, choosing a September date for the event to ensure we had sufficient time to plan for it. This meant that we could attend other online webinars and conferences to see what the common issues were, and to understand the experience from the perspective of the attendee.

Here are ten tips for anyone wanting to organise an online conference:

How to organise an online conference and live to tell the tale

Continuing our recent mini-theme of online conferences, Lluís Jerez i Bertolín, a PGR from the School of History and Cultures, shares with us his experience of organising one.

Lluís Jerez i Bertolín

In late April of 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic was wreaking havoc around the world, which was not good. I stepped from assisting the organisation of the Classics, Ancient History and Archaeology Colloquium (CAHA Colloquium) to being its sole organiser, which was also not good. As the Colloquium could not be postponed to the next academic year, it had to take place online, which at the time I saw as a complete disaster.

In this post I want to share three guiding principles that allowed me to navigate this situation and turn a perfect storm into an enjoyable conference. These principles are: communication, decision-making tempo, and accessibility.

Presenting virtually

We’ve recently heard about attending virtual conferences, but what about presenting your research online?  Ciara Harris has recent experience of this, for the 3 Minute Thesis (3MT) competition and her Annual Progress Review (APR).  Here, she shares her experiences.

First things first, presenting virtually might have some additional challenges compared to ‘traditional’ presentations, but it has advantages too – there’s no travel time, so you can go straight from another project into your presentation (maybe grabbing a cup of tea in between), you can practice your presentation in the exact environment you plan to present in, and you can have chocolate on your desk ready for as soon as you turn your camera off after presenting!

 

Ciara’s 3MT – see all the finalists and vote for your favourite!

There are, however, some additional challenges.

How to Navigate an Online Conference

Kish Adoni, PhD student in the School of Biosciences, recently attended a two-week online conference hosted by The American Society of Mass Spectrometry (ASMS).  He shares his experience in this post.

What do you think about online scientific conferences?

Logo for the ‘Rebooted’ edition of the 68th ASMS Conference on Mass Spectrometry and Allied Topics

It’s weird! That’s the first thing I’d say. No more loitering around the confectionary section of a big hall, waiting to speak to a professor from another university whose papers sprawl across your office desk. There is also no chance of having one too many pints of Guinness and spilling your latest confidential scientific idea to another academic in your field. I suppose whether those things are a positive or a negative depends on personal preference, but one thing is for sure: online conferences are going to become more normal and the chances are that you will attend one.

So how do online conferences work?

Take away the need for expensive flights, food, hotels and transport and you are basically left with the bare essence of what a conference is for: exchanging knowledge with experts that work in the same spheres as you.