British film has a golden opportunity in Chinese video on demand

Posted on 15 October 2018 by doctoral-academy-blog

Home theatre. BPTU/Shutterstock China has the highest number of video on demand users in the world. Here, Hiu Man Chan (School of Journalism, Media and Culture) tells us why exporting British content is not only great for the economy, but also an important form of modern cultural diplomacy… Video on demand (VOD) services are big
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Could diagnosing sepsis be as easy as using a pregnancy test?

Posted on 1 October 2018 by doctoral-academy-blog

What if diagnosing serious illnesses such as sepsis or cancer could be as easy as using a pregnancy test?  This might seem like a silly question as they’re such complicated illnesses. However, the home pregnancy test wasn’t used until 1969 and before that you were required to see a doctor or rely on old wives’
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Building international links: the China Scholarship Council Special Interest Group

Posted on 25 September 2018 by doctoral-academy-blog

The Doctoral Academy strives to make valuable links both nationally and internationally, and we recently welcomed a group of Senior Managers from Chinese universities, representing the China Scholarship Council Special Interest Group. The China Scholarship Council (CSC) is a non-profit organisation that provides financial aid for Chinese citizens to study abroad, and for international students to study in China.
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Are you a lurker or a sharer? Why you should be sharing your research online

Posted on 18 September 2018 by doctoral-academy-blog

“What experience do you have of using digital or social media to raise your research profile?” This was a question a fellow PhD student asked me in a mock interview at the Doctoral Academy’s Career Management for Postgraduate and Early Career Researchers workshop not too long ago. And there it was – the realisation that
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Alzheimer’s is slowly giving up its secrets – and ‘risk genes’ are just one piece of the puzzle

Posted on 3 September 2018 by doctoral-academy-blog

David Smart/Shutterstock.com September is World Alzheimer’s Month – an annual international campaign to raise awareness and challenge the stigma that surrounds dementia. Here, Anna Burt (School of Medicine) tells us how researchers are using genetic information to piece together our understanding of the disease. Although the causes of Alzheimer’s disease remain a mystery, genetic research
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Public engagement on a boat – how one PhD student shared her research at the Eisteddfod

Posted on 21 August 2018 by doctoral-academy-blog

Public engagement is an important aspect of any research journey. Many of our PhD students got involved in this year’s National Eisteddfod – from demonstrating miniature wind turbines to chatting about paleoclimate in the dedicated Cardiff University science tent. One activity that caught the attention of visitors was the RV Guiding Light – a research vessel
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Five ways your eye movements affect everyday actions

Posted on 13 August 2018 by doctoral-academy-blog

Nikita Thomas, PhD Student in School of Optometry and Vision Sciences @Nikita_Thomas1 We make thousands of eye movements every day; some of which we are aware of and others which are subconscious actions that have been programmed into our brain’s visual control centres over millions of years of evolution. All visually-related behaviours, including eye movements,
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Documentaries, rom-coms – and tentative first steps in a new era of Sino-British film collaboration

Posted on 24 July 2018 by doctoral-academy-blog

Earth: One Amazing Day – the first film completed under the Sino-British co-production agreement. Earth Film Productions  The future of British-Chinese filmmaking is looking bright. Here, Hiu Man Chan (School of Journalism, Media and Culture) tells us why this is such an exciting prospect… The era of Sino-British film co-production has arrived. Although the UK’s
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From researcher to supervisor: my experience of mentoring a sixth form student

Posted on 18 July 2018 by doctoral-academy-blog

Have you ever wondered what it’s like to step into your supervisor’s shoes? For the past three years, Cardiff University has been inviting sixth form pupils onto campus to get a taste of research life. Ken Yan Wong (School of Healthcare Sciences) is one of the PhD students who supervised a sixth former in the
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Are you a good leader? The importance of leadership skills in the PhD

Posted on 27 June 2018 by doctoral-academy-blog

When considering the skills needed to complete the PhD, leadership might not be the first word that springs to mind. However, chances are you’re already practising leadership skills without realising it. Here, John Steele (Head of Training & Development, Skills Development Service) tells us why leadership skills are incredibly useful to the PhD, and what
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