LinkedIn Learning: learn about statistics and speed reading from your sofa!

Posted on 13 November 2018 by doctoral-academy-blog

LinkedIn Learning is an online platform that offers a variety of courses to help you develop your business, creative and technological skills.  As part of our mission to make skills development more convenient and accessible to postgraduate researchers throughout their degree, we are trialing the platform over the next year.  All students prior to the writing-up
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Your place in your Union: supporting PGRs through the SU

Posted on 23 October 2018 by doctoral-academy-blog

Guest post by Jake Smith, Vice President Postgraduate Students @PostgradCSU It’s fair to say the experience of studying as a postgraduate researcher is very different to that of most other students. Gone are the days of exams, 2,000 word essays and having a couple of lectures a day with the 150 other students on your
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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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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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Beating plastic pollution: what we’re doing to help

Posted on 5 June 2018 by doctoral-academy-blog

Did you know today is World Environment Day? A day where well over 100 countries and millions of people across the world drive environmental change. Since 1974, World Environment Day has raised awareness and sought action on issues such as marine pollution, global warming, sustainable consumption and wildlife crime. Across Cardiff University there is a wealth
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Why you should enter the Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) competition – by someone who already has!

Posted on 18 April 2018 by doctoral-academy-blog

So, tell me about your PhD…   Can you give a good answer in just three minutes? If you can it will help you in many different situations, from job interviews to family occasions. And it could even win you some money! The Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) competition is a fun, fast-paced and enlightening event, whether you’re presenting or
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