Hello everyone, I am Fiona and I am one of the Student Creators at the University
of Nottingham. So, this week I am starting my PhD. I’m starting it remotely but this week I’m
going to be giving you a bit of a guide about what the first week of studying a PhD is like.
Day one, I have my induction day today, something I’ve been looking forward to.
So this morning we have some talks with the Dean of the Business School and then also
the Director of the PhD programme and the Assistant Director of the PhD programme
and then in the afternoon we have a talk from the NUBS DocSoc, so that’s the doctoral society
and I think they’re going to be talking to us about the different events they
put on and also just how to support each other during this time. So, we have just had our first
morning session and it was really nice to get to know a few faces and to share the projects that we
are going to be working on. So, mine is loneliness in work particularly looking at the context of
increased remote working which we are all experiencing at the moment.
What they did say to us was had we been in Nottingham, we would have had our induction
in the morning and then in the afternoon we would have had a pizza for lunch firstly - none
of that today! And then we would have had a trip to the Nottingham dungeons,
so somewhat missing out during Covid but nothing can be done I suppose,
I am just about to console myself with some white chocolate and lime cheesecake.
So this afternoon, I met my mentor, obviously virtually through Microsoft Teams again, but
it was so lovely just to get some advice from a student in the year above and see how she’s found
her first year. So that’s really reassuring and I’ve already got some good tips so I’ve got some
things to do tomorrow like downloading software where I can keep all the journal papers I’ve
read and annotate some notes, so that’s one job in the pipeline. That’s all for today,
so quite a long day on Microsoft Teams but it’s also been a good day, good to get started and I’m
so grateful that I’m able to during the pandemic. So, back for more on day two.
So today it really is up to me what I’m doing. So this is something probably quite unusual coming from
undergraduate study and then Master’s study where you’re still taught. Now
in a research role, it’s entirely up to me how I shape my day. So, today I
need to try and get set up with the software so Mendeley is the one that was spoken about
yesterday so I’m going to try and get that sorted on my laptop. And then following that I’m looking
to write a journal paper with my supervisors, so I’ve put together three ideas from my Master’s
research and we’re going to discuss them tomorrow so I want to do a bit of preparation and look over
my ideas again. So really it’s a day of getting things ready. Then, also having a look on Moodle
at some of the modules that we still have to do, so looking at research design we have
a module that is coming up so I’ve got some prep work, and also important to get outside.
I’m going to go for a short walk with mum, so that’s something to look forward to.
So, Tuesday afternoon – something that was also really nice today just for half an hour, I had
a small Student Creator job. We were asked if we would like to do a focus group looking at
the new sustainability marketing campaign at the University. That was a really nice half an hour
break from what I was doing to have a think about something different
and just offer my thoughts. So that’s another really great thing about university,
just getting involved with lots of different activities. That’s it for day two, it’s time
for a break this evening, Mary Berry will be on the tv at nine so I have my priorities straight!
Here we are set up in the desk position today, set up nicely for studying from home.
So today is day three. This afternoon I have my meeting with my supervisors so a bit more prep
this morning before that, think of any questions I’ve got to ask them to make the most of the
time. So I’ll see you later on and let you know how the supervision meeting goes.
And so we have made it to the end of day three, Wednesday.
We have had our first supervision meeting this afternoon
and it was really nice to see my supervisors again, they gave me lots of tips on what I need
to do next and we agreed our action plan. I filled out my first supervision record form. For a PhD,
you will submit a minimum of ten of those in the first year. I feel like I’ve got some
direction going forwards now so starting to prepare a literature review and then
the rest of this evening after preparing that form, I’m just going to go and have dinner with
my family and then probably have a bit of a relax. It’s been a lot of screen time today,
that’s the one thing we were saying, having lots of meetings at the moment online that
would normally be face to face. That’s a bit different but all going well so far and still
very happy with my decision and shaping up to be a good week. I will see you for day four tomorrow.
Good morning, today is day four and today is a bit similar to Tuesday so I don’t have anything formal
that I have to attend, I just have time to get on with my own work. So after my meeting yesterday
I’m typing up some notes and action points. Something that is really important actually
that was mentioned on day one, was whilst studying for a PhD, you do decide a lot about
how you want to work and what you want to do, and it was highlighted that it was really important just to
focus on what you’re doing and not compare yourself to others.
I think that’s really important just generally in study as well, so obviously
for a PhD because you’re doing entirely your own project and whilst you have peers,
everybody is looking at something different and there will be different approaches to doing that.
But also, throughout undergrad and Master’s study, nobody works in the same way
so it’s really important to help each other and learn from each other but
not dwell and compete with each other. I thought I’d add that one to this video!
Now we are at the end of day four.
So one of the really important things that came out of my notes is that when you’re doing PhD study,
you’re actually looking to join a conversation and I found that that’s quite a useful way of
thinking about it. So with my research topic, and everything I’m doing, I’m looking at how
to join an existing conversation and what I can add to it. So that’s something quite
nice for going forward and I feel like I’m starting to find my feet a little.
The rest of the evening, it’s homemade pizza night with my family so onto Friday tomorrow
and that will be the final day of week one induction. I can’t believe how quickly it’s gone!
So hello everyone, it is now Friday and today has been much the same as Tuesday and Thursday,
just working on my own work but lunchtime I just had a short walk to the post box and then this
evening after having dinner, I think it’s time to make some Lockdown 3 banana bread. So overall
it’s been a really good week to get started. There’s been a lot of time for me to just think
about what I need to do but that’s very much to be expected with PhD study so I’ll quickly be getting
used to that. Thanks for joining me on my first week as a PhD student. I’ve really enjoyed the
week and I’m looking forward to continuing being at Nottingham for at least the next three years.