5 Biggest Problems That Women Face At Academic Conferences
1. Being less likely to be accepted to present than men It's a sad fact that gender discrimination is still rife in academia, and conferences are no exception to this. Studies have found that submissions of papers to present at a conference were rated as less good when the author had an identifiably female name than when the same paper was submitted but no author name was given. The evidence suggests that this problem is particularly pronounced in fields which are more male-dominated. The lack of women presenting at conferences leads to a perception that there are no women working in the field, and this lack of representation is harmful to others, especially women who are just starting out in their careers. Some conferences now mandate a certain proportion of their speakers be women, to help mitigate this effect. 2. Being taken less seriously than men during discussions Another common finding of gender bias in conferences is regarding the amount of exposure which men and women get. Even when equal numbers of men and women are participating in a discussion, women speak for less time than men and are less likely to ask for longer time slots when they present. In fact, studies estimate that women spend about 20% less time talking than men do. This has broad implications for women in academia as it has been shown that exposure at conferences increases the visibility of a researcher's work, so women are missing out on the opportunity to boost their profile. 3. Issues with the dress code It may sound silly, but the expected standards of attire can pose a real problem for women at academic conferences. It's generally expected that people will dress a little more formally than usual for a conference, however, in lots of fields it's no big deal if a man chooses to wear casual clothes. For women, however, it's trickier. If a woman dresses in a casual way, she risks people assuming that she doesn't take her job seriously or that she's unprofessional. However, if she dresses up too much then people may judge her as shallow, vain, or out of touch. It's difficult for women to strike a balance where they are perceived as being dressed appropriately. The best way to deal with this is to observe the norms of the field and of the conference – what are other women wearing? - and then try to match your style to that. 4. Balancing social and professional responsibilities Academic conferences are important for career prospects, not just because you get to learn about the latest research and debate it with others in your field, but also because of the opportunities they present for networking and making social connections with other academics. As such, it's arguably just as important to go to the conference dinner as it is to attend the keynote lecture. So you need to be able to present yourself in social contexts as well as professional ones. Unfortunately, this is another area where women are judged more harshly than men – a woman who is not sociable enough is consider cold and distant, while one who is very friendly risks being labelled as flirtatious or ditzy. One way to combat this is to make an effort to talk to other women at social events and to support each other socially as well as professionally. 5. Sexual harassment It's an uncomfortable truth that sexual harassment of women at academic conferences continues to happen, and it is often severely under-reported and not taken seriously when it is reported. Experiencing or observing sexual harassment undermines women's confidence in their safety and comfort in academic settings, and can bring up feelings of inadequacy, betrayal, and loss of confidence. Some conferences are now instigating codes of conduct and anti-harassment policies to combat this problem. When conference organisers make clear what types of behaviour are unacceptable, it is easier for women to see clearly when they are being harassed. However, it's important that the system for reporting harassment at conferences is also made explicitly clear and is respected by all participants.
Attending conferences is an important part of any academic career. However, they can provide challenges that women in academia must overcome. Here are five of the biggest problems which women face at academic conferences.
Do's and Don'ts In Your College Freshman Year
DON'T mistake a friendly demeanour from your professors as an invitation to treat them casually. College lecturers and professors are often passionate about their subject and really enjoy teaching it to new students. They may be younger than you expect, and are sometimes more informal in their interactions with you than school teachers would be. Which is nice! But remember, you still need to behave professionally. It's fine to use first names for your lecturers if they allow it, for example, but it's not okay to send them drunk emails or to blow off their assignments. Find a balance between feeling comfortable and being professional. DO try taking a course in a subject you've never studied before. You might think that the best way to succeed at college is to focus on just the courses which are essential to your degree. And that's true, to some extent. But it's also incredibly useful, both in college and beyond, to have some experience with fields or subjects other than your major. Most colleges allow you to take a few optional courses from other subjects, and this is the perfect opportunity for you to learn about a new topic or find out more about a subject you've always been interested in. DON'T live in denial about your assignments and exams. When people around you seem to be having fun all the time and are very casual about their work, it can feel like everyone else is blowing off their assignments, so why shouldn't you do it too? But the truth is, if you ignore work which you have to do then it will just keep mounting up and causing you more stress. Know when your important assignments are due, and do a little bit of work towards them each day. You'll still have plenty of time for socialising and having fun, but you won't be stressed about looming deadlines. DO ask for help if you need it. Adjusting to college life is a huge change, both academically and socially. It's common for new students to struggle with how to manage their workloads, or with how to balance socialising and work. But there are resources which can help you. Firstly, talk to your fellow students about the problems you're having – it's very likely that some of them feel the same way, and they might have tips to help you. Also, if you are struggling with a particular class then talk to the professor about this during their office hours and they'll be able to suggest materials to catch you up. Finally, see if your college has a counselling department, a mentoring system, or a student support centre, where you can get help and guidance from experienced college staff. DON'T feel like you have to follow your original plan to the letter. Sometimes, you'll find that you are not enjoying studying a subject as much as you expected, or that you've chosen a course which is too advanced for your level of knowledge. You can't always know in advance if the choices you've made will work out well. So allow yourself to be flexible. Maybe you'd like to change your major, or to take a minor in a different subject. Or perhaps you need to drop a course and come back to it later, when you have more experience. These options are open to you if you feel like your current path is not working out. DO look after yourself and enjoy your college experience. College is a place for learning, yes, but it's also a place for you to grow as a person. Try out new things and go to new places. Also, remember to care for yourself by getting enough sleep and eating something healthy once in a while. Do go out and have fun, but don't try to party every night of the week.
DO get to know your dorm-mates and fellow students. College can be a scary place, socially speaking. But making friends and connections is as much a part of the college experience as academic achievement. Try new things, meet new people, and push yourself to try to make new friends. The secret is that everyone feels uncomfortable and shy when they first start college – you're not the only one!
Academizing During Your First Academic Conference
An academic conference is where scientists and other mostly sun-deprived* human beings dare to get out of their heavily neglected* workspaces in order to academize (*Regressions for these claims will soon be presented by Ruiz et al. under α<0.05 statistical significance). The goal is primarily to present your scientific results to a broad audience – beyond the usual four suspects, who will read your paper anyway – and to know the latest state of research: it wouldn’t be very funny if you invest a lot of time in writing a paper just to find out that someone just published the same thing, right? A: Preparation before the Conference Know your Discussant The panels usually consist of a few panelists (you?), a moderator, a discussant and a cheering audience. The discussant is supposed to have read all the presented papers and comments on all of the academic contributions after the presentations. This is very nice because you usually get a detailed and valuable feedback from an expert in your field. But, beware, there might also be some tough questions e.g. about your beloved methodology. It might pay to know the background of your discussant as he/she might be personally more interested in one aspect of your research. Don’t get Lost You should know university campuses by now: they tend to be big. So inform yourself in advance, where exactly you have to go. Might sound logical but sometimes university campuses are spread over a city or even way outside the city-walls. The chance that academics get helplessly lost seems to be significantly higher than for other control-groups. In the Beginning there was an Abstract Writing an abstract is an art in itself. But it seems that there is an inherent danger to promise too much for an upcoming research project and the subsequent paper. The Audience and the organizers have expectations! Summarizing the current state of research can without doubt be helpful for getting an overview of an unknown field – but it gets really interesting if the borders of science are expanded. Care for your Health Be prepared that provided food could consist of sandwiches and coffee only. B: During the Presentation The Questions are your Best Friends There are only good questions at an academic conference – almost. But do you have an equally qualitative answer? The input from the audience and the emerging academic conversations can bring your academic thinking light-years ahead. Stick to your Time Please. Nothing is more annoying that taking time of all the participants – public and panel alike. Be disciplined enough to not have the Chairwoman/Chairman open the toolbox of torture (ranging from pieces of paper with big remaining minute-numbers on it; aesthetic sounding bells or ring-tones; to just cutting off your microphone). Find your Presentation Style There are maybe as many ways to present as there are presenters: Some are rather shy and others like to literally jump up and down. I do not see anything wrong in personalizing your academic stringent content – as long as you communicate your key-messages clearly to your audience. Expect Social Interaction. Particularly, if your topic overlaps with the ones of other participant’s. C: Outside of the Presentation-Room Relativity-Theory The further you move away from the presentation room, the less people get interested in correlation coefficients to three digits after the coma. In particular, the so-called Einstein-Sandwich-Line marks the area where coffee-smell starts and hungry participants are less receptive for your latest research findings. High-level Guests are not Oracles It is a particular privilege at some conferences to listen to the invited high-level guests and even to be able to ask questions. However, keep in mind, that on the one hand too detailed, and on the other hand too political questions, are going to be answered in the same way: not satisfying for you. So ask instead something, where you think he/she has some realistic room to react, maybe to improvise, to elaborate and in the best case even to share his/her personal experience. Musical Chairs In the case that there is a dinner event, be fast at choosing your table when the seating is not set yet. This is a great opportunity to talk to someone you wouldn’t catch in your real life. Alternatively, to spend 3 hours hearing about new methods of measuring heteroscedasticity. Your choice. Pronunciation and Comprehension These are always issues in international environments with many non-native English speakers. In case someone tells you that he did not catch part of your phrase, it helps to rephrase your sentence differently instead of repeating the exact same sentence with the same tonality all over again. Beg your pardon? It helps to rephrase your sentence differently… Sorry, I didn’t catch you. IT HELPS TO REPHRASE… If the above tips didn’t help at all: just try to do everything in the exact opposite way that I did, and you should be fine. Happy academizing! Photo Credit: hikingartist.com
There was a certain naiveté in the air when I went to my first academic conference. I thought that all I would have to do is to write a decent paper and to present it to the public. In retrospect this could have ended badly and I wish someone had intercepted me on the way to the airport and given me some key-warnings to know in advance. Thus, after this multifaceted experience, I thought to write the following points in a humble and only half-serious manner.
There was a time when engineers and social scientists thought their fields were too different to combine their research (Black et al., 2010). Not that many years ago doctors and health researchers thought economists could not help them improve medical services; and of course which economist would have dared to claim that something they were working on could directly save people’s lives? (See for example: Jones, 1994; Philipson, 2001). Likewise, most neuroscientists never thought that their work could be used to explain consumer behaviour (Camerer et al., 2005), and mathematicians never thought that psychology could ever be related to their discipline (Ma and De la Torre, 2016). Now those times are gone and interdisciplinary research is highly recognised as a means to achieving successful and rich research outputs (HEFCE, 2015). This is reflected in the number of research centres that continue to release funding opportunities with a particular attention on interdisciplinary outputs within and across disciplines. To mention some examples: The National Science Foundation (NSF), Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), the Centre for Copyright and New Business Models in the Creative Economy (CREATe), or the European Union (EU) research and innovation programme Horizon 2020. These funding opportunities and the final recognition of interdisciplinary research in the most recent Research Excellence Framework (REF), which is so important to rank the research quality of UK institutions, have clearly increased collaboration across disciplines, not just in the academic environment but also in other institutions such as hospitals or government centres (Graph 1). In general, European countries have the highest percentage of international collaborative publications (HEFCE, 2015). A world with interdisciplinary collaboration may look easy and simple, but this is far from reality. Combining disciplines is risky and difficult. How can, for example, health researchers and economists work together? How can they understand one another when talking about numbers or diseases? For this understanding to happen they need a common instrument to work with, an easy and friendly tool that both disciplines can interpret, and one which can combine, in this example, disease information and data to draw conclusions in a manageable yet sophisticated format at the same time, and so satisfy both sides. One key breakthrough has been the development of statistical software and tools such as Stata, Eviews and GAUSS, to name but a few, which in recent years have enabled statisticians, economists and mathematicians to translate and present their work in a way which is understandable and useful for researchers in other disciplines. Such tools have been developed to the stage that they can be accessible enough and easy enough to learn that researchers and professionals without advanced statistical training can learn to use them with relatively little training, as a useful complement to their existing research tools. Research papers such as: Archer and Lemeshow, 2006; Norton et al., 2004; or Ho and Pennington-Cross, 2006 have shown that Stata is currently the most popular of such tools, and for many researchers acts as a language which different disciplines in effect use to communicate with each other (many more articles can be found as examples). Stata emerged in 1985 and since then has cemented its place in the market as a fast, accurate, and user-friendly statistical package which covers the necessities of a wide range of disciplines. From the simplest statistical analysis and graphs, to the most advanced econometric analysis, Stata is widely use in the areas of economics, political science, sociology, health, finance, etc. (https://www.stata.com). Tools like Stata have contributed to a major shift in the academic landscape in Europe and around the world, helping researchers in all disciplines to benefit from solid statistical analysis and supporting researchers in economics, statistics and mathematics to cooperate with professionals in fields that traditionally might have avoided detailed quantitative analysis in research projects. If you have used Stata or other tools in a cross-discipline project, please share your experiences in the comments below. If you have not, then perhaps it is time to try and strengthen your own research through cooperation with your peers in other disciplines! References Archer, K. J., and Lemeshow, S. (2006). “Goodness of fit test for a logistic regression model fitted using survey sample data, Stata Journal, 6(1). Black, D., Clemmensen, N. J., and Skov, M. B. (2010). “Pervasive computing in the supermarket: designing a context aware shopping trolley”, International Journal of Mobile Human Computing Interaction, 2(3). Camerer, C., Loewenstein, G., and Prelec, D. (2005). “Neouroeconomics: How neuroscience can inform economics”, Journal of Economic Literature, 43: 9-64. Higher Education Funding Council for England. (2015). “A review of the UK’s interdisciplinary research using a citation-based approach”, ELSEVIER. URL: https://www.hefce.ac.uk/media/HEFCE,2014/Content/Pubs/Independentresearch/2015/Review,of,the,UKs,interdisciplinary,research/2015_interdisc.pdf Ho, G., and Penington-Cross, A. (2006). “The impact of local predatory lending laws on the flow of subprime credit”, Journal of Urban Economics, 60(2): 210-228. Jones, A. M. (1994). Health, addiction, social interaction, and the decision to quit smoking”, Journal of Health Economics, 13(1): 93-110. Ma, W., and De la Torre, J. (2016). “A sequential cognitive diagnosis model for polytomous responses”, British Journal of Mathematica and Statistical Psychology, 69(3): 253-275. Norton, E. C., Wang, H., and Ai, C. (2004). “Computing interactions effects and standard errors in logit and probit models, Stata Journal, 4(2): 154-167. Philipshon, T. (2001). “The world-wide growth in obesity: an economic research agenda”, Health Economics, 10(1): 1-7.
By Sofia Izquierdo-Sanchez University of Huddersfield Timberlake Consultants
Econometrics, Statistics and Quantitative Methods (JEL C)
2016 Nobel Prize in Economics awarded to Oliver Hart and Bengt Holmström
This year’s laureates have worked extensively on the construction of a clearly defined and detailed regulatory rubric for determining, among other things, the method of reward for company executives and further analysis of the privatization of public companies or even entire public sectors, whether in whole or in part. The new theoretical tools developed by Hart and Holmström are valuable to understand real-life contracts and institutions as well as potential pitfalls in contract design. Holmström in his work has stressed the nexus between performance and compensation in the context of the employment contract, and the need for these two factors to be directly proportional. Hart’s research has delved into the realm of inchoate contracts and the need to have an open approach to them while maintaining a firm grasp on the rules governing such situations. This illuminates a clear path not to the precise outcome but rather to the method of determining a specific outcome in a general situation, the eventualities of which cannot be ascertained previously. You can access the announcement of the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in economic sciences in memory of Alfred Nobel 2016 here. If you are interested in reading about last year’s winners, take a look at this blog post on the 2015 Nobel Prize recipients and their work. Photo Credit: Flickr <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/sol_invictus/5087225271/in/photolist-8KxmQx-qApvcH-8KAq8s-4K47-8R8ZAP-8KAuu5-8Rc7oo-8KAuoN-8KxpdK-8KAsYo-8KAsUh-5caW-8KAs6J-8KAt35-8KxpoK-8KAsvW-8KxnFa-8KAt8h-8KAr2C-dA42aH-69sZYe-8fQtNB-dA42dM-5HL3a3-8KAqyy-8KArkG-99uBDT-8KArfj-8KAqWY-dA42gx-8Kxpjc-8KAuzy-71M4R8-dA42ok-2GMWcW-8KAtxy-dA426P-8Kxojk-dA41Zx-4yRNJ8-dA4244-2jhzcZ-aeNaTE-4RfT-8KAthm-8HZBYC-qecmE-69t4oP-aUhjDc-8KxqBa">@Solis Invicti (published under CC BY 2.0)
This year, the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2016 has been awarded to both Oliver Hart, Professor of Economics at Harvard University and Bengt Holmström, Professor of Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The Nobel Prize in Economics was given to the Professors for their contributions to contract theory, as mentioned by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in their press release.
Women in Academia: 5 Steps To Your Career Success
Networking, mentorship, and support from other women Networking is an important skill for any academic, but for women it is particularly value as it gives you “behind the scenes” access to senior researchers, committees, and institutional decision makers. Keep an eye out for networking events – some universities will even have events or groups specifically for woman's networking – and take every chance to get to introduce yourself and get to know other women in your field. The support you can receive from other women isn't just about career prospects, it can also be useful to hear about the obstacles and problems that other women have faced and how they overcame them. Look out for mentorship schemes and other programs designed to bring you into contact with academics in different stages of their careers. Promote yourself One important skill you will need to learn as a woman in academia is self-promotion. Academics are often uncomfortable with blowing their own horns, and women especially so, as it can feel like you are being arrogant or too forward. However, if you don't promote yourself, it's unlikely that anyone else will do it for you! You don't have to be arrogant or pushy, but make sure that you get credit for your work, such as making sure that you name is on an important report which you have written. If someone mentions a topic in your area of expertise, say that it's your field and be confident in positioning yourself as an expert. Finally, feel free to mention papers or books which you have written on a topic when it comes up in conversation. Putting yourself forward in these ways might feel awkward at first, but it will help your career for other people to see and acknowledge your expertise. Watch out for imposter syndrome Imposter syndrome is the name given to feelings of inadequacy and insecurity which are found even among highly successful women. Even when women have a proven track record of success in their jobs, they may feel like they don't really deserve the recognition that they get, and that other people will see through them and expose them as inadequate for their jobs: They feel like imposters in their own fields. This syndrome is shockingly common in academia, with women often privately remarking that they are not up to standard. One of the ways to combat this syndrome is just to be aware of it, and to remember that when you start to doubt yourself or your abilities that this is not necessarily reflective of reality, and that it is something which many other women struggle with too. Family friendliness A big problem for women in lots of careers including academia is the degree of family-friendliness which their institutions provide. Some universities have very progressive policies regarding maternity and paternity leave and on-site childcare, while at other institutions new parents are left to fend for themselves. One big advantage of a career in academia is that flexible working hours are common – if you need to work 3 days a week, or to leave early to pick up a child from school, this is usually possible. Ask around about the family policies of your institution, and don't forget to talk to current parents working there for a real-world perspective on how the policies work out in practice. In fact, even if you don't plan to have a family, it's still useful to know this information as family-friendliness can be a good indicator of how women are treated in general at an institution. Pay it forward If you want to improve working conditions for women in academia, you can help by offering mentorship to women who are at an earlier stage of their career than you. If you can remember the frustrations and difficulties which you came across as a junior researcher, you may be well-positioned to help other women experiencing the same issues. Your university may have a women-specific mentoring program or a general mentoring program which you could offer your services for – but don't underestimate the power of informal mentoring too. Giving a few words of encouragement to junior women and sharing some of your knowledge and experience with them will not only help their careers, but it can help yours too. Being known as an expert who share their knowledge puts you in an excellent position, and the achievements of the women who you mentor will reflect well on you as well as helping them.
Despite great progress that has been made in recent years in making academia more friendly for women, it still remains hard for women to be accepted and to excel in many academic institutions. Many women in academia, especially those in male-dominated fields, report that they find it more difficult to be taken seriously and more difficult to get promotions to senior roles than the men in their departments. So what can you do to maximise your career prospects as a woman working in an academic setting? Here our our tips to help women achieve career success.
Attending An Academic Conference: 5 Tips To Consider
1. Choose the sessions you attend carefully You can't attend every session at a conference, and if you try to do too much you'll end up late, stressed, and too tired to participate properly. Check the conference program before you leave, and pick the essential sessions that you really want to participate in, then give these sessions your full attention. Write out your own schedule if you're very busy, with room numbers so you know where to go. In a large conference, focus on the particular topic or area which is of interest to you and try not to get distracted by all the other topics. Finally, try to make sure that you are getting a full 8 hours of sleep a night so that you're not too tired to participate in sessions. 2. Get to know the geographic area Academic conferences aren't just a place to find out about new research and to meet other academics – they're also a fun chance to see a new geographical area. Do a little research on the area before you attend a conference and get some ideas about attractions to visit, or places to eat and drink. Your conference experience will be much less stressful if you find out in advance about the transportation options and how to get between your hotel and the conference location! If you arrive the day before the conference starts, you can take some time to get to know the local area and ease yourself comfortably into the conference. Plus, if you're full of knowledge about local attractions then you'll always have something interesting to talk about with other attendees. 3. When presenting, tailor your material to your audience Whether you're giving a poster presentation or a talk, don't just repeat the same spiel that you always give to your department colleagues. You need to modify your material to suit the level of knowledge of the audience, as some people attending will be from a different field than you. It's okay to ask your audience how familiar they are with your topic - particularly when you're presenting a poster to a small group, this can help you to gauge the level of expertise which you should be pitching at. If you are giving a talk, don't go over your allocated time. Practise your talk and time yourself to make sure you're within the time limit, and remember that being a bit under time is fine, as it leaves more time for discussion. But going over time is frustrating to your audience, rude to the person presenting after you, and stressful for you. Cut your presentation down to the essentials, and don't waffle. Whenever you present, take notes of comments or questions which people ask afterwards. This can be an incredibly useful source of feedback regarding your research, but you'll need to write it down in order to remember it once you get home. 4. Talk to as many people as possible Conferences are fantastic places to network with other academics and researchers in your field. Get involved by asking questions after talks, contributing to discussions, and attending social events. You can learn about the latest not-yet-published research and meet people who might be able to contribute to your work in the future. Don't miss out on conference dinners or socials, as these events are where a lot of the networking happens. Polish up your elevator pitch – that is, a brief two sentence description of your research which you can share when people ask about your work. 5. Follow up Once you've done lots of networking and meeting people at a conference, follow up with them in the days after to solidify the connection. Also, remember to take some business cards with you to give out with your contact details on them so that people can get in touch with you if they have questions about your work. Finally, a great tip if you're giving a poster presentation is to make small A4 or A3 copies of your poster to hand out to people – and don't forget to include your contact details on it.
If you're attending an academic conference for the first time, it can be a rather overwhelming experience! Follow these five tips to make your conference trip as smooth and productive possible.
10 Things You Need To Know Before Starting Your Study In The Czech Republic
There are now 26 public, 2 state and 42 private higher education institutions offering a wide range of traditional as well as newly emerging disciplines. While the main tuition language is Czech, the range of programmes delivered in English is expanding and now counts about 1,000 accredited study programmes. Are you planning to study one of them? Then you might use some of our tips: 1. Apply for visa If you have been accepted for university studies in the Czech Republic and are from a country outside the EU, you have to turn to the local Czech embassy and apply for a student visa. There are short-term visas, long-term visas (for stays over 90 days) and long-term residence permits (for stays over one year). Registration at the Foreign Police Department is compulsory for all foreign nationals staying in the Czech Republic for more than 30 days. 2. Find a place to stay The majority of universities own its dormitories called “koleje”. Living in a dorm (around 120 EUR/month for a shared room) is a great way to get to know other people, as you will meet a lot of students from various backgrounds. If you prefer to live on your own, you can rent a flat or room in a shared flat (about 500-800 EUR/month for a 2–3 bedroom flat). It is common for international students to share bigger flats especially in the city centre. 3. Take care of your health Medical care in the Czech Republic is on a very good professional and technological level. Most medical facilities have a contract with an insurance company on provision and settlement of costs for healthcare. Students from the EU/EEA/Switzerland should apply for the free EU health insurance card. Other foreign students are required to purchase comprehensive health insurance coverage and will be asked to submit a proof of Czech health insurance when applying for visa. 4. Affordable costs While living standards are comparable with those in Western Europe, living costs in the Czech Republic are considered to be more affordable. The average living costs of students range from 350-750 USD/month, but prices vary according to your location, accommodation choices, lifestyle, and spending habits. Students can get many discounts with a student ISIC card usually issued by their university. 5. Working while studying Having a part-time job or summer work is very common. If you are enrolled in a full time accredited degree programme, you are allowed to work while studying, but please bear in mind that you are in the country with a visa for study purposes, therefore paid work cannot be your primary occupation during your stay. 6. No driving licence? No problem! Large cities have an efficient system of public transport using tram, bus, trolleybus or subway. If you are staying for longer, consider buying a long-term travel pass. Within the Czech Republic you can easily travel both by bus and train, as the country has one of the densest rail networks in Europe and an elaborate system of public bus transportation. 7. In the heart of Europe Studying in the Czech Republic puts you in the middle of Europe and you have a great chance to discover all European countries and places you might otherwise not have had the opportunity to visit. Take advantage of the Eurail train pass, low cost airlines or dense network of long distance buses and discover Europe in your free time! 8. Learning the language You can get around in English but some Czech language skills are always helpful and will make you feel more at home. Some Czech higher education institutions offer language courses for foreign students as well as full one year preparatory courses for those who wish to study in the Czech language. There are also many private language schools. 9. Czech cuisine Czech cuisine is famous for its meats, gravies, dumplings, soups and of course, the world famous beer. However, even as a veg lover you won’t go hungry. In the cities, you can find all sorts of cuisines and even typically Czech restaurants have learnt to include interesting vegetarian meals on their menus. 10. Prague is beautiful…but there is so much more to see! The Czech Republic has become a favourite tourist destination for many travellers who like wonderful fairy-tale castles and chateaux, world famous spas, unspoilt countryside with excellent national parks and conservation areas, historical cities and villages. Twelve important historical sites are on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Find out more about studying in the Czech Republic at www.studyin.cz.
Czech higher education dates back over six hundred years. In 1348 Emperor Charles IV founded a university in Prague, now called the Charles University, which is the oldest academic institution in Central Europe. High quality education and research, especially in Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, therefore has a long tradition in the Czech Republic.
10 Tips for a Successful Start to Your New Academic Year
1. Pick your courses. Hopefully you've already chosen the courses that you'll be taking in the new academic year – but if not, get on this now! Check your student handbook to see what courses are a requirement for you degree, and have a think about what new skills you need to develop and which courses can help you with this. 2. Try studying something new. It's easy to get into a rut when you're studying, and find yourself taking the same courses and doing the same work as everyone else. But university is a wonderful opportunity to try new things and learn about new topics – so why not see if you can take a class in a subject which is new to you but which you've always found interesting? Consider studying one course from outside of your academic subject, to broaden your horizons and to teach you a different approach to learning. 3. Register for your courses. One you've chosen your courses, you may need to register for them. Check out your university's website to see when and how you need to register, and do this quickly as popular courses can sometimes be over-subscribed. 4. Get organised early. Find out as soon as possible what your deadlines are, and when you will have to submit work or sit exams. Start planning out your semester so that you can see how long you have to write your essays and assignments, or to revise for your exams. The early you start, the less stressful this will be. 5. Get a calendar (and use it!) Once you know when your deadlines are and when you need to be working on various projects, write all of this information down in a pocketbook or electronic calendar. Check your calendar regularly and update it as you get new information, so you'll always know what you need to be working on today. 6. Get on your university's CMS. Many universities now use an electronic Course Management System like Moodle or Blackboard, through which you can get information about your courses and assignments and download reading materials. Get a login from your university's IT department, and make sure that it works and you can access all the materials you need. This will make your life much easier than scrabbling to get it working at the last minute when you urgently need some information from the CMS! 7. Pick up extra reading from the library. Once you have your course introductory materials, take a look at the reading list and suggested extra reading materials. Take a trip to the library and pick up any books which you think will be helpful to give you a general overview of the course topic, and start reading these. You'll find it easier to read the latest journal articles or highly technical materials if you have an understanding of the broad themes under discussion your subject field. 8. Get to know your new coursemates. When you are in your second or third year of studying and are taking several courses, it can be tempting to skip out on social occasions with your fellow students. After all, you've already made friends and have lots going on. However, don't underestimate the value of spending time with your fellow students, as you can learn a lot from academic discussions with them as well as having fun socially. 9. Get to know your new lecturers. Lecturers all have different teaching styles and preferences, and different knowledge that they can share with you. Read over any notes or guidelines which your lecturers give you about office hours, their preferred method of communication, and their research interests so that you can get an idea of what they're like. After a few weeks, consider visiting them during their office hours to discuss how you are finding the course so far. 10. Make sure you're getting enough sleep. The start of the academic year can be busy and demanding, and you might feel like you have no time to relax. But you can't study effectively if you're already exhausted at the start of the year. Give yourself a full 8 hours sleep a night as often as you can, and you'll find studying and working to be much easier.
The new academic year is about to begin, so follow these ten tips for a successful start to the year!
Many graduate students work as teaching assistants, supporting faculty members when they teach undergraduate classes. This gives them the chance to learn directly from an experienced lecturer, while also earning money for their work. Could co-teaching be the right role for you? Today we're considering the question of whether graduate students should co-teach. Advantages of Co-Teaching The biggest point in favour of co-teaching as a graduate student is that you will gain invaluable experience from working directly with both students and faculty members. Many academic jobs required some teaching experience in order for you to apply for them, so getting this experience in graduate school will make you more employable. In the United States in particular, there is a large emphasis placed on the importance of teaching experience for junior academics. The big plus of co-teaching here is that the quality of your teaching experience will be higher if you have been observing and working with a knowledgable faculty member. A second advantage to taking a co-teaching job as a graduate student is that you will learn a whole lot from teaching. It's often said that one of the best ways to check whether you understand something is to try to teach it to someone else. You'll quickly see whether you can arrange your knowledge into a helpful and comprehensible form which you students can follow. Also, the questions that students ask and the points that they raise will help you to think about you subject in new ways. Having an experienced co-teacher with you means there's always someone to answer your questions if you're unsure. A final advantage of the co-teaching system is that it gives you the chance to get to know a faculty member well. Not only can you learn from your co-teacher's teaching methods, but you can also go to them with questions about your department or about academic life in general. You can get a more realistic impression of what academic life in the department is like for faculty. They can get to know you better too, so if you need a reference or letter of recommendation in the future, they can provide a very personal and accurate assessment of you. Disadvantages of Co-Teaching Although there are a lot of advantages to co-teaching, you should consider whether you will have enough time to dedicate to teaching in addition to your studies. Teaching requires lots of time, not just in the classroom itself, but also in making lesson plans, setting and grading assignments, and answering students' questions. This is particularly true in co-teaching, where you need to plan together with your co-teacher. Yes, there is someone else to help you with the work, but the two of you will need to co-ordinate carefully to teach effectively. You should also make sure that the work is divided up fairly between the two of you so that you're not left doing all the work by yourself. You should consider the rate of pay for teaching too. Some teaching jobs for graduate students are not very well paid, so if you have high living costs then you might need to consider another option. Alternatively, some grants or fellowships will cover your costs but expect you to teach in return. Find out what your obligations are and make sure that you're making enough money to live comfortably while you study. We hope this has given you some insight into whether co-teaching is right for you!
Co-teaching has become popular in recent years, especially in university teaching training. It involves two teachers, one experienced and one in training, coming together to teach a class together. They share the instruction, the setting of tasks, the marking, and the physical classroom space. The idea is that for a profession like teaching, in which teachers are constantly learning even after they finish their teacher training, more direct instruction is helpful. Observing and interacting with a more experienced colleague allows new teaches to learn more and get guidance if they are having any classroom issues.
Job Hunting in Academia: Why Didn't They Choose You?
You don't have enough experience One of the most important factors that hiring committees look at in an academic job hunt is the amount of research experience which you have – and that means publications. You will be expected to produce a certain number of publications as part of an academic role, and prior success in publication demonstrates that you're capable of doing this. It is unfortunate but true that many hiring committees are more interested in the quantity of publications than the quality when it comes to assessing applicants. Unless you have a publication in a very major journal like Science or Nature then it's possible that the hiring committee won't even read your publications, they'll just count how many you have. So if you're not finding success in your job hunt, ask around to find out how many publications typical applicants have. You might need to publish more work before you can land a position. You weren't a good match for the institution Another very important factor in hiring decisions is good fit between a candidate and the department. Even if you are a brilliant candidate with lots of experience, if your research interests don't match the department's, then you are unlikely to be hired. Do your research about the department before applying, and make sure that you have a really good understanding of the work which is done there. You need to find at least a few members of the department whose research interests coincide with yours, and spend some time thinking about how you work could add to the profile of the department. Too many people applying for the position Sometimes, being rejected from a position is not a reflection on the quality of your candidacy or your skills. In academia generally and in some fields in particular, there are many many more candidates looking for jobs than there are advertised positions. If this is the case in your field, even if you are perfectly qualified and perform very well throughout the hiring process, you still might not get an offer. This is frustrating but an inevitable part of academic job hunting. If this is a problem in your job hunt, the best thing you can do is to get a temporary or part-time job in another field to support yourself while you continue applying for academic positions. If your field is over-saturated with applicants then it can take a long time to get a job offer, so make yourself financially stable in the short term and dedicate yourself to a long-term job hunt. Your application materials weren't good If you're not even getting called for interviews when you apply for an academic job, then there may be a problem with your application materials. It's time to take a long hard look at your CV and cover letter. Too many people write cover letters which are generic and simply describe past job duties, rather than describing their particular achievements. Use the cover letter to highlight how you exceeded expectations in previous roles and what makes you unique as a candidate. This is one area in which people with a business or industry background are often much stronger than people from academia, so ask for help from friends from different fields! You didn't come across well in the interview One final issue to consider, if you're getting interviews but no job offers, is how you come across in the interview. Many academics don't receive any kinds of soft-skill training during their career, and sometimes the importance of inter-personal skills is not fully realised. If you're generally a bit timid and introverted, then you need to push yourself to show your best at interviews – and that means not being afraid to promote yourself and sell yourself as a candidate. Don't be afraid to talk yourself up a bit! However, if you come from a verbally assertive field like philosophy, then you might need to tone down your argumentative side during interviews. Make sure that you're letting members of the hiring committee talk and not dominating the discussion, and keep your tone even and neutral. We wish you the best of luck with you job hunt!
Applying for an academic job can be a frustrating process. If you've been rejected from an academic job and you're stewing over why, read on to find out the reasons that your job application might have been unsuccessful.
10 Things To Know Before You Start a PhD in Germany
1. It isn't essential to speak German Many universities in Germany now offer courses in English in order to encourage international applicants. When it comes to doing a PhD, the thesis can often be written in either English or German. And now there are even whole grad schools which specialise in international programs, and which operate entirely in English. Obviously, you'll still need basic German skills for going about your everyday life, but it's more common than you imagine for academic programs to be in English. 2. First, find a supervisor The first task when you are considering doing a PhD is to find a supervisor in your field with whom you can do your research. Don't underestimate the importance of having a supervisor who you get along with personally! Talk to as many people in your field as possible to get a feeling of which departments and researchers might be a good match for you. <11an>limit:3;categories:PhD Programs;disciplines:Economics;countries:Germany</11an> 3. Individual study vs joining a grad school One major decision to make when considering a PhD in Germany is whether you will study alone with the support of a supervisor, or whether you will join a structured graduate school. Both options are common in Germany. Studying individually gives you more flexibility to set your own work milestones, but joining a grad school will give you more structure and support. 4. You apply directly to the university to do a PhD Once you have found a supervisor, you will have to apply to your university or department to join as a PhD student. This typically involves providing information about your previous degrees, filling out an application, and getting a letter of support from your supervisor. 5. Get your academic credentials checked When applying for a PhD, you will need to provide copies of your previous degree certificates and transcripts. These will need to be translated into the German grade system (from the British-style “2:1” to the German-style “1.3”, for example). Your university's international office may be able to do this for you, or you may have to pay for this to be done privately. 6. Find a way to finance your PhD Once you've been accepted onto a PhD, it's up to you to find funding to support yourself. Don't forget to check out the funding available within Germany from bodies like the DAAD. 7. Non-EU citizens need a visa and residence permit If you are from outside the EU, the EEA, or Switzerland, then you are likely to need a visa in order to do a PhD in Germany. A tourist visa is not sufficient, as this cannot be converted into a long-term residence visa. In order to get a visa, you'll need to contact the German embassy in your home country and fill out an application before you come to Germany. 8. Housing is relatively cheap but can be hard to get Germany is relatively affordable in terms of housing, thanks to governmental rent control. However, in a popular city like Berlin, housing is snapped up very quickly. So you should be ready to move fast when you find a place that you like, or if you have the money to spare, you can pay an agent to find an appropriate house for you and deal with the application process. Alternatively, you can move into a shared house (a “WG”) with other students or young people, which is a good short-term option when you first arrive. 9. You have to register where you live in Germany Once you arrive in Germany and have found a place to live, you will need to register by going to your local Bürgeramt and filling in a form there. The registration is used for identification when paying taxes or dealing with the police, for example. When you move house, you must fill out another form to make sure that your registration is up to date. 10. Meet other students and make new friends Don't underestimate the importance of social support in getting you through your PhD! Do take some time to set up a fun social life for yourself in addition to your work. Grad schools make it much easier to meet fellow students, but there are also lots of other ways to make new friends.
If you are looking for a PhD studies in economics, Germany is a great option. The high quality of education available, combined with free tuition fees at public universities, makes it an attractive destination when looking for opportunities to do your doctoral research in economics.
Academic Job Applications: What Can Go Wrong?
There can be a long wait time between applying and hearing back If you've applied for corporate jobs, you may be used to waiting a few weeks to hear back regarding a job you have applied for. But in academia, this can take much longer. It's not unusual for there to be waiting periods of months between applications being received and interviews being offered. Also, the interview process itself can take a long time, as it is generally overseen by a board or committee who have to approve hiring decisions. This means that you need to start applying for academic jobs much earlier than you would for other jobs, and to be prepared for the process to take months or more. If you are not currently employed, you shouldn't rely on a future academic job as your source of income for now. Often, it will be a good idea to get a teaching job or a part-time job in another area to sustain you while you wait through the academic hiring process. The interview process might not be what you expect Interview processes will vary between institutions, ranging from a somewhat casual sit-down with some members of the department, up to a long and complex process involving multiple rounds. It is also common for academic interviews to take place at conferences, when many of the professors and applicants will be in the same place. So it's not unusual for interviews to take place in hotel rooms or conference areas if that is convenient for everyone involved. There could be a lack of fit between you and the department Obviously if you've applied for a job somewhere, you will have looked into the work of the department that you wish to join. But it can be hard to ascertain whether you and your research will be a good fit for the department until you actually visit the place and talk with other department members. Even if your interests match well on paper, you may find that you have a different inter-personal style or research approach to the new department. So try not to get too caught up in the idea of a job until you've had a chance to visit the place, such as at an interview, and get a feel for whether it would match your needs. There may be practical or financial issues with your application If you are planning to move to another country for an academic job, you need to be especially careful to find out what paperwork you will require. You might need a work permit or visa, and unlike your time as a student, you cannot apply for a student visa but will need a working visa instead. Often institutions will have departments who can help you with this, and can provide information on what documents you need and how to get them. But you shouldn't rely solely on the place you are applying to, as individuals situations can differ, so do your own research on the legal requirements of living and working somewhere. It's also important to consider the practical needs of your partner or family, if they will be moving with you. As it is common for a couple to both be academics, some institutions now offer “dual placement” jobs. This is where the hiring institution makes an agreement that if they hire one member of a couple, they will find a position for the other member of the couple too. The facilities offered by institutions for families are widely variable, and might include either on-site child minding services or pay benefits to cover childcare costs. Dig into the details of what exactly is available, as these benefits can make a big difference to both your overall financial situation and the quality of life you will experience in your new job.
Applying for academic jobs can be a fraught process! If you haven't had much experience with the academic job market, it can be hard to learn as it is quite different from applying for places at a university to be a student. Even if you have experience with applying for professional jobs, there are different norms in academic hiring which can take some time to grasp. To help you through this process, today we're covering some of the things that can go wrong during academic hiring, so you know what to look out for and how to prepare yourself.
Types Of Difficult PhD Supervisors And How To Successfully Deal With Them
Micromanagers A micromanager is one who is overly controlling and wishes to make input on all of your decisions, however small. For example, they may want to check every single slide or piece of writing which you produce, multiple times. Or they may try to dictate the way in which you divide up your time and how you prioritise. Micromanagers can be difficult to deal with, as different students and supervisors have different ideas about how much management a supervisor should perform. For some PhD students, having a lot of guidance and having their work checked regularly can be reassuring, while for others, it feels patronising. So if you find you supervisor to be too involved, remember that this is an issue of preference and not necessarily an indication that your supervisor thinks that you are not competent. To deal with a micromanager, you'll need to take a dual approach: firstly, demonstrating that you can perform tasks competently without their guidance. If you show that you can prepare a presentation well, for example, without their influence, then they will feel less need to manage you in the future. The other approach is to talk with them and try to discover their underlying concerns. Do they feel like they need to micromanage because they are concerned about your ability to organize your time? Do they worry that your research will go over budget? Or are they trying to be supportive by giving you lots of feedback on your writing? Identify the underlying concern which is leading to the micromanaging behaviour, and try to demonstrate that their worries are not founded. <11an>limit:3;categories:Postdoc;disciplines:Economics</11an> Absentee Absentee supervisors are those who are not present during your PhD, either physically (i.e. they are away travelling a lot) or metaphorically (they are so busy that you never see them). This is a common problem with senior professors and those who supervise lots of PhD students. Without advice and guidance from a supervisor, performing your PhD research is much harder. To deal with an absentee supervisor, you can first try laying out an agreement with them about regular meetings. If you can arrange a meeting with them once a week or once every two weeks at a set time, you'll know that you at least have the chance to get their input on any issues. Often professors can be bad at replying to emails, so a face-to-face meeting is the best way to get their attention. If you can't get regular meetings with them, you can turn to your second supervisor or other senior researchers who you trust, and ask for input from them instead. However, if it is truly not possible to see your supervisor regularly, you should consider moving to a different supervisor who can give you and your research the time and attention which you deserve. Overly Critical It is part of the supervisor's job to offer criticism of your work, but some supervisors take this too far. Supervisors who yell at their students, who belittle them, or who make unpleasant personal comments are not unheard of. Dealing with such a supervisor can leave students stressed, depressed, and insecure about their own abilities. Doing a PhD can certainly be an emotional experience, but if students are regularly leaving the office in tears after speaking with their supervisor, then something is very wrong. To deal with such a supervisor, you will need to assess how severe the situation is. If you supervisor is generally well meaning but rather harsh with their feedback, you can try talking to them about your overall progress in your PhD. Some supervisors, especially if they are new to management, forget that it's important to give positive feedback as well as pointing out errors. They may in fact be very satisfied with your work, but they only mention the negative points that they see. In this case, by talking to them about your overall progress you can get a more positive picture of your work. In severe cases, however, this may not help. If a supervisor is abusive towards you and they are having an overall negative effect on your life and your work, then you need to protect yourself by leaving their group and finding a new supervisor. Remember that a supervisor should support you and assist you, not make you feel like a failure. You can always get another supervisor, but your mental health is of the highest priority.
Supervision is a difficult task, and there is often conflict between supervisors and their PhD students. Even if you find a supervisor with whom you have excellent rapport, there can still be problems. Here are some of the types of difficult supervisor which you might encounter, and tips on how to manage them.
Top Mistakes To Avoid While Writing Your PhD Thesis
1. Starting too late With a project as big as a PhD, it can feel like there's always more work to do, and always more time before you have to start writing. But the earlier you can start, the less stressful writing up will be. Even if you just start making notes or jotting down a few bullet points of issues you want to raise in your thesis, this will be very helpful when you start writing in full and you're not left staring at a blank page. Try writing small sections of a few hundred words per day to get you into the zone without becoming overwhelmed. 2. Being a perfectionist PhD students often feel as if their thesis needs to be the pinnacle of their career, and that it has to be the perfect expression of all of the work they have done over the years. But focusing too much on making your thesis perfect will stop you from getting it written at all. Accept that there will be flaws in your thesis, and that there will be some questions which you can't answer, or some issues which you can't overcome. That's okay! You want to make the thesis as good as you can, while still ensuring that it gets finished. 3. Doing more research Too much research? Surely there's no such thing! Well, in fact, there is a time at which you need to stop reading new articles, books, or sources, and to focus on your write-up. If you have come to the end of your PhD, then you already have all the knowledge that you need to write your thesis. You don't need to collect even more information; you need to focus on getting what you already know down onto the page. <11an>limit:3;categories:Postdoc;disciplines:Economics</11an><o:p></o:p> 4. Trying to write up in one draft The secret to successful writing is to not spend hours worrying about making each word you write perfect the first time around. Instead, get a rough draft finished as soon as you can, and then gradually edit and re-draft over several iterations. One you have a draft, you can see your thesis in context and start making changes to make it better. Editing an already-existing document is so much easier than writing from scratch! 5. Not taking feedback Once you have a draft, you should solicit as much feedback as you can. Your supervisors, colleagues, and friends can all give you useful feedback, even if they are not specialists in your field. When you receive feedback on your thesis, it can be hard to accept if it is critical. If you find it hard to hear feedback without being defensive, try waiting 24 hours between receiving the feedback and acting on it. You'll usually be much more receptive once a day has passed. 6. Forgetting about formatting and paperwork Formatting might not seem to be terribly important, in the grand scheme of things. However, it does take time to get your thesis into an acceptable format for submission and printing. In addition, there is probably a pile of paperwork which you will have to hand in to your university. You don't want to scrabbling to get everything finished at the last minute, especially if you are already stressed. Leave yourself a few days to sort out all the formatting and paperwork, so you don't have to rush. 7. Trying to do your own proofreading It's tempting to think that because you spend so much time writing your thesis, you will spot any spelling or grammar errors. But actually it is almost impossible to proofread your own writing accurately. Rope in some people to be your proofreaders – they don't need to be specialists in your field, so this is a great role for your family or friends to help you out with. Ask them to check just the spelling and grammar in your thesis, give them a week or two if possible, then you can add in their corrections before submission. 8. Not taking care of yourself Even if everything goes as well as possible, writing up your PhD thesis is still a hugely stressful time. It's understandable that you'll be more focused on your work than anything else. However, it's important that you take care of yourself during this period too. In order to do your best work, you need to make sure that you are eating and sleeping enough, and that you get away from your desk or office at least occasionally. This will help you to focus and not to burn out while you're writing up. Good luck with writing up!
Will you be writing up your PhD thesis soon? Avoid these eight mistakes and the writing process will be much smoother.
5 Reasons Why Your PhD Application Was Rejected
1. Your project proposal was too vague Obviously, when you're applying for a PhD, you won't have a full overview of exactly what your project will involve. However, you do need to be able to lay out a reasonable roadmap to show how you would go about answering your research questions. You need to be specific in your project proposal – what kind of experiment or study will you perform? What statistical tests will you use? What meaning would either positive or negative results have for your field of study? You need to address these questions in your application. Without specific information on what kind of research you are planning to do for your PhD, your application is unlikely to be accepted. Try to make your research proposal as precise and concrete as possible. 2. Your project proposal was unrealistic We all want our research to be informative and meaningful – but you need to be realistic too. If your PhD research proposal suggested that your work could radically alter the foundations of your subject and revolutionise the way your topic is approached by the academic community, then you were probably being overly ambitious! Three years in which to do a PhD sounds like a long time, but actually research projects always take much longer to complete than you would imagine. You need to make sure that the research you are proposing is realistically achievable in the few years that you will have available to you. Aiming for a smaller-scale project which it is possible to execute well in just a few years will show that you have a level-headed and grounded approach to your research. 3. You didn't demonstrate why your skills were right for your project Universities are looking for candidates who have a proven track record of research in the area of study for their potential PhD. This is easy to address if you proposed a PhD which followed on naturally from your undergraduate or master's work. However, if you want to change fields for your PhD or to move into a different topic, you need to be careful in the way that you address this in your proposal. You need to show that you already have many of the skills needed to complete your project. For example, maybe you did a psychology undergraduate degree and want to do a PhD in business – in that case, you should talk about the statistical skills you have gained, and how your knowledge of human behaviour would help to guide you when dealing with management issues. Find example from your past of the skills that you would use in your new field and use these to demonstrate your capability. ​<11an>limit:3;categories:PhD Programs;disciplines:Economics</11an> 4. Your project was not a good match for the institution Both universities and departments within each university will have topics or subject areas which they specialise in. For example, in psychology, some departments are very academically minded and specialise in evidence-based approaches, while others have a more clinically-based approach and focus on a certain school of psychotherapy. If your PhD does not fit neatly in with the department's interests, then your application is unlikely to succeed. The specialisation of any given department can be quite difficult for an outsider to ascertain, as it is not usually stated explicitly. So the best way to work out the interests of a department is to check the pages for each individual professor and researcher on the departmental website, and check over their publication list. Try to find a university and department whose interests match as closely as possible to your project. 5. Your academic profile was not a good match for the institution Finally, you yourself also need to be a good match to wherever you are applying. “Institutional fit” is a high priority for admission committees, meaning that they want to know that you, your project, and the department will all fit together harmoniously. Emphasise your relevant skills, from previous jobs or volunteering that you have done, as well as your academic background. Try to show that you understand the language and priorities of the department and that you could perform your research there effectively. Good luck with your PhD applications, and don't despair! Sometimes it takes a few attempts before you find the right PhD place for you.
Applying for a PhD can be a long and difficult process, with not many opportunities for you to hear feedback on your application. If your application was not successful and you're not sure why, here are some of the most common reasons for PhD applications to be rejected. If you plan to improve your PhD application this autumn, download our free guide "How to successfully apply to a PhD in Economics".
8 Kinds Of Life Experience Which Will Help You As A Student
1. Organising social events If you're the friend in your social group who's always organising the social occasions by planning parties, trips, or holidays, then good news – this experience will help you in a university setting too. The ability to take a desired outcome (a trip to a certain place), to see all the steps required to achieve it (transport, tickets, picking a date), to inspire and motivate others to join you, and then to put the plan into practice, will help you in planning and executing your projects, and in organising group work. 2. Working with others or playing a team sport People sometimes think of studying as being a solitary pursuit, but actually you'll often need to work with others at university. You'll have group projects to complete which will require you to work as part of a team, and sometimes you'll need to take a leadership role. Having had practise at this by playing as part of a sports team or other social group will help you to complete your university assignments efficiently. 3. Being a member of a book club If you've been a member of a book club, or if you like to discuss books that you've read with your friends and family, then this is useful experience. You've learnt how to analyse and critique a text, to identify its key themes, and to communicate your analysis with others. This is very similar to the process you'll go through when analysing a text in your studies and when writing an essay. 4. Being a debater If you're the sort of person who can't resist a political debate over the dinner table, then you'll have sharpened your critical thinking and communication skills from all that arguing. Happily, university classes are the perfect place to work more on your debate skills. 5. Having had a casual job If you've had a job before you study, even if it wasn't related to your field of study, then you'll still have picked up useful skills. You'll have learned how to present yourself in a professional way, to perform tasks within a certain timeframe, and to motivate yourself to get to work even if you weren't feeling up to it. These will be invaluable when you're starting off at university and finding out how to adjust to your student life. 6. Dealing with a difficult boss If you've ever had to deal with a difficult boss, then you may have learned skills like how to cope with unclear instructions, how to keep calm in stressful situations, and how to extract useful information from difficult sources. These are all extremely useful when dealing with a challenging situation in your studies. Also, the confidence that you gain from being able to overcome difficulties will help you too. So there were some advantages to that horrible summer job you had after all! 7. Drama or music performance If you have performed on stage as a musician or actor, then you will have some understanding of stage presence and connecting with an audience. This is excellent training for public speaking and oral presentation, which will serve you well when you have to give talks or presentations in university. Knowing how to stand, how to project your voice, and being comfortable in front of an audience are essential skills for good presentations. 8. Writing experience of all kinds Chances are that you've written a lot of essays throughout your education so far, and you'll be writing even more for your university studies. But it's not just essay writing which is useful for a student. If you've written newspaper articles for a school paper, tried creative writing such as poetry or fiction, or written an online blog on a topic you're interested in, these are all great preparation for university writing too. You'll have learned how to convey complex ideas in a simple way, how to adapt your writing for your audience, and how to gauge the appropriate level of detail for a piece of writing, all of which are beneficial for your essay and exam writing at university.
When you think about what skills a student needs to be successful, you probably think of academic skills like research or academic writing. If you're becoming a student for the first time, this can be intimidating – you've never learned those skills before! But there are lots of other skills you will have picked up in your life which will help you through your studies. Consider the following:
8 Things You Will Never Hear From Your PhD Supervisor
1. “There's no rush with that. Take your time.” In your PhD, you'll need to be able to move quickly, and to produce work fast. The work may not be as good as you want it to be, but sometimes it's more important for something to be done than for it to be perfect. When your supervisor asks you for work, they'll often want it done on a tight time schedule. <11an>limit:3;categories:Postdoc;disciplines:Economics</11an><o:p></o:p> 2. “Don't work too hard this weekend.” It is vitally important that you have free time as a PhD student, to relax, to see friends and family, and to indulge in your hobbies. But you cannot rely on your supervisor to help you with this – you have to set your own boundaries about how much you should be working and when you need time off. Your supervisor would rather you worked all of the time, so don't wait for their permission to give yourself a break. 3. “This is perfect and needs no corrections.” You need to learn that no piece of work that you produce will ever be perfect. There will always be room for improvements, and ways to make something better. Don't be discouraged if you have worked hard on a piece and your supervisor points out ways that it could be improved – this is part of the process of learning and growing as a researcher. 4. “Some things are more important than your PhD.” Everyone has different values about what is most important in their life, and PhD students tend to be very career-focused and ambitious. But if doing a PhD is negatively impacting your physical or mental health, or your relationships with your friends and family, then you need to reconsider your work-life balance. Your supervisor will always push you to focus more on your work, so you need to strongly advocate for your own well-being. 5. “There are jobs outside of academia.” Because they have spent their careers in academia, supervisors tend to forgot about preparing their students for the world of industry. If you're interested in eventually working in industry or in another type of role outside of the academic system, your supervisor is unlikely to offer much help or encouragement. You should start networking with those in industry positions, and talking to other former academics who have made the transition out of academia. Your supervisor is not the best person to advise you on this. 6. “I'm asking you to do this because I don't want to do it.” PhD students are at the bottom of the totem when it comes to assigning work. Unglamorous assignments like teaching introductory courses, marking exams, or writing peer reviews are often passed on to PhDs because more senior researchers would rather not do them. This is the nature of delegation, and you can actually learn a lot from doing these routine tasks. But be prepared that, as a PhD student, you will be asked to do the less interesting work. 7. “Sometimes I feel unsure and insecure about my own work.” All people deal with doubt and insecurity, and academics are no different. There are times at which everyone has thought that their research was pointless, their ideas were stupid, and that they were personally not up to scratch. Because supervisors are more senior, it wouldn't be appropriate for them to reveal these insecurities to the students who work for them. However, remember that when you have doubts about your competence, you are definitely not the only person to feel that way! Even the most senior and respected of people struggle with doubts, though you probably wouldn't hear them admit to it. 8. “Good job!” This one is not entirely true – some supervisors do work hard to give positive feedback. But often, supervisors can forget that giving praise is as important as giving criticism when it comes to motivating students. It's possible that it will be very rare for anyone to tell you that you're doing well or that a piece of work was excellent, so you need to develop your own motivational skills. If you think that you've done good work, then congratulate yourself! Don't let your supervisor's opinion become more essential to your self-worth than your own opinion.
Your supervisor should play a helpful and supportive role in your PhD – but you should also be realistic about what to expect from them. Here are 8 things you'll never hear your PhD supervisor say:
How To Balance Your Course Load As An Undergraduate
Prioritise The first thing you need to do is to work out which courses are essential for you to succeed in your degree. You will likely have some mandatory courses which are stipulated in your handbook or departmental guidelines, as well as a range of elective courses which you can choose from. Find out what your mandatory courses are, exactly when the lectures, seminars, or tutorials are held, and add them to your calendar first. These are the essential foundation topics of your subject, and you will need to know this material well. Once you have your mandatory courses laid out, you can start to consider elective courses. Find out how much time each elective course will take per week, how long the course runs for, and what kind of assessment will be required. Schedule these courses in around your mandatory courses. Be realistic Everyone starts the semester with great intentions – they're going to work super hard and get so much done! This is a fine aim, but do be realistic. If you hate getting up in the mornings, don't book yourself onto courses starting at 8am four days a week. You might hope that you'll be forced to adapt out of your late-mornings habits, but the more likely outcome is that you'll just stop attending those morning classes. Similarly, it's good to work hard and to make use of your spare time. But don't over-schedule yourself so that you're constantly running around, late and stressed. Think about how much time you will need to travel between lectures, how much time reading and research will take for each course, and how much time you will need for exam preparation or other issues. It's much better to take on 3 courses at a time and do an excellent job in all of them than it is to take on 4 courses and perform at a mediocre level. Consider the end of the semester as well as the start When you're planning your courses, it's tempting to look at the requirements for the first few weeks and assume that will be a guide for the whole course. But that's usually not the case! Courses, especially introductory undergraduate courses, will often start out slowly, with not too much material covered, so that everyone can keep up. Over the semester, the amount and quality of work that is expected will increase. At the end of the semester you may have to sit an exam, take part in a practical, or submit coursework. Remember to consider the work required across the whole semester when planning your course load. Give yourself time for research and revision, especially in more advanced courses. Know when your key deadlines are for submitting work and plan around them, so that you don't have a load of stress all at one time. Take an interesting range of courses Although it is important to specialise eventually, you don't want to be too narrow in your undergraduate studies. Where possible, try to take courses which will teach you different skills – like essay writing, maths and statistics, oral presentation, research skills, and so on – as well as covering different subject topics. Having a broad range of courses will not only help you to develop as a student, but it will also help you to stay motivated and avoid burnout. If you have a wide array of electives to choose from, do take advantage of this! Take up the chance to study something totally new, or a subject which has always interested you. Having variety in your courses will help to keep you engaged.
When you're starting out as undergraduate student, there is so much to think about and to remember that it can be hard to know how to manage your course load. With that in mind, these tips can help you balance your courses so that your undergraduate experience can be as rewarding and positive as possible.
Last Check List Before Submitting Your Master's Thesis
1. Check your word count It's important that your thesis stays within the word limit allowed by your university. Most departments are very strict about this, and you can lose marks or even have your thesis rejected if it's too long. So check the allowed word count in your departmental handbook or on your university's website. Generally, you are allowed to be within 10% of the stated word count – so if the count is 3000 words, you can submit between 2700 and 3300 words for your thesis. This differs between universities though, so check this too! If your thesis is too long, be brutal in cutting out any irrelevant information to make it as tight as possible. 2. Check your references carefully You should be adding references to your thesis as you write it. But you need to do a check of all your references at the end too. First, identify every statement in your thesis which requires a reference. Then, make sure your references are in place within the text and in the right format. Generally, in-text references are presented in the format: “factual statement (Author, year)”. Next, make sure that every reference in your text also appears in the reference list at the end of your thesis. This is where your full reference information goes, and you need to make sure that this is in the correct format for your university too. Finally, check that there are no references in your reference list which do not appear in your text. 3. Do your formatting Formatting a thesis is always a bother, so leave yourself some time to adjust the fonts, margins, and line spacing to your liking. Don't forget to add page numbers to the top or bottom of the page for easier reading. You'll also need a table of contents, which lists your section headings and which page they can be found on. If you're using Word, you can generate this automatically. 4. Put together your title page You will need a title page for your thesis, which generally includes the title, the university and department, and the date. Often, master's theses should not have your name on them, as they may be marked blind. In this case, you should have a candidate number or reference number which goes on your title page instead of your name. Double check in your departmental handbook if you are unsure. 5. Print & bind or submit electronically Often, for a master's thesis you can print it yourself on regular printer paper, and then bind it using a comb binder and a binding machine. The admin office at your university may well have these supplies which you can use, or they can direct you to where you can find them. This will be much cheaper than having the thesis printed at a print shop! Alternatively, at some universities you can submit your thesis electronically. You will need to convert your thesis to a PDF and then email it or submit it through the online form provided by your university. 6. Get a receipt Whether you submit a paper copy of your thesis to your university office, or you submit it electronically through an online form, it's a good idea to get a receipt or acknowledgement of your submission. That way, in case there are any problems with your submission or your thesis is lost, you can prove that you handed it in on time. A signed note from the university office should be just fine. 7. Celebrate! Congratulations, you've finished your master's thesis! Now go out and celebrate your big achievement.
Writing up your master's thesis is a big job, and you need to take some time to think about administrative issues as well as the content of your thesis. We've talked before about the final steps you need to take to make sure that your PhD thesis is ready to submit. Today, it's the turn of the master's students. If you're finishing up your master's, take a look at this checklist and make sure you're ready with everything you need to submit your thesis.