PGR@Home
These resources were developed to support our UofG PGRs and Postdocs during the Covid-19 pandemic, with a structured programme of personal and professional development.
Materials were released weekly, with the flexibility for researchers to explore each collection of resources at their own pace.
Week 1: Taking Stock
Launching 7 April 2020
Reflect on your current working practices. Learn about tools and processes to build sustainable and healthy working practices in the current situation. There will be tasks to help you to identify your work patterns; ideas on how to use online project planning apps; tips on how to use communication tools effectively to keep in touch with your supervisor or PI, and our thoughts on why a thesis journal could be your best friend on the PGR@Home journey.
Due to the extended Easter break, we are taking Week One of the programme to be 7-17 April and the first chat cafe will be on Friday 17th at 1.30pm and our first Unexpected Encounters will take place Wednesday 15th April at 2pm (Zoom meeting details will be in your emails).
Go to Taking Stock, week one of PGR@Home (launches in a new window)
Week 2: Delving into Data
Week 3: Upping your Online Presence
We will introduce tools and strategies to build your online presence as a researcher, to help you with getting your research out there and also with finding your next job. These short modules will give you the opportunity to audit your online presence and ensure any gaps are filled in a way that suits your own personal style and maximises the amount of time you are investing in it.
View the materials here (opens in a new window).
Week 4: Literature Review
The literature review is one of the first sections of a thesis and often the first ‘task’ you will be set by a supervisory team when you start a PGR programme. But what is required of a literature review in your discipline and how do you effectively collate and synthesise all the information you need? This week, you will learn about the range of literature reviews available and tools to help you effectively collate the required information. You will also learn how to manage your references and critically appraise information at doctoral level.
Go to the Literature Review materials.
As we have a bank holiday this week (and literature reviews are a huge topic) this will run over two weeks.
Week 5: Being OK at Home
This week gives you a chance to check in on your working habits and how you are adjusting to the ‘new normal’ in isolation. We will share strategies for stopping yourself from getting too creaky while working at your laptop and to ensure you get a good night’s sleep. We will also think about ways to tap into your creativity to help you feel more grounded and in control of the situation and changing circumstances.
The materials can be found here: Being Okay at Home
Week 6: Moving Conferences Online
With many conferences moving online this summer, we will review a range of practical tools and techniques to help ensure you present your best self to a conference and are able to fully engage in the networking building aspects of these events. We will consider how you present at an online seminar and also explore newer media such as animations, video, twitter poster conferences, infographics and other open research / data sharing methods.
These materials can be found here: Moving Conferences Online
Week 7: Presenting with Impact
This week Dr Zara Gladman and Dr Bhoomi Gor from the research impact team help us to explore how to present our research engagingly and for maximum impact. From honing and storyboarding your message, to presentation skills, it’s time to get creative!
These materials are available here: Presenting with impact
Week 8: A Stylish Thesis
Struggling with the fiddly bits of writing your thesis? Things like captioning your figures or creating your table of contents? This week we'll look at all the things that you don't think will take you any time at all but can end up sucking up an entire day. Invest some time in mastering the university thesis template to get them sorted now - and reap the benefits at writing up time.
These materials are available here: A Stylish Thesis
Week 9: The Final Stretch
The final stretch towards submission and viva may be far away in the future or approaching fast. This week we have some advice on the last steps towards getting your doctorate.
These materials can be found here: The Final Stretch
Week 10: Careers in Focus
This week focuses on careers. It signposts to resources and tools to help you consider post PhD career options but also, importantly, to consider your own skills, strengths and values, and how these might impact on your choices.
We can't provide you with all the answers, as everyone is at a different point in their career, has different needs and aspirations, as well as other life-realities that they need to balance. But we hope that it will help you make a plan for how to use your time most productively in searching out and deciding which jobs to apply for.
These materials are available here: Thinking about careers