My PHD Blog (Entries tagged as blog)

Research, research, research

nospam@example.com (Mark) — Wed, 29 Oct 2014 20:07:35 +0000

At this point it is all about research; reading everything that you can find that is to do with your subject. But how do you find what it is you need to read? This I can not answer for you unfortunately, this is something that you will have to identify for yourself; it all depends on your field. The best place to start will have to be your supervisor as you will have been given a suitable supervisor, (hopefully), who is knowledgeable about your field and is well versed in the topics, giving you a head start.
What has become obvious to me is that, at the end of your 3 or so years is that you are going to be a world expert in this field. As scary as this sounds, that is what you have to aim at. Therefore there are no papers that are exactly what you need to read now. This is because you have not written them yet. As amazing as this sounds when you are here at the start, your path through the jungle you now face will be your own journey. Others may be heading in the same sort of direction but you are the one who will get to the endpoint of your journey and you will be the one who is the expert. Your university wants to be proud of you at the end, as you will be yourself but as you take these first few faltering steps it appears to me that the thing to do is read everything and keep a log of what you have read and the ideas that the reading sparks off.

I am helping out in practical sessions at my uni and one of the undergrads asked me how coursework can be marked when everyone's work is going to be so different. The coursework in question is a database system that has to be designed and developed for a pet shop with private breeders selling through the store. Each student that I talked to today had a different take on the structure of the tables, indeed, I don't think I saw 2 sets of tables the look the same. I got chatting with my supervisor after the sessions and I said that I could see how different undergrad tuition is to post grad; you have to be spoon fed info as an undergraduate as there are set modules that have to be taught. As a post grad you will not have this structure as it is not suitable as you are going to become the expert in your field. There is no one ahead of you to learn from. This sounds scary but if you are going to complete a post grad study course it comes back each time to the fact that you are going to be the expert on your field. Scary yes, but oh so unbelievably cool

Catch Up

nospam@example.com (Mark) — Wed, 22 Oct 2014 20:38:00 +0000

It has been a busy couple of weeks. I have been through the induction process now. A few different induction sessions to go through with the faculty induction and graduate school induction and of course the school of computing induction. This last was not really needed as I sort of know who I need to know in the school of computing and I know where most things are from my year as an undergrad. However I would say that a new PhD student needs to go through these sessions and it will probably do your confidence a world of good; and possibly knock it down again.

I say this as you will be told, quite rightly, that you are at the top of the pile; you are very clever and you deserve to be there. Only the best get this opportunity and they are right to keep telling you this. Then, if you are like me, you will look around and see lots of other people in the same situation as you and you will hear about their fields and, in my case, think to yourself, "What am I doing here? My project is not as important as all these others". I was in a room full of people working on big stuff. I mean really big, you don't get bigger than this type big. You know, the cosmos! Suddenly my project looking at houses does not seem so important anymore. How can you weigh a house against the cosmos?

However, keep in mind one thing. You are at the top of the pile; you are pretty damn good to be offered this chance; the university that has asked you to join can see your capabilities and they will only ever offer these places to the very best. There is a lot riding on the people that they offer these places to as the reputation of a uni rides on the quality of its research and its researchers. That means YOU!

So, remember, you are one of the best in the world. Not just one of the best on your undergrad course or your masters course. One of the best IN THE WORLD. Never forget that.

Of course, you still have to turn in the work and this is not going to be easy. But, getting off to the right start must be important and thinking, no, not thinking, KNOWING that you are one of the best in the world should make you and your families proud of you!

MALCOLM

nospam@example.com (Mark) — Tue, 16 Sep 2014 02:55:00 +0000

OK, you are probably wondering why this is called MALCOLM and, no, I am not yelling the name out for some perverse reason. MALCOLM stands for:
Mapping Assisted Living Capability Over La Manche which I am sure you know that La Manche is the name the French give to what we in the UK call The English Channel.

So, what is it all about then and why am I writing about it? Well, the important bit is the "assisted living" bit. I am going to an event in October that is talking about a project, called MALCOLM that, and I quote from the website, "will map the assisted living capabilities* in the coastal regions either side of the Channel. The mapping will be conducted using a standardised methodology so that direct comparisons can be made between the regions.

*For the purpose of this project, we define Assisted Living as the development and use of sensor and information and communication technologies (ICT) to facilitate the remote delivery of care and support to people to improve their quality of life and allow them to live as independently as possible in the lowest intensity care setting, consistent with their needs and wishes."

As the project is looking at assisted living systems I think that I can make some very useful connections, hence the travel along the south coast of England to Maidstone in Kent to attend. The website for information is to be found here

The event is taking place on the 16th October, I will put some more info up here as I find it and will, hopefully, remember to write up the day once I have been.