Being a PhD
student is time consuming, but this does not have to mean that you spend all
your time working. In fact, I think it’s very important to socialise with other
people, as it can otherwise become very intense! Things like getting a group of
people together to go to the Parade can give you the extra motivation to get
things done when you’re struggling, and even things like going out of the
office for lunch with a few people will give you an opportunity to step away
briefly, to come back refreshed. It’s important not to get too caught up in the
PhD, I think…
One thing I appreciate
about being here is that there are social events for post-grad. students and
staff in our department. From Sep. induction week, Halloween party, Christmas
dinner, international food evening and the Cider and Ale festival, to something
as small as Fri. coffee mornings, it’s always nice to have a chance to
socialise with other people in the department. These are organised by PGBio,
which is basically a group of us post-grad.s in the department, and something I’ve
been involved in since the beginning of my time here. Being in PGBio has given
me the opportunity to “work” with people outside my lab, while also meeting
others in the department – being away from the main B&B building, I don’t
see many of the other fellow PhD students usually!
These events
are usually open to staff too, and we do get some post-doc.s coming along. This
is a great opportunity to get some advice! – from advice about an experiment
that you’re struggling with, what you should be aiming to achieve during the
PhD (apply for travel grants, publish, experience as many techniques as
possible) to how they approached writing their thesis, and also finding out how
they got to where they are. All this is very useful, especially as I’m coming
towards the end of my PhD and am going to have to start thinking about what I want
to do next.
So, if you
are looking to do a PhD, make sure you take these opportunities to socialise - day
to day, it can be a bit of a bubble, so I see these socials great opportunities
to escape the bubble! Not only that, they can be ideal places to get some
advice from others; people from outside your lab will have different expertise,
which may in fact be very useful!