// Archives

A first-timer’s guide to international conferences

Nkem Nwaobi, PhD student Embarking on my first conference was a journey filled with excitement, nervousness and countless opportunities for growth. This past summer I attended the Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution (SMBE) conference in Italy, it was eye-opening and frankly quite scary. In this blog I will share my guide to your first …

How the Careers and Development Fund Helped Me Attend My First Conference

By Gillian Walters, Applied English MA student. I applied for the Learning and Development Opportunities Fund after a tutor on the Distance Learning Applied English MA posted about it on Teams. Why did you apply for the fund?  Since my PhD will be in Victorian Studies, I desperately wanted to attend The British Association for …

Why a PhD Was Right for Me

By Salman Arif, Optimisation Scientist A PhD is the highest level of academic qualification in the UK and it involves three to four years of original research on a specific topic. There are lots of reasons why you may be considering a PhD and you’ll need to carefully consider how it could help you achieve …

What to Expect From Researcher Careers Week

By Hiba Azim, postgraduate researcher It’s that time of year again! Researcher Careers Week is almost here and it’s packed with activities to help postgraduate researchers explore careers outside of academia. As an attendee of the event last year, I can say that it was a great opportunity for me to be more intentional with …

Connecting Researchers and Employers: Insights from the PGR Networking Brunch

By Yulan Lyu, postgraduate researcher This year’s Employer Networking Brunch for researchers is scheduled for Tuesday 16 May, which reminds me of the first time I attended this event last year. As a researcher hoping to work in industry after graduation, I wasn’t quite sure how employers viewed people with PhDs. Therefore, I decided to …

Doing a PhD but Unsure of Your Career Options? Here’s What Helped Me.

By Annie Buckley, PhD researcher If, like me, you’re doing a PhD having gone straight from your bachelor’s degree to your master’s, and straight from your master’s to your PhD, you might be feeling like you don’t have any work experience outside academia. This can feel scary when beginning to think about career options. What …

Career Planning in Uncertain Times

By Hiba Azim, PhD researcher There’s a lot going on in the world right now and all that extra noise can be incredibly unhelpful as it simply sits – a cherry on top – of your career-planning anxiety sundae. I find myself see-sawing between frantically researching different career paths, to complete apathy and not wanting …

Hello to PGRs from Kirstin and Lucie

By Kirstin Barnard and Lucie Whitfield, Senior Careers Advisers (Postgraduate Researchers) Whether you’re new to the university or progressing with your research, in this blog we want to highlight the support we can offer you during your time at Nottingham.  Alongside our colleagues, we can help you to develop your career ideas and plans, take …

Combining a PhD With My Job

By Fabio Albanese, PhD student Are you thinking about studying for a PhD? Fabio chatted to us about his PhD and how he manages to balance studies alongside work.  1. Tell us about your educational background and qualifications gained? I have a BSc degree in biological science and a MSc degree in molecular diagnostics, both …

Knowledge Transfer Partnership – My Time as an Associate Working on a Collaborative Project

A Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) is a three-way project between a recent graduate (KTP Associate), a business and a university. KTPs offer you the opportunity to apply your academic knowledge to real-world challenges. Projects are varied, spanning all academic disciplines and organisations of any size and in any industry.  As a KTP associate, you will: …