What's next?
Tuesday 20 September 2011
From 15 to 18 August 2011 I had the privilege of attending the "Life beyond the PhD" conference organised on the beautiful, historical setting of Cumberland Lodge. The conference was aimed at PhD students from across the country, who are about to finish their Doctorate and move on to 'pastures new'. The main aim of the conference was to provide the next generation of scholars with space and time to exchange ideas, practices, experiences and aspirations in an interdisciplinary environment an to encourage reflections on what it means to be a PhD student and what the prospects are for young researchers in the present context.
The incredibly rich programme consisted of talks by renowned guests, workshops given by leading professionals and a wide array of research presentations delivered by the participants. It was a balanced and inspiring schedule and kept those attending engaged throughout the duration of the event. In spite of the fact that the most prevalent theme of the conference was the grimness of the current situation, I left Cumberland Lodge strengthened and reassured that the University of St Andrews is one of the best institutions in the UK at which to undertake postgraduate study. Our university provides us with all the crucial elements touched upon during the conference: the cutting edge quality of teaching and research or the necessary ‘transferable’ skills which are essential to modern postgraduates; communication abilities, teamwork or project management, and ensures the possibilities of outreach and networking. After all, standing on the threshold of the road that will take me “beyond my PhD” I have an excellent portfolio of research activities and I have participated in the Gradskills scheme - enhancing my transferable skills. Furthermore, I have had the opportunity to lecture and tutor and was offered a job at a university abroad – and that’s even before I have submitted my PhD!
Thinking of ‘life beyond the PhD’ leads the majority of postgraduate research students to think immediately about the prospects for securing a post doc position or finding other academic career pathways, through lecturing and teaching. What the conference enabled me to do was widen my scope of thinking and helped me to see chances I had not considered before. It helped me to realise what skills and abilities I have as a PhD student and how I can use them outside the university world. The conference made me realise that - to paraphrase Alexander Wendt – ‘the PhD really is what you make of it’. The ability to think outside the box is important in the academia and that's mainly what the conference was about. It was also good to liaise with other PhD students and talk to those who already completed their research and made a variety of career choices.
Monica Dabrowska