I have at last completed my enrolment at Bournemouth University for my Part-Time Phd. As Post Graduate Researcher (PGR) we dont have a set ‘time table’ like Master students – its left to us and our supervisors to arrange those meetings. Before I go there I’ll go thru my first week at Bournemouth University. Ahead of the first week there was alot of administration done electronically (email / websites) to get to the point to attend and finally pick up my student card!
1st week at Bournemouth University as a PGR
With the online registration for this weeks events completed, i had 3 days with several appointments, thankfully I had enough personal time to attend all of them !
Monday – PGR Induction
Having missed my PGR Induction at Bangor, I was keen not to miss the one at Bournemouth. Upon arrival i was greeted with a warm smile and rather nice goody bag, which contained a very useful set of documents and items.
I used the notebook right away – ready to make notes for the presentations. The Code of Practice is really well presented, with alot of detail I will need as PGR to ensure my research will be completed successfully.
There where several different presentations and thruout the morning, but the best part (for me) was the end where we got to meet in our departmental groups and meet our PGR Administrative Assistants. If anything (aside the goody bag) it made worth attending for the brief networking and PGR Admin assistants – which I immediately put to good use!
Wednesday – Departmental Induction
Our departmental induction was held in the ‘new’ Fusion building. This is such a great building it has so much – decent meeting places, lunch, seminar/lecture halls. The Bournemouth University website has a whole page dedicated to it, check it out here. Upon arrival coffee and nibbles where provided – always a good start especially if your *on time* or even *early*.
Several presentations from departmental heads and the most important to me was to meet the PGR Support Leads – these are people whom I can goto if I have things i want to discuss outside of my supervisory team (in fact it can be about my supervisory team!). It really was a pleasure to meet not only fellow PGR departmental cohorts but also the people who can help us. It was really emphasised the level of support PGR students get – and I fully intend to use it when needed !
Friday – Student ID and first supervisory team meeting
At long last the time had come to pick up my student card ! Not knowing how many PGR’s there would be (this is across the whole university) I arrived in plenty of time. Sure enough 0 queues – the only issue was I didnt remember my student ID (I have now…) thankfully the system was able to find me (the joys of having a distinct surname) and soon enough I was then issued with my student card which lets me in the buildings and can be used as ID for other student benefits (esp. in Bournemouth – another post)
I was really pleased to meet my supervisors in person again, our first meeting went really well. I could see everyones enthusiasm to help in lifting the work I had already done in Bangor to see if I could bring my first PGR milestone ahead – this meant a little more work for me to create a presentation so my supervisors can see what it is I have done, am doing and plan to do. With that we are now working out the schedule to meet up. Full-time requirements are a minimum of one meeting a month – as a part-time student I will given slightly longer, but my aim is for virtual weekly and in-person once a month (this is because all of us are working professionals!)
What was excellent is the tools available to monitor and track progress. Previously I done this in Word following each supervisory meeting, I now have Progress – an online tool where I can log all my engagements and keep track of milestones ! I’m very impressed with the tools we have been given.
end of the first week at Bournemouth
I am so pleased I have been able to move my research to Bournemouth and find such an excellent supervisory team. Every university has something different to offer, and its a question of making the best of it. So far what has impressed me most is the level of support from the entire university, from the Doctoral College to the Doctors and Professors that make up my research team.
I had a great time networking briefly with other PGR and one thing I will be doing more of is in person networking – there is a PGR social club on Friday evenings, which I hope to attend at the university bar.
