The month ahead

Events and initiatives coming up in the month ahead

Welcome to January Starters

A very warm welcome to those starting their doctorates at Sussex this month- approximately 40 new researchers will be joining us.

We would like to invite new starters to join us at our welcome event on Monday 2nd February 2015, from 3.30pm onwards. The event will provide a chance to meet staff across the university who support researchers, meet other new starters, enjoy some refreshments, and ask any questions you may have. Please book your place for catering purposes.

The event will include a series of short talks, providing information about the support and guidance available from:

You will also invited to join the Hive Scholars in Falmer Bar after the event, to get to know your fellow researchers in a more informal setting.

In the meantime, explore our pages for new doctoral researchers.

Researcher Development Programme

We are trialling some new workshops over the next couple of months, firstly on 21st January 2015 'Making Progress in your doctorate'. Designed to help doctoral researchers in their second year onwards navigate the challenging middle part of your doctorate, it is an opportunity to:

Clarify where you are within the doctoral process, the progress you have made so far, and how this relates to the overall project
Identify some critical success factors for your second year (or part-time equivalent) of your doctorate
Develop the tools and techniques to manage the rest of your doctorate
Develop your individual plan for the coming year

The workshop will be facilitated by Dr Sarah Robins-Hobden, who designs and delivers professional and personal development for doctoral researchers and research staff.

Then in late January and February, colleagues from Technology Enhanced Learning will be running a series of short practical sessions showcasing some useful online tools for researchers. Three sessions are planned on 'Digital note-making and book-marking' (27th Jan), 'Designing engaging and visual presentations' (11th Feb), and 'Podcasting for researchers' (25th Feb).

Book your place for these workshops, or any of those listed below via our listing.

January workshops

Presentation Design- 16th Jan, 10.00-16.30 - limited spaces available

Literature searching- 20th Jan, 15.30-17.00 - limited spaces

Making progress in your doctorate (for 2nd year onwards)- 21st Jan, 12.45-16.30 - *New Workshop*

Presentation Delivery- 23rd Jan, 10.00-16.30- limited spaces

Digital note-making and book marking- 27th Jan, 13.30-15.00

Getting the better of technology- 28th Jan, 14.00-16.00

Keeping up to date in your subject- 30th Jan, 11.00-12.30- limited spaces

Undertaking a literature review in the social sciences- 30th Jan, 13.00-15.00

Doctoral School Forum

On the 12th Feb 2015, 2.00-3.30pm, we will be holding our first Doctoral School Forum which all doctoral researchers are invited to attend. The forum is an opportunity for doctoral researchers to raise issues regarding their doctoral experience at Sussex, provide feedback to senior staff within the Doctoral School, or ask any questions.

Professor Vicky Lebeau (Director of Doctoral Education), Dr Camilla Briault (Head of Research Student Administration Office), and Paul Roberts (Assistant Director of the Doctoral School) will facilitate the forum.

This forum takes place in advance of the Postgraduate Research Experience Survey which will launch in early March. The survey focuses on students’ experiences of supervision, resources, research community, progress and assessment, skills and professional development.

Please book your place to attend the forum at: http://www.sussex.ac.uk/doctoralschool/internal/researcherdev/events/date

Innovative approaches to social research, Mon 2nd Feb, 9.00-5.00

A conference for doctoral researchers organised by University of Sussex ESRC Doctoral Training Centre in collaboration with University of Southampton ESRC Doctoral Training Centre.

The requirement of doctoral research to produce significant original knowledge challenges the researcher to develop a distinctive approach to a problem. Whilst this almost inevitably builds on established methods it often involves some element of methodological innovation at some stage of the research process. This conference offers an opportunity for doctoral researchers to share and discuss their work with interested peers from across the social sciences.

The deadline for abstracts to contribute to the conference has now passed but there may still be some places left for those who want to attend the conference. Please email Grace Jones esrcdtc@sussex.ac.uk as soon as possible if you would like to attend.