Graduate Prospects - February 20, 2008 - (Page 16)

16 PROSPECTS GRADUATE Issue 61 · 20 February 2008 · Fortnightly www.prospects.ac.uk POSTGRAD BLOGGER FACILITIES AND SERVICES FOR POSTGRADS CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE. ‘Is this phrase a nauseating buzzword for marketing yourself? Well . . . Yes and no.’ GRAHAM FOSTER’S ‘VIBRANT RESEARCH COMMUNITY’ SUPPORTING ACTS says Duncan. ‘If the guidelines were to reflect the realities of the situation, different small FACILITIES AND SERVICES MAY NOT KEEP UP . life-changing proposals could be made – Postgrad life can be more difficult than being better library facilities and opening hours, dedicated texts in the libraries for postgrads an undergraduate – whether struggling to (because for research you don’t need the complete a PhD, combining part-time study textbooks any more), allocation of welfare with a full-time job or doing a full-time Masters without funding. While postgraduate funds towards postgraduates, welfare advice programmes are often excellent, the facilities centres for postgrads – that’s more important. and support available can make a difference. ‘I, as a disabled postgraduate with a child Postgraduates have a voice through the and a mortgage, really don’t care about 101 National Postgraduate Committee, which has different educational decrees - I want to know particular expertise on research students and how we are going to have our lives improved. what is available to them. ‘Whilst office space I don’t think we care about all these would be nice in academic departments, in recommendations on the career paths of many it is not possible for all PhD students to postgraduates if our personal circumstances have a desk,’ says its general secretary are such that we cannot finish our degrees.’ Duncan Connors. For taught postgraduates some of the same issues apply. Time is often at a premium. RESEARCH RANKINGS Best off, not only in Having accessible library hours and being able cash terms, are those research students with to get your hands on computers are important. the status and resources that come with Research Council funding. Self-funding research students are further down the queue. IN THE UNION Universities should be PhD students’ deskspace along with research prompted by students’ unions when improvements are needed. But the unions training and career paths are the subject of pronouncements from several higher education themselves have a mixed record. Only the best have a separate postgrad club and a union bodies. But according to Duncan Connors official responsible for postgrads. Leading the other issues can be as significant. field is the students’ union at Nottingham ‘I get quite annoyed that there’s a whole University with both a postgraduate series of guidelines about what a postgrad should have but very rarely any enforcement,’ association and a full-time sabbatical officer OVER THE PAST DECADE. AT TIMES THE POSTGRAD STUDENTS HAVE DOUBLED IN NUMBER for postgraduates. James Shead, the current officer, estimates that the postgrad association holds 60 events a year. What Nottingham University itself does for postgraduates is also, as James says, ‘pretty good’. There is a dedicated graduate centre building. ‘It’s very spacious and quiet – the kind of working environment they want.’ As well, there are four graduate centre ‘spokes’ serving faculties and campuses, with a fifth planned. As postgrad representative, James has taken up the issue of the ambiguous status of fourth year full-time PhD students, who are still writing up although their funding is exhausted. Nottingham University has responded by agreeing to officially register the fourth-years. Most postgrads, and particularly PhDs, are at older universities such as Nottingham which are comparatively well resourced. The cashstrapped newer universities are more restricted in what they can do for their postgrads. NEW ENDEAVOUR Plymouth University is a ‘new university’ with a definite commitment to research and postgraduate education. A third of its students are postgrads including 450 PhD students. Space is an issue within the university, so it has no separate graduate centre building. Sarah Kearns of Plymouth’s Graduate School says: ‘Postgraduates do have quiet study areas or small lounge areas in the faculty buildings and they have access to student union rooms for social space.’ Sarah adds that there are some study rooms in the library specifically for postgrads to work in, and most research students have dedicated office space within their own faculties. Plymouth has a postgrad club and the Graduate School runs skills courses as laid down by the research councils. When current building work is completed at the university, there could be more possibilities. Facilities and services for postgraduate students in various parts of the higher education system are a work in progress. INFORMATION AND ADVICE www.prospects.ac.uk/findcourses POSTGRAD FUNDING FACTS www.prospects.ac.uk/links/fundstudy LATEST POSTGRAD COURSE OPPORTUNITIES www.prospects.ac.uk/links/latestcourses SEARCH THE POSTGRAD DATABASE SEND YOUR VIEWS, SUGGESTIONS AND COMMENTS editorial@prospects.ac.uk http://www.prospects.ac.uk/cms/ShowPage/Home_page/Graduate_jobs/p!edcaefX http://www.prospects.ac.uk/cms/ShowPage/Home_page/Feature_Articles/Feature_articles_2008/PhD_blog__7/p!eacLbfX http://www.prospects.ac.uk/findcourses http://www.prospects.ac.uk/links/fundstudy http://www.prospects.ac.uk/links/latestcourses

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Graduate Prospects - February 20, 2008

Editorial - End Games Ofgem Editorial - How to Stand Out Royal Mail Kimberly Clark Makro Target Product Plus International Ltd Enterprise Rent-A-Car Matson Driscoll & Damico UK Accenture Chiltern District Council Fidessa Plc Chemical Industries Association Illingworth Partnership Ltd National Graduate Recruitment Exhibition Propeller Training Apetito Royal Navy Bibby Financial Services Gate Gourmet Heathrow Ltd Editorial - Supporting Acts Bournemouth University Shape Media

Graduate Prospects - February 20, 2008

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