Author: Jo Stephenson (Page 3 of 4)

7 top tips when applying for a job (and the guidance for a grant isn’t too much different!)

22/01/2021 / Jo Stephenson

Blog post by Dr Nigel Eady, Director of Research Talent, Centre for Doctoral Studies.

I’ve been reading quite a few job applications recently. In some instances, there were people who might perhaps have been a good fit for the role, but really didn’t justify being selected for interview, so I decided to write these quick tips.

Evidence the competencies required – don’t just repeat the job description back to the employer! Make every word count – show how your prior experiences and education have prepared you for this role.
Keep your covering letter to a sensible length – 1 side is too short and 4 is def too long! For most roles, 2-3 sides is about right, depending slightly on the level of seniority of the role.
Use your network – if you’ve got colleagues, former colleagues and friends who know people in the sector you want to move to, then let them know you’re looking for interesting roles. You’ll probably find out about roles much more quickly this way. You might even get recommended to people who are employing.
Ask for more info – if there’s a contact name on the job ad, then drop them a line before the deadline and ask for a chat. A short conversation will ensure you’re clear on what the role really involves, and therefore whether you’re a good fit or not (though the person you speak to is unlikely to tell you whether to apply – that’s your choice, based on your interests & skills and their match with the role, or not). Who knows what you might find out that’s not 100% clear in the job ad. There might be a particular emphasis that the employer is looking for, perhaps there are even other roles on the horizon that you wouldn’t have known before you picked up the phone.
Make use of any help available – King’s has a wealth of careers resources, whether you need help with CVs and covering letters or are still trying to work out what you want to do next. Make sure you get some advice so that your application doesn’t miss the mark because you didn’t present yourself in the best possible light. King’s Careers & Employability provide resources for applications and interviews for researchers, available through KEATS here, and you will find online workshops to support you as a researcher through King’s CareerConnect.
Help your assessors – make it really easy for the people assessing your application to put you forward for interview. Consider what they’re looking for. Evidence is a given (see 1), but also make your letter easy to read (normal size, readable font, well formatted letter) and not so long that you’ve set your assessor against you before they’ve started reading (see 2). If you’re aiming for a significant change in field, explain why and what you’re already doing to ensure that gap doesn’t mean you’re a poor fit for the role. The assessors will need to see your motivation for this change – what have you done that you can write about, to understand the new field, organisation or role?
Avoid jargon – most sectors have their own jargon, and there may be some words and phrases you need to include, as they show you know the area. However, an application needs to be easy to read. Avoid acronyms if you possibly can. Your assessor probably doesn’t know, or need to know, the structures and hierarchies where you work now.

If you bear all these in mind, you’re giving yourself a good chance of getting over the first hurdle, and being invited to interview. All the very best for your job applications.

Photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash

2019-20 Tadion Rideal Prize for Molecular Science

10/12/2020 / Jo Stephenson

This year’s Tadion Rideal Prize has been awarded to Dr Gerard Pieper from the Randall Centre of Cell & Molecular Biophysics for his doctoral thesis entitled: ESCRT-III/Vps4 controls heterochromatin-nuclear envelope tethering and the establishment of nuclear compartmentalisation through the inner nuclear membrane protein complex Lem2-Nur1.

Gerard’s research was carried out under the supervision of Prof Snezhka Oliferenko and Prof Frank Uhlmann.

On selecting a winner for this year’s award, Dr Nigel Eady, Director of Research Talent for the Centre for Doctoral Studies, who chaired the assessment panel for the award, said:

Gerard Pieper’s research and thesis are extremely impressive. The quality of his work, further enhanced by the originality and initiative shown in his approach, was ably backed up by the maturity of discussion at the viva, which his examiners described as thoroughly enjoyable. Some of his experiments were even described as ‘elegant’ in an article written about his recent publication.

Gerard’s Profile

My PhD research was focused on mechanisms that regulate nuclear organisation during mitosis.

The membranous nuclear envelope is no longer seen as just a barrier between the cytoplasm and nucleoplasm, but also as a main organiser of chromatin within the nucleus. Chromatin tethered to the nuclear envelope often represents repressed, inactive chromatin. Furthermore, bulk release of chromatin from the nuclear envelope occurs at the beginning of mitosis. This feature is conserved throughout the domains of life, irrespective of whether an organism performs a completely “open” mitosis like humans, where the nuclear envelope is completely broken down, a “closed” mitosis like budding yeast, where it stays completely intact or a “semi-open” mitosis, like the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces japonicus, the subject of my studies. This release is likely important for the proper segregation of chromosomes. If and how there is an active mechanism that can dynamically regulate chromatin contacts with the nuclear envelope during interphase and how this relates to bulk chromatin release during mitosis was unknown.

In my PhD I studied an inner nuclear membrane complex, Lem2-Nur1, that tethers chromatin to the nuclear envelope during interphase. I also studied a membrane remodelling complex, ESCRT-III/Vps4. I was investigating the latter for a role in “sealing” the membrane of the nuclear envelope during mitotic exit, which is important for the establishment nucleocytoplasmic compartmentalisation. I had been seeing strange phenotypes in yeast mutants of ESCRT-III/Vps4 proteins, where Lem2-Nur1 started to cluster on the nuclear envelope. After more experiments where I acutely inactivated ESCRT-III/Vps4 and by analysis of chromatin-binding to Lem2-Nur1, we realised that the same proteins, ESCRT-III/Vps4, that regulate post-mitotic nuclear envelope sealing, also dynamically regulate the tethering of chromatin to Lem2-Nur1 and therefore to the nuclear envelope. This also had downstream effects on mitosis, preventing the bulk release of chromosomes from the nuclear envelope. These cells are very sick, and our hypothesis is that they now have problems with segregating their chromosomes.

This is interesting, as it provides a novel mechanism that can regulate chromatin-nuclear envelope contacts and also shows how proteins in the nuclear envelope can perform different functions throughout the cell-cycle.

Since completing my PhD I have joined the lab of Adele Marston at the University of Edinburgh. Here, I am studying the adaptations to the chromosome segregation machinery that allow the specific segregation of paternal and maternal chromosomes during meiosis in frog and human oocytes.

I am very honoured to have been selected for this year’s Tadion Rideal prize. I would like to especially thank my supervisor Snezhka Oliferenko and our collaborators Simon Sprenger and David Teis. I would also like to thank members of my thesis committee Frank Uhlmann, Jeremy Carlton, Dylan Owen and Baljinder Mankoo.

About the award

The Tadion Rideal prize is awarded annually to a PhD student who has carried out outstanding doctoral research in the area of molecular science. The £1,000 award was created in 1983 by Dr J Tadion to commemorate his association with the late Sir Eric Rideal FRS of King’s.

International PGR Buddy Scheme

17/11/2020 / Jo Stephenson

Would you like a buddy to help you settle in to your studies at King’s and life in London? Are you a current international student who would like to help new PGR students?

The Centre for Doctoral Studies (CDS) aims to support early stage Postgraduate Research (PGR) students, helping them integrate into the PGR community and launch their research career successfully.

Starting a PGR degree can be daunting, perhaps more so if you are an international student moving to a new country. It is particularly challenging this year with the Covid-19 pandemic, restrictions to being on campus and difficulty forging new connections and networks. It can be highly beneficial to make connections with peers who may have been through similar experiences and navigated the early stages of their doctorate successfully.

The International PGR Student Buddy Scheme (iPGR Buddy Scheme) seeks to connect new international PGR students (pre-upgrade) with current international PGR students who have completed their upgrade from MPhil to PhD (usually after 12-18 months, or part-time (PT) equivalent) and can act as a buddy or mentor.

Terminology

Buddy = current PGR student, who has passed their upgrade viva and helps a new student transition into their PGR degree at King’s College.

Starting Student = a new student, who has not yet passed their upgrade viva, seeking a Buddy to provide informal advice and support as they start their PGR degree at King’s College London.

Remit and topics of discussion

The scheme is informal, and primarily led by the needs of the Starting Student. The Buddies offer a friendly connection, acting as a sounding board and/or sharing their own experiences and lessons learned. They might help signpost a Starting Student to other services and support available, although they are not expected to know all the answers.

Topics of discussion that might be covered between Buddies and Starting Students:

Adjusting to research/study in the UK
Logistics, and signposting to services that can help (e.g. Student Advice team)
Connecting with the PGR community while working remotely
Training and development opportunities
Communities and social activities at KCL and outside

A Buddy would not be expected to:

Provide the kind of support expected from a Supervisor, such as input on a Starting Student’s research project, or pastoral support.
Provide any expert advise e.g. on visas, but rather help the student to seek pathways towards help or solutions.

Eligibility to participate

We are currently restricting this pilot scheme to international students, identified by a requirement for a Tier 4 Student visa. We will prioritise Starting Students who haven’t previously lived or studied in the UK (prior to starting their doctorate). We would not expect students in their final year of their doctorate and/or writing up their thesis to volunteer as a Buddy, as their priority is submitting their thesis.

Matching

We will ask about your faculty, school or department, and country of domicile in the application form. Where possible (and if requested), we will try to match students from the same or similar countries of domicile and/or faculty, however, we cannot guarantee this match in all cases.

Note that we can’t guarantee that all students will receive a matching, as this will be dependent on the number of buddies who volunteer.

Webinar

We will host a webinar on Friday 27 November 14:00 that all participants (Buddies and Starting Students) are strongly encouraged to attend. This webinar will provide key information on the support services available at King’s for international PGR students, provide advice on how to get the most out of the scheme, what to do if it doesn’t work out, and to answer any questions.

Methods of communication

We anticipate most students will communicate via phone or video calls e.g. via MS Teams, Zoom, Social media e.g. Whatsapp, phone calls. You might also email – we encourage you to discuss what works best for you. You must follow current King’s and government guidelines with regards to meeting face-to-face.

Commitment required

Once you’re paired, we suggest an initial chat and you can agree between you how often to speak and topics for discussion. As a guide, however, we suggest that you aim to have at around three conversations over the first three-month period.

Buddies should agree to:

attend the information webinar
meet with their allocated Starting Student for an initial conversation (e.g. over Teams).
respond to their allocated Starting Student’s emails or communication in a timely fashion.

Starting Students should agree to:

make initial contact with their matched “Buddy” to introduce themselves and propose an initial meeting time.
attend the information webinar
respond to their allocated Buddy’s emails or communication in a timely fashion.

Apply to volunteer as a Buddy here.

Apply as a Starting Student here.

All applications must be in by 12pm Friday 20th November. If you have any questions, please contact doctoralstudies@kcl.ac.uk.

Unfolding Research – PhD Problem Solving Skills

02/11/2020 / Jo Stephenson

Post by King’s PGR students Onna Malou van den Broek and Fabian Bohnenberger.

Fed up with your research? Losing focus? Hitting roadblocks?

Doing a PhD is a learning experience. But it is not necessary to reinvent the wheel when you face everyday research challenges. Why not follow the examples of experienced researchers?

The Project: Unfolding Research

Over the past two years, we tried to “unfold” the research process. More precisely, the many challenges that researchers at all career stages and across disciplines face in their daily work. As such, we have collected strategies that established researchers rely on in their daily work and tested them with PhD students. This set of easily accessible problem-solving strategies is tailored to the needs of PhD students and early-career researchers. Our aim is to share these proven and reliable working habits with new generations of scholars across universities and disciplines.

The Categories

In total, we collected over 80 problem-solving strategies, divided into four main categories: wellbeing, progress, flow and connection:

Wellbeing
This category helps you stay positive and healthy. It provides advice on how to better balance work and life, deal constructively with criticism, build resilience for future challenges, bolster your inner drive, and put support structures in place.
Progress
This category helps you to get started with your work and overcome roadblocks. It encourages you to be creative and think more innovatively. It also offers strategies to identify key arguments, discover new perspectives through alternative framing, and better structure your writing.
Flow
This category helps you maintain an effective working process. It enables you to boost focus, effectively prioritize tasks, set meaningful targets, manage your work schedule, and get the most out of your supervisor relationship.
Connection
This category helps you create new bonds with both people and ideas. It pushes you to make your work relevant to others, to engage with new professional groups, to expand and cultivate your network, and to leverage interdisciplinary methods and theories.

The App

Unfolding Research is designed to be as relevant to the everyday research practice as possible. Faced with the current pandemic, we have decided to make all strategies publicly available (for free). Everyone deserves some additional PhD support to get through these challenging times! To do so, we developed a web-app, which you can access from all devices here.

How to use the app

Step 1: Generate a Deck

Click on the categories to select what you are struggling with. Then press “Generate Deck” to create a personalized set of strategies. Not sure what to pick or feeling adventurous? Click on “Random Card”

Step 2: Put the Strategy into Action

The app shows you one strategy at a time. Trust the card even if you struggle to understand its immediate relevance or feel you already know this. The key is to put your knowledge into action!

Step 3: Continue Experimenting

Once you’re done, swipe to get the next strategy. You can access all used cards by selecting “Discarded” at the bottom of your screen. You can empty the discarded pile and draw a new deck at any time.

Writing Tips for Postgraduate Research Students from Royal Literary Fund Fellows

08/10/2020 / Jo Stephenson

Writing clearly and persuasively about your research is a vital skill to master but it does not always come easily. To help you develop your writing skills, King’s hosts two Royal Literary Fund Fellows each year. The Fellows are professional writers who can provide support to postgraduate research students across all disciplines and at all stages of their degrees (see our webpage to book an appointment).

One concern that our Fellows frequently encounter when working with students is a lack of confidence and the belief that writing comes easily to everyone but them. This is a common misconception; RLF Fellow Ros Schwartz confirms that writing is hard – even for professional writers. Fortunately, there are numerous techniques and practices that can help you refocus your writing and self-correct errors.

Here are 10 key tips from our 19/20 Fellows Ros Schwartz and Mirza Waheed, based on their many appointments with PGR students last year:

Try printing out your work instead of always looking at it on a screen. You’d be surprised how much easier it is to pick up errors when you see your work on paper.
Take your work to a new setting (outside your usual research/writing/work space) and give it a read for a fresh perspective.
Leave yourself plenty of time for writing up and refining your work – don’t underestimate how long editing will take.
Read your work aloud as this can help highlight punctuation problems or wordy sentences.
If you can speak fluidly about your research but find it difficult to translate that into text, try dictating and then transcribing your work. There are even apps that can record your voice and transcribe for you.
If you’re over-using words, pick them out and build a glossary of synonyms to help you diversify your language.
Try separate readings of your work to focus on different issues, e.g. one for overall flow, one for punctuation, one for over-use of certain words and phrases using the ‘search’ function.
Don’t be afraid to let your voice shine through, particularly in your early drafts. You can always refine the language as you edit, but your opinions and evaluations are critical in forming a strong thesis.
Read proactively to develop a broader vocabulary; when you come across a word you don’t know, look it up in the dictionary and write a few sentences using it. Doing this regularly will increase your vocabulary and improve your writing style.
Let your work sit for a day or two before reading it so you can revisit your writing with fresh eyes.

“Language isn’t just about words and meaning, it’s also about music. Punctuation is there to create pace and breathing spaces to allow the reader to digest the information.” Ros Schwartz

Useful sites for grammar, referencing, style, proofreading:

Manchester Phrasebank: http://www.phrasebank.manchester.ac.uk/

RLF Dissertation Guide: https://www.rlf.org.uk/resources-home/

Use King’s LibGuide for help with referencing (discuss your department’s preferred referencing style with your supervisor if unsure): https://libguides.kcl.ac.uk/reference

The Chartered Institute of Editors and Proofreaders is a UK-based organisation that maintains a directory of professional editorial services that may be of use: https://www.ciep.uk/

We advise research students seeking support with English as an additional language to explore the King’s Foundations courses and support: https://www.kcl.ac.uk/study/foundations.

“Many students felt pressured to write like an academic, to sound authoritative and scholarly. I told them they already are scholars and academics, so they need not force their hand and make a piece of writing impenetrable. Write in your own voice.” Mirza Waheed

November is Academic Writing Month!

King’s College London has joined WriteFest 2020 (#AcWriFest20), to support researchers contributing to Academic Writing Month (#AcWriMo).

Inspired by the amazing NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month), this month-long celebration of academic writing caters to the specific needs of researchers. It’s hosted by PhD2Published and throughout the month they share dedicated blog posts about academic writing and literally thousands of tips via Twitter and Facebook. The month will consist of a selection of virtual workshops that will offer tools and strategies to help you reach your writing goals.

How can you get involved?

Get writing in November with inspiration from all the contributions to #AcWriMo on Twitter
Use the #AcWriFest20 hashtag to share your progress with other researchers at King’s College London and across the other Universities.
Join the weekly, virtual Writing Retreats that are run by the Centre for Research Staff Development

Check out the full programme of workshops and WriteFest 2020 activities here.

Additional writing support

The Centre for Doctoral Studies offers several fantastic workshops and webinars to develop your writing skills, such as Clear & Concise Academic Writing, Fundamentals of Good Writing, a Virtual Writing Retreat, Writing for Publication in the Arts & Humanities, Publishing a Scientific Research Paper and more. These are open to all students, check out the Doctoral Training Brochure for more information.