Postgraduate Research Students.
Why should you invest time and effort
on your Professional Development ?
Marco Cinelli
PhD Student | Sustainable Materials and
Manufacturing, WMG
Early Career Fellow |
Institute of Advanced Study
@: m.cinelli@warwick.ac.uk
University of Warwick | Coventry | CV4 7AL | UK
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The red boxes report insights from the oral
presentation I held at the Graduate, University of
Warwick, on 16th March, 2016
Let’s start from the end …
• At the start of my PhD I thought that the only main targets I had to achieve
were the THESIS, its successful discussion with an internal and external
examiner and the award of the title of “Dr.”. This is surely the main part of
your research project and you have to get this done. BUT …
“Dr.” Marco
Let’s start from the end …
• I recommend you to adopt a broader perspective, watch ahead, after the PhD. And ask
yourself:
 Once I become a “Dr.”, how can I continue pursuing my interests? (either in
research or industry)
 In this world, the norm is that somebody will pay you to do it and you need to
convince them that you deserve the funds
Your funder(s)
https://www.researchfish.com/about_wwd
To support accountability in funding decisions
• Understand whether the original objectives of the funding have
been met.
To support the case for continued funding of research
• Explain how the research they fund contributes to the objectives set
for them by governments or charitable trustees.
• Case for more funding for researchers is well evidenced and as robust
as it can be.
Let’s start from the end …
• You should also consider that most of (if not all) your funders will
NEVER read your thesis. They are going to be interested in other things.
You might ask. “What are they?”. You find them in the next slides.
Your funder(s)
Do they want your Ph.D. thesis?
(and read it?)
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• As you can see, these are a lot of outcomes that your future funders
would like to see from your research project as examples of promising
researchers
• My first reaction to this was rather emotional and the next two
pictures summarize it quite well
Let’s start from the end …
• How can I achieve all this?
• I just want to get my PhD thesis done and
defend it successfully and that’s it …
• As a PhD student at the University of
Warwick, you have a great set of
opportunities that can help you
improving your skills and achieve these
tangible outcomes. And the solution is
summarized in the next slide.
Solution?
• The University offers its research students this comprehensive
programme (i.e. Research Students Skills) that trains you with the skills
requested by your future employers
• And … they are all for free!
• In my first year I thus started having a closer look into it, selecting the
workshops that I felt as most relevant to me and my professional gaps
(and also personal somehow)
Let’s learn how to …
DO RESEARCH!
• I started from the basics, attending workshops that were focused on
teaching me how to maximize the benefits of my interaction with my
supervisors, how to manage my time and how to practically do
research (in addition to my departmental-specific training). Here you
find a few examples
Working effectively
Time management Effective literature
with your
& motivation (P1R)
searching (I1R)
supervisor (T4R)
Organising
references using
Endnote Web (I4R)
Research data
management: the
series (R8R)
Reading and notemaking strategies
(R3R)
e-learning: Research methods courses
Let’s learn how to …
DO RESEARCH!
• I then moved a step further and took advantage of this very interesting opportunity:
get recognition for my efforts in skills development!
• I joined the Postgraduate Certificate in Transferable Skills in Science Programme. It
runs along your doctoral degree and you get awarded a certificate at the end of it
that looks very good on your CV
Faculty-specific training (e.g. PGCTSS)
Let’s learn how to …
DO RESEARCH!
Faculty-specific training (e.g. PGCTSS)
• It forces you to think and you can
learn:
 how to manage a research
project,
 be critically constructive,
 understand the importance of:
 evaluating your own ideas
and those of others,
Practical project management (R1R)
 organize events outside you
normal
“comfy” zone (e.g.
Science
communication
workshops, conferences)
 “Brand yourself”, e.g.
ePortfolio
Let’s learn how to …
DO RESEARCH!
Faculty-specific training
(e.g. PGCTSS)
Title of Assignment
1.
Starting Literature Review – 5 Research
Papers
2.
Research Plan (including budget)
3.
Interim Research Report
4.
End of year Research Report
5.
Year 1 Research Poster or Summary of
Seminar to a General Audience
6.
Seminar Summaries
7. Practical
Poster Marking/Postgraduate
Presentation
project management (R1R)
Assessment
Science communication
8.
Meeting Planning
9.
Web page
Let’s learn how to …
WRITE RESEARCH!
• Once I learnt how to do research, I did it and then …
• I realized I needed to learn how to write it up in a clear, succinct, wellstructured fashion. I thus joined the academic writing series programme, a
very well organized set of seminars teaching you all you need to know to write
researcher-level documents
http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/services/skills/aca
demicwriting/researchers/
Let’s learn how to …
COMMUNICATE RESEARCH!
• And lastly, after having done the research and written it up, I had to
learn how to communicate it
• Here is a list of some of the workshops that thought me how to
communicate my work effectively and efficiently, learning how to
engage the audience during my presentations, maximize the benefits
of networking with academics at conferences and prepare appealing
posters and presentations
Academic
presentations
series (A1R, A2R,
A3R)
Getting started
with public
engagement
(A14R)
Media skills for
public engagement
(A9R)
Science
communication
The confident
networker (A7R)
Poster design &
creation (A8R)
…
• And now a reasonable question is: Was all this work worth the effort?
• (I would say that it is worth just for the fact that you develop personally, as
you become more confident with yourself and much more effective in your
personal life). However, here we are focusing on the professional career, so
here are some of the outcomes.
OK FINE… but
Did this work?
Your funder(s)
Let’s see if it worked …
• I have currently published 3 peerreviewed papers in good journals and
one is under review
• I have also published 3 non-peer
reviewed papers
Let’s see if it worked …
• I created three high-level
collaborations with leading
scientists in my research areas
Professor Roman Słowiński:
http://idss.cs.put.poznan.pl/site/
rslowinski.html
Dr Rajender Varma:
https://www.researchgate
.net/profile/Rajender_Var
ma
http://www.susnano.org
Let’s see if it worked …
• The EPSRC (UK research council for
Engineering and Physical Sciences)
cited my work as relevant to the
advancement of sustainable
resources management in the context
of a circular economy
https://www.epsrc.ac.uk/files/funding/calls/2015/c
irculareconomypositionstatement/
Let’s see if it worked …
• I am currently a reviewer for 9
scientific journals in my areas of
research
Let’s start from the end …
• I have been recently (on 8th March, 2016) awarded an Early Career Fellowship by
the Institute of Advanced Study
Your funder(s)
https://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/cross_fac/ias/supportin
gresearch/earlycareerschemes/ecf/
Conclusions
• Try to get the most out of your PhD experience: make it your own, be grateful to
all the opportunities you have as part of Warwick and enjoy the trip of
intellectual pursuit
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Thank you!
Get in touch with me if you like …
Marco Cinelli
PhD Student | Sustainable Materials and
Manufacturing, WMG
Early Career Fellow |
Institute of Advanced Study
@: m.cinelli@warwick.ac.uk
University of Warwick | Coventry | CV4 7AL | UK
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