You can be part of the audience for this year’s Three Minute Thesis Competition. On Thursday 16 June, an expert panel of judges will decide which Birkbeck student has presented the most compelling, convincing, and concise summary of their thesis. There’s a lot at stake: not only the prestige of winning and the confidence that goes with it, but also –
£500 to the overall winner
£250 to the runner-up
As part of the audience you will have a vote to decide who is the People’s Choice. You can also join the Birkbeck postgraduate community in celebrating the diversity of research interests undertaken here, and raise a glass to that with a drinks reception after the winners have been announced.
At Postgraduate Pedagogies Journal we are currently working on our second volume of academic articles authored by postgraduate researchers and academics working with them. We aim to publish this summer.
An opportunity to contribute to the design of the journal has come about, and so we are reaching out to Doctoral Schools and Graduate Colleges throughout the UK in search of a piece of refreshing design or artwork to dress the forthcoming volume of our journal.
A bit of background: Postgraduate Pedagogies is an online open-access journal devoted to articulating and sharing the perspectives of graduate teaching assistants (GTAs). We publish texts that convey the experiences, reflections, and analyses of current and recent graduate teaching assistants, those who work with GTAs, and those who support them. The journal publishes a variety of contributions, including Reflective Essays, Opinion Pieces, Case Studies, Book Reviews, and Technology Reviews.
This competition is a call to doctoral researchers and early career researchers (up to a maximum of three years postdoctoral) who are currently based in the UK, with an eye for design. There are three prizes up for grabs, and all artworks will be judged by a panel of renowned artists and scholars (to be confirmed).
First prize:
•artwork printed on the front and back covers of Postgraduate Pedagogies Journal Vol. 2
•£200 prize money
2 Runners-up:
•artwork printed inside the Postgraduate Pedagogies Journal Vol. 2
The BGRS is pleased to announce the 2022 Birkbeck 3 Minute Thesis Competition, which will take place on Thursday 16 June from 6pm. Please mark this date in your diaries! This will be the first competition to have taken place in person since 2019.
Birkbeck 3MT: Thursday 16 June 2022
Join a selection of Birkbeck PhD students as they compete to communicate their compelling thesis topics in just three minutes. This event is a fantastic opportunity to share and celebrate the interests and successes of PhD researchers from across the College and we invite all current Birkbeck PhD students to take part. The winner of the Birkbeck competition will be chosen by an expert panel of judges who will award:
£500 to the overall winner
£250 to the runner up
The audience will also have their say by picking a people’s choice winner who’ll win a special prize.
Training Sessions
As part of our support for the competition, a free programme of training sessions has been arranged. All potential 3MT competitors should attend these sessions. However, any or all of them are open to any doctoral researcher at Birkbeck who would like to gain skills in these areas:
Applications for British Federation of Women Graduates Academic Awards are now being sought. The Awards are made to women doctoral students who will be in, or going into, their third year (or part time equivalent) of work for a research PhD/DPhil etc. in the autumn of 2022. Awards are, in effect, one off prizes varying in value from £1,000 to £6,000 and are given for outstanding academic excellence coupled with written and verbal communication skills. For further details please go to: www.bfwg.org.uk and look up under ‘Awards/Scholarships’ where more information, including criteria for eligibility, can be found.
Closing date for applications is: 5pm on Friday 4th March 2022
BRITISH FEDERATION OF WOMEN GRADUATES RESEARCH PRESENTATIONS DAY
Saturday 14th May 2022 10.30am – 4.00pm At BFWG HQ: 4 Mandeville Courtyard, 142 Battersea Park Road, London SW11 4NB
The RPD is when BFWG invites doctoral students to present their research to a general audience. Last year we were had to hold the Day as a ‘virtual’ event due to the pandemic. We hope that it will be possible to hold the Day in person this year and we invite postgraduate students to submit abstracts of their research for consideration. Abstract forms will be available on the BFWG website: www.bfwg.org.uk
Are you a postgraduate woman student? Do you have research you would like to present to a discerning audience – and have the chance of winning a small prize of £120 for the best presentation to a general audience? Or would you like to join with us, just to meet and listen to other postgraduate women students presenting their research? Our Research Presentations Day (RPD) offers these opportunities. Past attendees, both presenters and audience, have found the Day thoroughly enjoyable and helpful in developing presentation skills. If you think you would like to submit an abstract please look at BFWG webpages www.bfwg.org.uk or contact rpd@bfwg.org.uk for further details. Closing date for applications is: March 31st 2022 All -students, academics, anyone else interested (male or female) – are welcome to attend as audience. Lunch is included and there is a door charge of £10 but no charge for bona fide students whether attending as presenters or as audience.
Every year, the Cumberland Lodge Scholarships gives 10 doctoral students the opportunity to spend two years involved in our work; bringing people together, from different backgrounds, ages and perspectives, to address the causes and effects of social division and work towards more open and inclusive societies.
Scholars have the chance to network with senior figures in public life and to participate in, or help to lead discussions with people of all ages, backgrounds and perspectives that ultimately inform recommendations for practical action and policy change. Scholars also have opportunities to take part in Programme topics outside their own academic disciplines. In doing so, they will gain experience in: working collaboratively; engaging in cross-disciplinary discussion; public engagement and facilitation at events; networking; and writing for a range of different audiences.
The Scholarships fit around the demands of doctoral
research. The Scholarships are open to students of any age who are enrolled on
a doctoral programme within the UK.
There is no contribution towards tuition or maintenance costs. Scholars are, however, provided with meals, accommodation and standard economy return travel to Lodge events, amongst priority attendance at other digital events. A Personal Development Grant of up to £300 is also accessible.
Applicants must:
Have at least two years left to complete their PhD
Be studying at a UK university
Provide a CV and covering letter demonstrating a commitment to working for ‘the betterment of society’ through their academic research and/or other activities.
All types of doctoral candidates are eligible to apply,
including full-time, part-time and those on non-traditional pathways and
professional doctorate programmes. Since 2014, a total of 57 students have
enjoyed, and are currently enjoying, the benefits of this programme.
Potential Scholars are welcome to apply between 1 March 2021 – 9 April 2021. For more information about Cumberland Lodge and the Scholarship scheme, please visit their website.
All current Birkbeck PhD students are invited to enter the BGRS Conference Poster Competition which will provide a fantastic opportunity to share your research interests and successes with doctoral students from across the College.
How to take part
If you are a current Birkbeck PhD student and would like to take part in this Poster Competition please complete this brief form by 31 March. All those who enter will be able to claim back up to £30 for poster printing costs from the BGRS.
Prizes
Judging of the posters will take place on day 2 of the conference (23 April) and you will be asked to attend your poster in order to answer questions while judging takes place. The following prizes will be awarded:
The Public Engagement Team provides advice, opportunities, and funding for engagement with research. The team was established to support Birkbeck’s commitment to making research results available to society. By working together with researchers, external partners, and organisations, we aim to create opportunities for knowledge exchange.
We would like to let researchers know that applications for our annual Public Engagement Awards are now open. This award recognises the inspiring public engagement work undertaken by Birkbeck researchers at various levels of their career, including doctoral researchers.
The deadline for applications is midnighton Sunday 23rd February 2020. The Awards Ceremony will be held in April 2020.
We welcome applications in the following six categories:
PhD/Early Career researcher
Communicating Research
Collaboration
Community Engagement
Engaged Practice
Transforming Culture or Public Life
Winners will be awarded £250 towards their research.
Please refer to the Public Engagement team website for more information on the awards and Public Engagement with research at Birkbeck.
Applications and guidelines for the 2020 awards are available below, but please do not hesitate to get in touch with the Public Engagement team if you have any questions.
The team will be attending a research networking event hosted by the Birkbeck Institute for Social Research on Thursday 6th February, 12-2pm (G04, 43 Gordon Square) if you’d like to speak to them in person. You can contact bisr@bbk.ac.uk for more details or to reserve a seat.
Dr Sarah Lee announcing the winner of the inaugural Gwynne-Vaughan Medal at the BGRS Summer Party, 1 July 2019.
Celebrating Birkbeck PhD student successes
On Monday 1 July the BGRS held a Summer Party in the Keynes Library which was attended by around 50 Birkbeck PhD students from across the College. During the event the winner of the inaugural Gwynne-Vaughan Medal was announced. This medal was awarded to the student best able to demonstrate the most notable contribution to their field while undertaking their PhD.
Entries were judged by members of the Research Student Sub-Committee who agreed that the quality was extremely high and demonstrated successes for a diverse range of researchers who had entered the competition. The winners were announced by Dr Sarah Lee..
Gwynne-Vaughan medal awarded to Aren Roukema
Aren Roukema was announced as the winner of the inaugural Gwynne-Vaughan medal. Aren is a full time PhD student in the Department of English & Humanities, School of Arts. Judges agreed that Aren had made a significant contribution to his field through his monograph, “Esotericism and Narrative: The Occult Fiction of Charles Williams (Brill, 2018)” and his chapter “Naturalists in Ghost Land: Victorian Occultism and Science Fiction,” which is included in The Occult Imagination in Britain, 1875–1947 (Routledge, 2018).
While carrying out his PhD Aren has also acted as Editor of Correspondences: Journal for the Study of Esotericism and had contributed to published research from leading scholars in the field as well as providing opportunities for researchers who were at an earlier stage in their careers.
Aren co-founded the London Science Fiction Research Community (LSFRC) in 2014. This community which is based at Birkbeck has been successful in hosting conferences and events including evening lectures and reading groups. The most recent conference drew 40 speakers and 100 delegates from 11 different countries. Aren wasn’t able to attend in person and the medal was received in his absence by Dr Joe Brooker, Assistant Dean for PGR in the School of Arts.
Our congratulations and thanks to Aren who receives the Gwynne-Vaughan Medal, a certificate and a prize of £200.
Runner Up: Ilaria Bucci
The runner up prize was awarded to Ilaria Bucci, a first year PhD student from the Department of History, Classics and Archaeology (School of Social Sciences, History and Philosophy).
During the first year of her PhD studies Ilaria had begun working on a publication with Marco Moriggi, professor in Semitic Philology at the University of Catania . The resulting work “Aramaic Graffiti from Hatra”, was published in May 2019 and is the first study on Hatra’s textual graffiti. The publication provides insight into the linguistic, social and cultural environment of the city and how it was experienced by its inhabitants and visitors. Ilaria receives a certificate and a prize of £100.
Highly commended: Alex Cook and Natalie Phillips (Lancer)
A further 2 PhD students, both from the School of Science, were highly commended.
Alex Cook is a PhD student within the Department of Biological Sciences whose research objective has been to characterise a component of the cell division machinery of Plasmodium falciparum, the most deadly species of malaria. Alex has been an invited speaker at 2 international conferences and an author on 3 publications. His mechanistic insights and methodologies have made notable contributions to the field.
Natalie Lancer (Phillips) is a PhD Psychology student who has foregrounded undergraduate professional one-to-one coaching as part of a pre-emptive strategy for mental health provision for university students. Natalie has published a highly cited textbook for coaching (as first author) as well as presenting her research at conferences and acting as a committee representative and secretary for the British Psychological Society’s Special Group in Coaching Psychology.
The
Birkbeck Graduate Research School (BGRS) aims to highlight the activities and
successes of our research student community. We are pleased to announce the inaugural
Gwynne-Vaughan Medal which will be awarded to a Birkbeck PhD student able to
demonstrate the most notable contribution to their field while undertaking
their PhD.
The
winner will be awarded a £200 prize and a medal at the BGRS Summer
party
on Monday 1 July 2019 and will also be featured on the BGRS blog.
Eligibility
This
competition is open to all part time and full time PhD students at Birkbeck
Any
achievements you include must have taken place while you were registered as a
Birkbeck PhD student
Consideration of
entries
All entries will be considered by the Research Student
Sub-Committee (RSSC)
Deadline for entries: Friday 21st June
If you would like to be considered for this prize please submit a completed entry form, including brief student and supervisor statements by the end of Friday 21st June 2019.
Professor Julian Swann, Director of the BGRS presents Janette Leaf (Department of English and Humanities) with the runner up prize for her 3MT talk ‘Locating the Sympathetic Insect’.
Why did I go in for it?
I guess what prompted me to go in for the Three Minute Thesis was the sheer challenge of whether I would be able to sum up my research in a short time and in a way that would appeal to a broad audience. Whenever anyone outside my area of specialism asks me what my PhD is all about, I tend to say, ‘insect imagery’ and then try to gauge how much more detail to go into. My hope for this competition was that it would give me a boost to expand upon my two-word ‘insect imagery’ answer without the equivalent of giving a full-blown paper, and I’m pleased that condensing the thesis into a maximum of 180 seconds really did help me concentrate on what’s attention grabbing and interesting in my work. It also revealed a clear trajectory from horror to ecology. I wondered if my supervisor might think I was crazy to compete, but he was happy for me to go for it and that was a nice endorsement in itself.
Supportive environment
Anyone who puts themselves forward for the Three Minute Thesis is given a short training session in presentation skills, and I went along to the workshop feeling slightly uncertain whether I would have the confidence to enter the competition. There was absolutely no pressure to take it all the way. A few chose not to, but most of us did follow through and we really enjoyed the experience. During the training as well as on the evening itself everything took place in an incredibly supportive environment. Even though students were competing against each other the overriding feeling was that we were all in the same boat sharing the same nervousness and the same excitement, and so there was lots of mutual help and encouragement.
Presenting a paper free paper
I took my first degree in the 1980s and my return to academia (part time) is a comparatively recent phenomenon. My business career has so far spanned marketing, transport logistics and property legislation, but never involved presenting to a large group of people against the clock. I felt quite exposed talking about a research project designed by me, supported by only one slide and without the benefit of any written prompts. Outside of university I perform with two choirs, so if I’m on a stage I’m fairly used to singing somebody else’s words. Speaking my own words about my own special interest to an audience and panel of judges is a different matter entirely. My thesis is on ‘Locating the Sympathetic Insect’, and I like to think of it as wonderful and weird. The primary focus is on prose literature, whilst also incorporating art and film and entomological science, and I’m absolutely thrilled it was so well received. Before the Three Minute Thesis competition I’d presented at a small number of conferences and had positive feedback, but I’d never done it without holding onto my notes. I now feel I have the unhampered ability to put aside those pieces of paper so I can talk in a more spontaneous and engaging way at future events. And that’s important to me as I am keen for my research to have the best possible impact.
I’ve got the competition to thank for that leap and would encourage any fellow PhD to participate.
