Brown Gavin - How to Get Your PhD : A Handbook for the Journey

Wow, doing a PhD is hard, isnt it? I assume youre here because you agree, and are finding it tough. I hope I can help. At the time of writing, Ive supervised seventeen PhDs, and been an examiner for more than twenty-five others, across the UK, the USA, and Europe. Several of my students have won local, national, and international prizes for their workbut, just like you, they still found the PhD process very tough. This book contains all the useful tips and tricks that Ive collected over the years. I say these things to my own students, and I had them said to me. Heres the first thing they get bored of hearing me say:

If PhDs were easy, everybody would have one.

But theyre not. So, they dont.

Moral: PhDs are not meant to be easy. So, not everybody has one. This seems obvious, but its difficult to appreciate. I repeat, PhDs are meant to be hardthey are the pinnacle of formal educationif it were easy to get a PhD. youd probably be disappointed. If youre finding it tough, please dont think thats necessarily because of a lack of intellectual capacity. A PhD stretches you to your limitsnot just intellectually, but also emotionally. This guide is meant to make you aware of some of the challenges ahead. Its not going to prevent themtheres no magic formulabut it might make some less painful when you meet them. Enjoy.

Thanks firstly go to all my students, past and present, from whom I have learnt so much over the years. Thanks to all of the proofreaders of this book, who have contributed in their own ways: Suzanne Embury, for detailed feedback and ideas in the early stages; Jeremy Wyatt, for early thoughts on content; Vikki Burns, for broadening my mind; John Woodward, for inspiration on structure and form; Ainur Begalinova, for insightful views on the challenges, and feedback throughout; Jacopo De Berardinis and Zbigniew Koziel, for thoughts on the experience; Danny Wood, for thoughts on solving hard problems and future careers; Adam Pocock, for inspiration on industrial research careers; Karon, Ruth, and Radina, for numerous colour printings of drafts; and my wonderful Mum, for proofreading this book, and my own thesis, and making it all possible.

Contents

i. Choosing a career in science
Professor Dame Nancy Rothwell, DBE, FRS

ii. Becoming a reflective professional
Professor Victoria Burns

iii. Doing your PhD as part of a team
Professor Steve Furber, CBE, FRS, FREng

iv. Saying yes to opportunityand no
Dr Lucy Kissick

v. The rewards of risk in research
Professor Hiranya Peiris

vi. Top writing tips
Professor Melanie Leng, MBE

vii. Mistakes your supervisor will make
Professor Jeremy Wyatt

viii. A PhD in statistics and data science
Professor David J. Hand, OBE, FBA, MMC

ix. Building a strong support network
Dr Carolyn Virca

x. Inventing ourselves: Responsibility and diversity in research
Dr Shakir Mohamed

xi. Public engagement in research
Dr Jonny Brooks-Bartlett

xii. Your career is up to you
Dr Jennifer Polk

Gavin Brown is Professor of Machine Learning and Director of Research for the Department of Computer Science at The University of Manchester, UK. He obtained his PhD in 2004 from The University of Birmingham, winning the British Computer Society Distinguished Dissertation Award, which is given annually for the most outstanding UK thesis in computer science. In 2005 he joined Manchester, and since then has built a team working on machine learning and data science, contributing both fundamental and applied research. His students have won awards for their own research, including five best thesis prizes, and three best paper awards at international conferences. In his spare time, he enjoys competitive outdoor swimming, and considers himself a reasonably good chef.

HOW TO GET

YOUR PhD

part 2 contributors

Professor Dame Nancy Rothwell dbe, frs

Professor Victoria Burns

Professor Steve Furber cbe frs fre ng

Dr Lucy Kissick

Professor Hiranya Peiris

Professor Melanie Leng mbe

Professor Jeremy Wyatt

Professor David J. Hand obe fba mmc

Dr Carolyn Virca

Dr Shakir Mohamed

Dr Jonny Brooks-Bartlett

Dr Jennifer Polk

A PhD is a training programme where you learn skills for the professional practice of research. This seems almost trivial to state, but its incredibly difficult to appreciate the depth of this statement, unless youve already done a PhD. Its not a training programme in the sense that there is a predefined set of steps and achievements that everyone has to do. Its exactly the opposite, really. Its more of a journey, where your training means travelling to unknown intellectual lands, encountering the inherent uncertainty, and developing the skills to cope with that. And every persons journey is slightly different.