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- by Charlotte King
- In Student Life
Posted Oct. 7, 2014
3 Goals To Reach Before You End Postgrad Study
As you have probably already discovered, life as a postgraduate student is filled with challenges and opportunities. Whether you are a master's or a PhD student, you now have a chance to get fully involved with the academic community in your chosen field of study. In turn, this can help open up a whole world of future career opportunities.
In order to succeed as a postgraduate student, it is essential that you define your academic goals and come up with an action plan to help you achieve them. While a large number of students focus on “surviving” their course, there are three key objectives that you should be focussing during your postgrad student life. These involve presenting a paper at a conference, submitting an article to an academic journal, and making contact with leading academics outside of your own university. In this post we take a look at each one of these goals and at why they are important.
Present at a conference Surely, the prospect of standing in front of a large and knowledgeable audience is daunting for everyone. But presenting a paper at a relevant academic conference can help put your name out there and make your skills more marketable. In addition, being a presenter at a conference is also a great networking opportunity, as you will be able to interact with other students, academics, and prospective employers who might be attending the conference to look for the next generation of leaders in a specific field.
The first thing you will need to do is find a relevant conference. Ask your supervisor or the course director for details. You'll then need to submit an abstract and wait for an answer from the conference organisers.
Submit an article to an academic journal Getting published at an academic journal is a dream for many postgrad students, especially for those who are involved in research. Achieving this can help you get your foot in the door of the global academic community, and is also great practice for your future career.
You are probably used to reading journal articles as part of your coursework, and chances are that you already have come up with a list of your favourite (meaning most useful) peer-reviewed journals. “But can students actually get published?”, you may be wondering. The answer is yes, but in the majority of cases you increase your chances of getting published by submitting an article written in collaboration with an established academic, such as your supervisor or a senior lecturer.
Once you have decided on a topic and a journal, check the submission guidelines to avoid disappointments, and read through this post for more details on how to get an article published at a peer-reviewed journal.
Establish contact with leading academics Another important thing to accomplish as a postgrad student is to make contact with leading academics in your field of study. This will open up your eyes to the ins and outs of the wider academic community and may help in finding further study or employment opportunities. Don't limit your contact to academic staff at your department and make an effort to email or write to academics at other universities or even in other countries.
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In order to succeed as a postgraduate student, it is essential that you define your academic goals and come up with an action plan to help you achieve them. While a large number of students focus on “surviving” their course, there are three key objectives that you should be focussing during your postgrad student life. These involve presenting a paper at a conference, submitting an article to an academic journal, and making contact with leading academics outside of your own university. In this post we take a look at each one of these goals and at why they are important.
Present at a conference Surely, the prospect of standing in front of a large and knowledgeable audience is daunting for everyone. But presenting a paper at a relevant academic conference can help put your name out there and make your skills more marketable. In addition, being a presenter at a conference is also a great networking opportunity, as you will be able to interact with other students, academics, and prospective employers who might be attending the conference to look for the next generation of leaders in a specific field.
The first thing you will need to do is find a relevant conference. Ask your supervisor or the course director for details. You'll then need to submit an abstract and wait for an answer from the conference organisers.
Submit an article to an academic journal Getting published at an academic journal is a dream for many postgrad students, especially for those who are involved in research. Achieving this can help you get your foot in the door of the global academic community, and is also great practice for your future career.
You are probably used to reading journal articles as part of your coursework, and chances are that you already have come up with a list of your favourite (meaning most useful) peer-reviewed journals. “But can students actually get published?”, you may be wondering. The answer is yes, but in the majority of cases you increase your chances of getting published by submitting an article written in collaboration with an established academic, such as your supervisor or a senior lecturer.
Once you have decided on a topic and a journal, check the submission guidelines to avoid disappointments, and read through this post for more details on how to get an article published at a peer-reviewed journal.
Establish contact with leading academics Another important thing to accomplish as a postgrad student is to make contact with leading academics in your field of study. This will open up your eyes to the ins and outs of the wider academic community and may help in finding further study or employment opportunities. Don't limit your contact to academic staff at your department and make an effort to email or write to academics at other universities or even in other countries.
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