added bonus

Brinny in Christmas jewels

The naked computer -
my graphics card melted a
couple of years ago. 

It has been a bit like Christmas in our lab. The research staff need to finish off their funding before the end of the month, so people have been receiving new screens/laptops etc. Of course I haven't - that's VERY understandable given that I should have already been out of here years ago, but as I sit with my naked computer that is slower than... I am to think of an analogy to put in here. I wonder where I have been going wrong over the years.

University of Aberdeen

This extends beyond the computer of course. I have enviously watched friends and colleagues dashing off to Amsterdam, Canary Islands, Japan, USA, Tasmania etc. Throughout my (rather extended) post graduate career, I have been to ONE international conference and I was able to do that because I was funded by SAEON who knew me from my time as a (occasionally it felt like "the") SAEON-GSN committee member. (* I have been to numerous local conferences - that I have loved and found immensely useful for meeting people that I am sure to see and again and possibly work with! *) That conference was the World Marine Biodiversity Conference in Aberdeen, Scotland. It was amazing... huge, rather intimidating but amazing and I met someone lovely, who is hopefully going to make the world of difference to my PhD.

The Sven Loven Centre for Marine
Sciences, Tjarno, Sweden

I also went to a FANTASTIC (seriously, so useful, so much fun, I met fabulous people from so many countries, and swam in the sea at midnight - in SWEDEN - if you can GO!) "Experimental Design and Data Analysis for Marine Scientists" course in Sweden. That doesn't count because I paid for that myself, nerd that I am. (The course was free, and included accommodation and food, so really I just paid for my flights and it was very definitely worth it.)

View from our accommodation in Tjarno

Obviously you don't just go to conferences because it is an exciting opportunity/excuse to travel; they are important places to network, put your work (and yourself) out there and engage with people working in the same field. It is also a chance to rejuvenate your passion and enthusiasm in your field by seeing the awesome things that other people are doing. Rumour has it, it is a very good way to find post docs/jobs, because when hundreds of people are applying for the same position, it helps if the person you are applying to has met you before or seen your (presumably excellent) presentation.

So what did I do wrong???

Say what you like, but I do love JHB!
This pic was taken by +Kerri and
+Chris  in 2010 (soccer fever year)

• I struggled so much to get results, that by the time I did I was too late to apply for many of the grants that require you to be in your 2nd year of PhD. 
• I am DEFINITELY not assertive enough, I felt so bad about asking for refunds for flights to Pretoria that I only started doing so in my second year despite it being a legitimate expense. (Never mind how much money it cost me driving back and forth from Johannesburg (where I could stay for free with my parents) to Pretoria (where I did all my lab work) - I never even mentioned that to my supervisors.
• My work isn't the main interest of my primary supervisor. (She's brilliant, and has been really supportive and helpful, but does quite different work to my PhD and mostly she is my primary supervisor because I wanted to be registered at UCT.) So I guess make sure that your supervisor is as desperate to get your work acknowledged as you are.  

UCT is the cluster of red roofs on the
far side of Rondebosch Common -
A seriously beautiful spot for a campus! 

What can you do right???

• ASK, I guess the worst that can happen is you get refused. (Always easier to give advice than take it).
• When I did get to go to Aberdeen, as I said the money was from SAEON, it is important to look into sourcing your own funding, so you can at least go to your supervisor with partial funding in the bag. 

Of course, since I have had a complete LACK of success in this I thought I would ask some friends what they think is the right approach:

+Emily (who has been to Amsterdam twice this year and Denmark last year) wins the prize for giving two pieces of really useful advice:

1. "Don't underestimate the power of your MOU (memorandum of understanding/contract).

Make sure you get what you expect out of your degree and your relationship with your supervisor by putting it in your MOU. Number of holidays you are allowed to take, a new computer/laptop/hard drive should you need it, how often you will meet your supervisor. sure, maybe meeting every 2 weeks isn't necessary in the middle of your work, but at the start and end you need those meetings, and you can use your MOU to remind them that they have the obligation to you to meet the terms agreed to.

2. Look for external funding for trips, conferences and other interesting workshops.

Your supervisor wants you to attend things and if you can find your own funding they will support it with a very nice letter. If you are caught short they are more likely to pick up the difference too."

+Kate (who went to the Penguin conference in Bristol this year)
let me use her lovely alliteration poem 

3. And from a discussion with +Sally  and others this week: Get friendly with your department's technical people (they can be fabulously useful)!!!

OK, but if you don't get to go to exotic locations, don't despair - just make sure that your awesome friends bring you back treats from foreign lands. (Thanks +Emily  and Kate)


PS I seriously can't think of a good title for this post, so if you have anything, let me know :)