STEPHANIE BRAMLEY GET IN TOUCH: WUN RESEARCHER MOBILITY AWARD

DETAILS OF MY VISIT Visit duration: 2 months (February & March 2014) Host university: The University of Sydney Aim of visit: To collaborate with Professor Alexander Blaszczynski at the Gambling Treatment Clinic. Project title: Self-selected music & gambling behaviour

TIPS FOR YOUR APPLICATION: Sell yourself! Be bold, clear and succinct - state the importance your research for yourself, your department/faculty, TUoS, the WUN and your host university. Don't forget to consider the wider benefits - for industry, stakeholders and the topic/field as a whole. Think about what skills, knowledge and experience you can offer the host university as well as what they can provide for you Be realistic about what you can deliver - set aims and objectives that are achievable either during the visit or progress can be made when you return to TUoS What are the potential outcomes/applications of your research? Journal articles, conference publications, literature reviews, development of a new/improved methodology, masterclasses...

BEFORE YOUR VISIT: Contact the WUN RMP Co-ordinator at the host university - he/she may be able to help you with visas, finding accommodation and obtaining access to university computers and libraries. Organise your flights and accommodation. This will give you piece of mind. Also ensure you stay somewhere which is conducive with your research needs and will enable you to keep in touch with family, friends, supervisors and colleagues back home (e.g. consider day-to-day travel costs, internet access) Begin to plan your project - decide which tasks have to completed, by whom and set deadlines. Your initial plan can be discussed with your collaborators prior to arrival via or Skype. Arrange to meet the RMP Co-ordinator and your collaborators on your first day (although do give yourself a couple of days to recover from any jetlag)! This will help you to settle in quickly, to get to know who's who at the university and tour the campus.

BEFORE YOUR VISIT: Find out about the host university's ethics procedure and make efforts to obtain ethical approval for your project before you arrive. This will reduce delays to your project. Do some research about which members of staff in the host university (and other nearby universities) may be interested in hearing about your project. Furthermore, think about which academics you would like to meet - you may be interested in learning about different disciplines, new methodologies and analysis techniques.

DURING YOUR VISIT: Be visible: Make sure that you have a dedicated office or desk space in the department/faculty - it is surprising how much you can learn from just being in a new environment Be proactive: Seek out opportunities to present your research - give seminars/lectures, attend events such as reading groups, guest lectures and demonstrations Be open-minded: Being in a different environment will present you with new perspectives to consider - always think about whether "X" could potentially benefit your own research Do some self-promotion: Ask for the details of your visit to be included on the host university's website, for instance.

Arguably most important things to remember: Make time for sight-seeing, exploring, having fun and making new friends!

GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR APPLICATION!