1. Introduction to the Informatics Graduate School
ARCmedia Presentation for FPF 2005
17/01/2019
Introduction to the Informatics Graduate School
Nigel Topham
Director of Graduate School
Nigel Topham

2. What is the IGS? Large cohort of postgraduate research students
Degrees: MScR, Mres, Mphil, PhD
Academic and administrative staff (ISS)
Information sources for postgraduate students

3. ARCmedia Presentation for FPF 2005
17/01/2019
People and their roles
Director (Nigel Topham)
Recruitment, selection and funding, with Institute PGR Selectors
Graduate School policy
College and University representation
Deputy Director (Bob Fisher)
Approve interruptions, suspensions, extensions
Networking events
Transkills courses
Annual review cycle
Personal Tutor, PGR (Stuart Anderson)
Mentoring and pastoral advice
ISS staff with IGS responsibilities, see:
Nigel Topham

4. The Community of Research Students
289 research students now studying in Informatics
From 48 countries: 30% UK, 45% EU, 20% OS
Spread among 6 Institutes (20-70 in each)
72 new this year, selected from 516 applicants
New students arriving from 29 different countries
New PhD students (33)
18 here now, 15 starting later this semester
Students in Centres for Doctoral Training (39):
Data Science
Robotics & Autonomous Systems
Pervasive Parallelism

5. ARCmedia Presentation for FPF 2005
17/01/2019
Starting your PhD...
Be bold – choose an exciting, challenging topic
Develop your skills in parallel with your research
Seek outside interests - work/life balance
Supervisors are only human – learn to work with them
Think about where you are going, and plan for your career
Nigel Topham

6. Be an effective PhD student ...
ARCmedia Presentation for FPF 2005
17/01/2019
Be an effective PhD student ...
PhD time is precious – manage it carefully
Read extensively, widely and continuously
Write early and often
Plan your research around paper submissions
Define small, measurable goals
Tell supervisors and colleagues about your plans
Be rigorous in your work
Learn from the best role models in research
Take control of your own destiny…
Nigel Topham

7. Have fun with your research!