HDR Update

May 2019

In this issue

• Campus wide HDR training calendar
• News & Events
• Opportunities for HDR students
• Roll of Honour

Welcome note

As Imelda foreshadowed in last month’s Update, her office is now bare, awaiting the imminent appointment of an Interim Dean HDR, and then a permanent successor. So I’m writing this welcome note as guest editor, with some comments below on the HDR Supervision Framework we’re developing. In parallel, the Research Training Team led by Inger Mewburn have been continuing their good work on your behalf – more of that in the rest of the Update. One particular point to note is about the 2019 Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition. ANU is doing things differently this year: instead of you having to compete in local finals, Colleges will instead be nominating their semi-finalists for the ANU 3MT final on 4 September. If you are interested in participating, RSAT are already offering 3MT training – more details below.

Briefly on the HDR Supervision Framework: it will offer ongoing professional development for HDR supervisors (see below for workshops that you’re also welcome to join, and resources you can access), and maintain a register of ANU HDR supervisors. More details will be available after they’re finalised at May’s HDR Committee meeting. In the meantime, we’ve been meeting regularly with your PARSA College representatives, so they could fill you in more on details. As one complement to the Framework, we want to better recognise and celebrate the great HDR supervisory practice that already exists around ANU; to that end, later in the year we’ll start inviting nominations from you for “HDR Supervisor of the Month”. More on that in subsequent Updates.

In the meantime, I trust that you can make some time to enjoy the beautiful Canberra autumn weather, and that it’s helping inspire your research and writing. Best wishes for those!

Professor Peter Kanowski

Deputy Dean (HDR Supervision)

Upcoming programs

May

Showcase

ANU Research Skills and Training are running a series of Researcher Communication workshops starting this month, which will help you develop your presentation, pitching and improvisation skills. Such skills can be used in the Three Minute Thesis competition, which challenges PhD candidates to present their research and its importance to a general audience in just 3 minutes. Through participating in #ANU3MT training, candidates have the opportunity to develop presentation skills that are crucial for a successful post PhD career, inside and outside of academia.

Further details on #ANU3MT workshops can be found here.

Opportunities

Careers Conference for PhDs - Beyond the Professoriate

Thinking about your employment options post-PhD? Come and get some fresh ideas from “Beyond the Professoriate”. This online careers conference is focused on jobs beyond academia and will be screened over two days here at ANU. We’ll watch the recorded sessions and there will be time to discuss how the concepts relate to your own situation.

Day 1 (Wed 29 May) will focus on demystifying the non-academic job search, including networking, researching job opportunities and writing non-academic resumés.

Day 2 (Tues 4 June) will explore job opportunities in higher education, non-profit organisations, business and government.

Each of these days will be split into two sessions (9.30am-12.00pm and 12.00pm - 2.00pm), please feel free to attend as many sessions as you wish. Each session will be focused on a different topic.

Learn more about the conference and presenters here, and to find out more about the screening here at ANU and to book your seat please see here.

NCIS 2019 HDR Research Conference

The conference is an opportunity for Indigenous and non-Indigenous scholars who are undertaking Higher Degree by Research (HDR) programs in Indigenous studies, to come together and share research insights and approaches. Invited keynote presentations will be given by eminent members of the Indigenous community. If you are using an innovative research method, exploring fieldwork challenges and strategies, adapting a concept, designing a purpose-built standpoint or theoretical frame, analysing archival materials, coming up with preliminary insights, or would just like some friendly feedback from your peers, then apply to present a paper. Register for a ticket here.

If you wish to attend and present a paper at the conference, please submit an electronic application setting out: (1) Your name, tertiary affiliation, a short biography of 150 words, and the stage of your candidature. (2) The presentation title and abstract (150 words): 20 minutes for 2-4th year scholars; 15 minutes for those in the first year of their candidature. (3) The title of your thesis research topic (if different to above). Apply to: ncis.hdr.program@anu.edu.au by COB 12 June 2019

HDR Supervision workshops and resources

The HDR Supervision team is offering a series of workshops to support HDR supervision development in 2019; view the program here. These complement programs offered by the Research Training Team and NECTAR; feel free to bring these to the attention of your supervisors. You can also review the online resources about good practice in HDR supervision, Supervising Doctoral Studies.

Statistical Consulting Unit

The Statistical Consulting Unit (SCU) is located in the Computer Science/Mathematical Sciences Institute building (#145). Consulting support is available, free of charge, to Honours students with research projects, Higher Degree Research students (e.g. Masters, PhD) and staff in all parts of the University. If you would like to make an appointment or to find out more about the SCU please visit our website here.

ANU Library

SAGE Research Methods – support at every step of your research project (research design, qualitative and quantitative methodologies, literature review writing, data collection and analysis) through hundreds of videos, case studies and the Methods Map anulib.anu.edu.au > select S > Sage Research Methods

Manage and analyse qualitative data with NVivo – upcoming workshops are available on 22 and 29 May (cost $180).
Using Word to write your thesis? Our workshops will show you how to format efficiently and navigate long documents, as well as understand section breaks and numbering.  The three workshops begin with the process of planning and formatting your document, focussing on creating its structure, style, and template. From here you can create chapters from the template, or apply the template to the existing chapters, in order to maintain consistency in your thesis and finally create a master document.  Register online via the full event catalogue.

Discover how reference management tools can support you throughout your research project. You’ll learn how to create an EndNote ‘living library’ of categorised, tagged, and curated references, which you can draw on to generate fully automated citations, produce bibliographies, and format documents using a wide range of popular academic writing styles. At the EndNote X9 workshops we’ll also show you how to annotate source materials, as well as use EndNote cloud storage to sync your library and collaborate with your peers and the broader research community.  

SPSS is the most popular quantitative analysis software program used by social scientists, join our free SPSS workshops in May to learn how to analyse and present your data.

News & links

Science, Health and Medicine HDR Career Development Framework

The HDR Career Development Framework was launched late 2018 to assist HDR students in the Joint Colleges of Science, Health and Medicine to develop, and get recognition for, a broad range of academic and work-relevant skills.

The framework covers four tracks (Research; Teaching and Learning; Policy and Governance; Industry and Innovation) with students needing to provide evidence of completion in at least two tracks. Activities (workshops, courses, MOOCs, publications, leadership roles etc.) are assigned Career Development Skill (CDS) points. Students must gain at least 30 CDS points across two tracks, with a minimum of 10 points in each track. Upon completion a “Certificate of Completion” is provided for students to present to future employers. To log into the Career Development Framework please go to: https://wattlecourses.anu.edu.au, select COSCDP.
For further information, please email hdr.careerdev.science@anu.edu.au

Graduate Research Office

July Graduations is coming up fast. A reminder that the cut-off for July Graduations is 7 June. Final approvals will need to be received by the Graduate Research Office by this date. If you have any questions or concerns regarding your eligibility to graduate in July, please contact your College HDR Administrator as soon as possible.

May is a peak period for the HDR Candidature Team. We will endeavour to respond to your enquiry as soon as we can. However, if you have any urgent questions concerning enrolments, leave, or program and scholarships variations we encourage you to contact your College HDR Administrators who can help resolve issues or triage them to GRO.

We’d like to thank you for your time in completing the survey for the HDR end-user engagement report. Ten randomly selected candidates have received a $50 Dendy Cinema Gift Card.  The next collection will be in the second half of 2019.

Finally, our new office is on Level 6, 121 Marcus Clarke Street. There is a dedicated counter for HDR students between 9:00am – 5:00pm. We look forward to seeing you soon.

Please contact GRO by email gro@anu.edu.au or telephone +61 2 6125 5777 if you have any questions. More information can be found here.

Academic Skills

Need some advice on writing up your research? Want some ideas on how to effectively manage your research milestones, the publishing process, and presentations? Through one-to-one appointments a Learning Adviser can work closely with you to develop and improve your writing and writing habits. They can offer in-depth feedback on your thesis and publications. Academic Skills also offers workshops throughout the year on topics relevant to different stages in the PhD candidature, from writing an effective thesis proposal to editing and finishing the thesis. These workshops can be found on Eventbrite. Academic Skills also runs tailored writing programs in most Colleges. Links are provided in the events list above and personal invitations are sent to candidates. If your College or School does not currently have a program, contact Academic Skills at academicskills@anu.edu.au to discuss tailoring a program for you

Please note that Academic Skills is now located in the Di Riddell Student Centre, Building #154, Level 3.

ANU Online Wattle, Turnitin & Echo360 training

ANU Online provides training on Wattle (Moodle), Turnitin, ePortfolio, Echo360 ALP, and using technology for teaching and learning.
We offer:

• Self-paced online training on Wattle Basics, Turnitin, ePortfolio, or Echo360 ALP.
• Monthly online coffee courses – where we discuss topical educational technologies in 15 minutes
• or join the conversation about education technology with our ANU Online Community.

We also have a regular newsletter with news, upcoming events and tips – see here. For more information on Wattle please contact wattle.support@anu.edu.au, or for training please contact EdDesign@anu.edu.au.

ANU Qualitative Research Network

The QRN or ANU Qualitative Research Network has 260 members across ANU – in addition to the monthly newsletter (that outlines events and highlights interesting qualitative research happening at the ANU) there are regular Q & A style forums and seminars - advertised through ANU Events. Follow the link to the QRN members list to subscribe.

Centre for Higher Education, Learning &Teaching

Are you a PhD student who has tutored at ANU? Learn about new ideas and practices. Are you interested in gaining new skills to improve your effectiveness as a tutor/demonstrator? Principles of Tutoring and Demonstrating (PTD) is an intensive 10 module program, designed to help you develop teaching strategies, apply effective lesson planning principles, offer practical help with marking and examples of how to give feedback to your students. Find course and register here.

Counselling Centre

The ANU Counselling Centre runs a variety of group programs and workshops throughout the year, have a look at the programs and workshops on offer here.

The Counselling Centre has also developed a range of resources that cover common topics of interest to students such as homesickness, issues with study, relationships and mental health. We have translated some of these resources into numerous languages, including Chinese, Arabic and Indonesian. All these resources can be found here.

Human Ethics training

Do you need ethics approval for your research? Not sure where to start? Never fear, information on applying for ethics approval, registering for the online application system ARIES, and to sign up for ARIES training and the twice monthly Human Ethics Training sessions is here.

Library

The first ANU Library Personal Library Contact Service newsletter for 2019 has gone out. This is sent to HDR students directly from your own personal contact in the ANU Library. The aim of this service is to introduce you to the collections, resources and services available in the ANU Library that will assist you in your studies. You can also get in touch with your Personal Library contact directly for any help throughout the year – they’re here to help!

The ANU Library is undertaking a program of digitising as much of our Archives and theses as possible. To see what interesting gems have been hidden in our Archives, read our latest Digitisation Update.

The ANU Library webpage provides you with more assistance than searching our catalogue. Explore our Research & Learning tab on the menu bar where you will find specialist training in our 'How to guides', Subject guides, Pulse online training and more.

Read about two books recently reunited with the ANU Library after being missing for 11 years… and you thought you were late to return your Library Books!

The ANU Archives has two displays to check out in the Menzies Library - an exhibition on the role of Australia in the Spanish Civil War (located in the foyer), and a display of art in the archives (located in the Archives reading room). 

ANU Press

New this month from the ANU Press:

‘True Biographies of Nations?’ : The Cultural Journeys of Dictionaries of National Biography

Dictionaries of national biography are a long-established and significant genre of biographical and historical writing. This book brings together practitioners to reflect on national biographical dictionary projects’ recent cultural journeys, and the challenges presented to them by such developments as the transition to a digital environment, a new alertness to the need to represent diversity, and the rise of transnationalism.

In Search of the Never-Never : Mickey Dewar: Champion of History Across Many Genres

Mickey Dewar made a profound contribution to the history of the Northern Territory, producing memorable and multi-sensory histories, such as the Cyclone Tracy exhibition and reinterpretation of Fannie Bay Gaol. As well as offering three original chapters that appraise her work, this edited volume republishes her first book which provides brilliant, often amusing insights into the ever-changing representations of a region that has featured so large in the Australian popular imagination.

All titles can be purchased or downloaded for free from the ANU Press website.

Statistical Consulting Unit

Consulting support is available, free of charge, to Honours students with research projects, Higher Degree Research students (e.g. Masters, PhD) and staff in all parts of the University. Request a consultation here.

ANU Technology Transfer Office

Do you have a question about IP or the commercialisation of your research? Come chat to a specialist from the Technology Transfer Office. No bookings necessary, just drop in to one of these sessions.

Also check out the Canberra Innovation Network; they run monthly networking events (First Wednesday Connect), workshops (such as Research to Impact), and events (such as the Zero Co2 Hackathon).

Postgraduate & Research Students' Association (PARSA)

Shut Up and Write (SUAW) facilitated day and night sessions will be continuing with some great additions and changes to its delivery. SUAW is held at the Molly Huxley Room at University House. To stay up to date with session times and SUAW opportunities, or to register for a session, please visit the PARSA website here.

From the Thesis Whisperer

Roll of Honour

Warm congratulations to these following students who have been recently approved to graduate from their PhD or MPhil. Well done all!

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