What is a PhD Programme Like? My PhD Student Experience Part 2

TL;DR

This video covers the second part of a PhD student's first year, including taking classes in academic writing and software development, participating in teaching assistantship, conducting research on marathon performance, and participating in a startup competition.

Transcript

hello everyone and welcome back to my channel this is part two of my phd student experience so far last time in case you missed it i covered my phd application the lead up to my phd and the first couple of months getting started with my phd work literature review starting my youtube channel and everything like that this is going to be part two whic... Read More

Key Insights

• 💦 Balancing PhD work with other commitments, such as teaching assistantship and entrepreneurship, can be challenging but rewarding.
• ✍️ Taking classes in academic writing and software development can enhance skills necessary for research and future career prospects.
• 👨‍🔬 Presenting research papers at conferences and collaborating with other universities enriches the PhD experience and facilitates knowledge sharing.

Questions & Answers

Q: What were the benefits of taking classes in academic writing and software development?

Taking the academic writing class improved the student's writing skills and added value to their CV. The software development class helped the student understand good coding practices and improve code quality.

Q: What teaching assistant responsibilities did the student have?

The student worked as a demonstrator, helping students in programming labs, answering questions, and grading assignments. They had not yet taken on the role of a head teaching assistant.

Q: What was the focus of the student's research on marathon performance prediction?

The student used wearable sensor data from a 16-week training period to predict marathon finish times. They extracted features such as total weekly distance and number of sessions per week for modeling.

Q: How did the student's involvement in the startup competition contribute to their PhD experience?

The competition allowed the student to develop entrepreneurial skills, learn about product development, and receive feedback on their startup idea. It also provided an opportunity to network with experts in the field.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• The PhD student took classes in academic writing and software development to improve writing skills and software programming knowledge.

• The student worked as a teaching assistant, assisting students in programming labs and grading assignments/exams.

• The student's research focused on predicting marathon finish time based on training data and later worked on personalized productivity recommendations.

• The student participated in a startup competition, focusing on developing a productivity app.

• The student presented research papers at conferences and collaborated with other universities on fitness prediction projects.