Welcome to 2018

Welcome everyone to the start of T1 2018!

For many of you, T1 will be but another point in your journey through your PhD. We consequently wish you all the very best with whatever phase of your PhD you are currently in, whether it be conceptualising your research, undertaking data collection, being knee-deep in data analysis, or writing up journal articles or your thesis.

For some of you, however, T1 represents something a little more special; the start of your PhD journey. On behalf of the Faculty, I would therefore like to extend a particular welcome to you as you commence your doctoral studies at Deakin. We sincerely hope that the next few years will be both personally and professional rewarding, and while we will do everything in our power to make it so, part of this will come down to how much you put into the program, over and above the formal requirements of doing a PhD.

So what can you do to get the most out of your PhD? As I mentioned during your induction, and as I like to periodically remind all our students, one thing you can do is to take part in the various activities and programs that we make available to students, including:

• Department-run research seminars
• Faculty-run BUiLD workshops on research methods and training
• Faculty-run PhD workshops on everything from career development and working with industry to presentation skills and preparation for career placement
• University-run workshops on all facets of the PhD program

We will provide you with information about these workshops and activities throughout the year. Many of these are optional extras, but don’t be so focused on your research that you don’t take the time to participate in them; while spending a couple of hours a week taking part in these workshops won’t adversely affect your research progress, it will help you develop the knowledge, professional networks, and soft skills needed to become a well-rounded academic or a successful practitioner in industry.

Attending these workshops will also help you develop a body of evidence indicating that you have satisfied the course learning outcomes. And remember, this body of evidence will be submitted to your examiners alongside your thesis, so it should be something that you work towards developing over the duration of your candidature. I consequently hope to see you at these workshops.

Finally, we are always eager to further develop and improve the workshops that we currently offer. So if you have any suggestions for new workshops (or ideas for how we can improve our current workshops), please send them to me or discuss them with your Department HDR Director or Isuru, your student representative on the Faculty HDR Committee.

Once again, welcome to T1, and may you all have a most successful 2018!

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Dr Josh Newton
Senior Lecturer | Department of Marketing, Deakin Business School
Faculty HDR Director | Faculty of Business and Law