View prior email communications sent from Graduate Studies to UCD graduate research students.

Message from the Dean of Graduate Studies: Competitions, U21 Research Awards and Student Support (2nd July 2021)

As summer has arrived, you may take some time off to rest and reflect over the summer period. The last year and a half have been difficult for all of us. It is important to recognise this and understand how stressful this uncertainty to all different aspects of life is. Going back to normality seems that it will take a while but now there is hope that we are getting closer to this. University is working hard to bring everyone back safely, students and staff, in line with Government advice.

Please reach out to university support that is available to you, if you need to. I am enclosing some information and useful links to the end of this email in relation to student support.

Sharing some updates and events for this month:

Visualise your thesis Competition 2021

I would like to take the opportunity to thank all participants who submitted their videos for this competition. As this is the first time that UCD has taken part in this competition, it is great to see that students welcomed this new initiative and got themselves involved.

The winner and a runner up will be decided by a panel of reviewers. However, there is also a people’s choice award. Hence, I would like to encourage all of you to visit the Visualise your thesis competition webpage to watch and support your colleagues by casting your vote for the video submission of your preference until 18th July 2021. To do so, you simply need to click on the link at the bottom of each video that will transfer you to our Graduate Studies YouTube channel where you can vote for the videos by clicking on the like button.

Winners will be announced on the same page on Monday 19th July 2021. Good luck to all finalists and thank you for taking part!

ThesisIn3 Competition 2021

The winner of the 2021 UCD ThesisIn3 Competition is Morgan Morris, UCD School of Chemistry/ BiOrbic Bioeconomy SFI Research Centre with his talk title: Lactose in 3: A Cash Cow for Targeting Tumours. Morgan is currently working on reshooting the winning video that will be sent to the Universitas21 Three Minute Thesis Competition (3MT®), where he will compete with researchers from all over the globe. I will ask you to support Morgan once the global competition is on in the later part of the year.

The two runners up are:

James White, UCD School of Medicine / Conway Institute, "Fat chance! Rethinking how fat tissue can help battle obesity."

Jane Howard, UCD School of Medicine, "Cats are more like us than you’d think."

The SU Categories Winners are:

Catchiest Title - Awad Eman, UCD School of Computer Science, "The AI Fairytale"

Best Example - Morgan Morris, UCD School of Chemistry/ BiOrbic Bioeconomy SFI Research Centre, "Lactose in 3, A Cash Cow for Targeting Tumours"

Most thought provoking (the one we wanted to see more of) - James White, UCD School of Medicine / Conway Institute, " Fat chance! Rethinking how fat can help obesity."

Richest language - Katie Whelan, UCD School of Irish, Celtic Studies and Folklore, "A new Eíre (Era) of mná"

Sweet spot between quantity of information and engagement - Lea Braud, UCD School of Biosystems and Food Engineering, "Why are Smurfs blue? Introducing a new colour to the world!"

All finalists’ videos can be found on the UCD ThesisIn3 competition webpage.

Once again congratulations to the winners and everyone who participated in this competition!

U21 Graduate Collaborative Research Awards - call for applications

You can apply for 12 months funding for a collaborative project across three U21 institutions in two countries and funds can be used towards virtual meetings, laboratory consumables, fieldwork costs, travel and accommodation and IT services. The deadline is Friday, 6th August 2021. U21's Graduate Collaborative Research Awards are designed to be flexible and encourage doctoral candidates to think innovatively about how their research could benefit from engagement with other members of the U21 network.

This year, U21 is providing prospective GCRA applicants access to a designated collaboration space in U21 Community. There, graduate researchers will be able to meet with potential collaborators and communicate via chat rooms and fora. U21 has also been facilitating social Zoom meet ups for prospective GCRA applicants via the platform. For further information and details of how to apply, please visit the UCD Graduate Studies website.

Student Support

Please ensure that you are familiar with all university support available to you on the Services & Supports for Research Students webpage. I also include here a few additional links that you can find useful information related to Covid-19:

Guidelines related to Covid-19 (this page is under review at the moment)

UCD Covid-19 website

UCD Student Health Services Covid-19 FAQs

I wish you a pleasant summer and we look forward to welcoming you back for the new academic year.

Please do not hesitate to contact us at Graduate Studies graduatestudies@ucd.ie, if you have questions, or other suggestions that you would find helpful at this time.

Take care and stay safe.

Very best wishes,

Barbara

Professor Barbara Dooley, UCD Dean of Graduate Studies & Deputy Registrar

Message from the Dean of Graduate Studies: Competitions, Coffee morning and Student Support (2nd June 2021)

The first month of the summer is here and the national vaccination programme continues in every part of the country. UCD O’Reilly Hall is now a Covid-19 vaccination centre operated by the Ireland East Hospital Group (IEHG) on behalf of the HSE. The vaccinations commenced this week, and we are pleased that UCD supports the delivery of this crucial programme.

I would like to take the opportunity to remind you that the ThesisIn 3 competition will take place Thursday 10th June at 11:30am via Zoom. You can register your interest to attend via Eventbrite to receive dial-in details closer to the event date. I am personally looking forward to this event as it is always a pleasure to watch some of UCD finest research presented to the public!

Sharing some updates and events for this month:

COVID-related thesis extensions & HEA funding call

The Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, through the Higher Education Authority (HEA), has provided funding to higher education institutions to assist in the provision of funded extensions to research activities that are at risk because of delays incurred as a result of Covid-19. Funded extensions may be granted under the programme to researchers and full-time research students (PhD/Masters/MD) whose research was interrupted by the pandemic, and where an extension can compensate for the interruption.

This is UCD’s fourth round of this internal funding programme and the deadline for applications from students (endorsed by Supervisors) is Friday, 18th June 2021.

Further information on extensions can be found on the Graduate Studies website.

Visualise your thesis Competition 2021 Extended deadline

Visualise your thesis Competition 2021 is still open for applications until the end of next week, Friday, 11th June. This is the first time that UCD is participating in this competition where graduate researchers at any stage of their programme are being challenged to present their projects in a 60-second, eye-catching, audio-visual digital display, using a pre-supplied PowerPoint template. I encourage you to consider taking part in opportunities like this as they help you build your communication skills that are essential to you no matter your future career path.

All necessary documentation such as the Competition Entrant Pack, the PowerPoint Template, the checklist and helpful resources can be found in the Transferable Skills for Graduate Research Students module in UCD Brightspace. You can follow Brightspace Enrolment Instructions VYT 2021 to enrol to the module.

The winner of the UCD Visualise your thesis Competition will receive a €250 One-For-All voucher and will represent UCD in the international online showcase hosted by the University of Melbourne later in the year. There will be one runner up and a people’s choice winner who will each receive a €100 One-For-All voucher.

For Year 1 PhD students who attended the Graduate Research Orientation in February 2021

If you enrolled on the Brightspace Graduate Orientation module, there is a "Roadmap" diagram for the first few months of your PhD here.

The update for May is here.

The June 2021 update will be available on Brightspace within the next few weeks. If you have any questions, you are welcome to email jennifer.sullivan@ucd.ie.

Student-led Writing Group Initiative

I would like to make you aware that there is a student-led Zoom Writing Group for graduate students that takes place Monday-Friday from 10am-12pm.This is a spin-off of the UCD Writing Centre's "Writing on Wednesdays" group, which finished recently. The sessions involve four 25-minute periods of writing, with five-minute breaks in between. Students can join with a piece of writing in mind and write for 100 minutes without distractions. They do not need to share what they are writing about or stay for the total duration of the session, it is just about having a daily scheduled session to focus on writing.

If anyone wants to join, they can email their expression of interest to zoomwritinggroup@gmail.com and they will get an automated reply with the zoom link.

Virtual Coffee Morning

Your Student Adviser Ms Carita Bramhill will host one more Zoom coffee morning before the end of this month, on Tuesday 29th June 2021 at 11:00am. Find the Zoom meeting details below and save the date in your calendar. Carita will send a reminder with dial-in details closer to the day.

Join Zoom Meeting

Meeting ID: 688 0532 7641, Passcode: 181770

Student Support

Please ensure that you are familiar with all university support available to you on Services & Supports for Research Students webpage and on the supports at a glance poster. I also include here a few additional links that you can find useful information related to Covid-19:

Guidelines related to Covid-19

UCD Covid-19 website

UCD Student Health Services Covid-19 FAQs

I will continue to be in touch providing as much relevant information to you as possible. Please do not hesitate to contact us at Graduate Studies graduatestudies@ucd.ie, if you have questions, or other suggestions that you would find helpful at this time.

Take care and stay safe.

Very best wishes,

Barbara

Professor Barbara Dooley, UCD Dean of Graduate Studies & Deputy Registrar

Message from the Dean of Graduate Studies: Module Registration, Competitions and Upcoming Events (11th May 2021)

As we are getting closer to the end of the spring trimester, I would like to take the opportunity to ask you to stay connected with University life. I would encourage you to keep up to date with the opportunities and events for graduate research students that are on offer over the Summer trimester.

In addition, I would like to thank all students who submitted an application for this year's ThesisIn3 competition. We are glad to see such a high participation and level of quality in the submissions. Congratulations to those who made it to the final and well done to everyone who submitted an application!

The competition will take place virtually on Thursday 10 June at 11:30am. The details on how you can join the competition as a spectator will be circulated closer to the date of the event. More details about the competition can be found on the UCD Graduate Studies website.

Sharing some updates and events for this month:

Visualise your thesis Competition 2021

UCD Graduate Studies announce the first annual UCD Visualise your thesis competition. This is an international competition, developed by the University of Melbourne, that challenges graduate researchers at any stage of their candidature to present their projects in a 60-second, eye-catching, audio-visual digital display. Using a pre-supplied template, you are tasked with developing a striking e-poster presentation that succinctly describes your research, and its potential benefits, to a non-specialist audience.

The winner of the UCD Visualise your thesis Competition will receive a €250 One-For-All voucher and will represent UCD in the international online showcase hosted by The University of Melbourne in the later part of the year. There will be one runner up and a people choice winner who will receive a €100 One-For-All voucher each.

For more information and how to apply, please visit UCD Graduate Studies website. The deadline for applications is Friday 4th June 2021.

Summer Module Registration

Module Registration for graduate research students opened at 10am on Thursday 6th May and will close at 5pm on Friday 21st May 2021. This round of registration is for summer modules only and not all Schools will have modules running during the summer. Modules delivered in 2021-2022 academic year can be requested in August/September 2021.

More information on how to register for the modules can be found on the UCD Graduate Studies website.

For Year 1 PhD students who attended the Graduate Research Orientation in February 2021

If you enrolled on the Brightspace Graduate Orientation module, there is a "Roadmap" diagram for the first few months of your PhD here.

The update for April is here.

The May 2021 update will be available on Brightspace within the next few weeks.

If you have any questions, you are welcome to email jennifer.sullivan@ucd.ie.

U21 Health Sciences Group Virtual Doctoral Student Forum 2021 - Call for Abstracts Open

The Schools of Medicine and Health Sciences at Tecnologico de Monterrey are delighted to host the 2021 U21 Health Sciences Group Virtual Doctoral Student Forum, in collaboration with the U21 HSG Annual Meeting, on Monday 13th September. The Virtual International Doctoral Student Forum aims to encourage students to share their research and educational experiences in the pandemic and post-pandemic eras, considering the diversity of career opportunities available following completion. Doctoral students from various disciplines across the U21 HSG member institutions are invited to present their work virtually to the 19 U21 HSG member institutions across the globe.

The event programme will include Masterclasses from expert researchers, student oral presentations, and poster presentations. Full details can be found on the U21 HSG website.

Online Careers Workshops

A virtual careers workshop and a drop-in clinic are taking place this month and are being delivered by our dedicated Career & Skills Advisor for Graduate Research Students, Ms Ger Lardner from UCD Careers Network:

CV Workshop for Graduate Researchers

Date: Wednesday, 12th May at 10.30 - 12 p.m.

Book on CareersConnect

Drop-in CV Clinic

Date: Friday 21st May from 10.00 - 12.00 p.m.

Book on CareersConnect

Please contact careers@ucd.ie with queries or booking issues.

Virtual Coffee Morning

Your Student Adviser Ms Carita Bramhill will host one more Zoom coffee morning before the end of this month, on Thursday, 27th May 2021 at 11:00am. Find the zoom meeting details below and save the date in your calendar. Carita will send a reminder with dial-in details closer to the day.

Join Zoom Meeting

Meeting ID: 630 7040 9307, Passcode: 186319

Fireside Fridays

The series of talks are now concluded for this trimester. Please note that the recordings of the talks are available on the UCD Fireside Fridays webpage. This was a joint initiative from UCD Careers Network and UCD Graduate Studies and a feedback request will be sent to those who participated in the webinars. Your feedback is always used to help us improve our offerings so please do take the time to submit it.

Student Support

I am enclosing a quick guide to help and support services available to students. Please also be aware that we keep a section with guidelines related to Covid-19 on our website and we ensure it is up to date with the latest information. There is also the UCD Covid-19 website and UCD Student Health Services Covid-19 FAQs that I include for your information.

I would like to encourage you to keep your mind focused on the positive things during this pandemic. The roll-out of the COVID-19 vaccination programme is ongoing and restrictions are set to be eased during the following months. We start to see the light on the horizon! Please stay safe and stay well while we are all apart. Do respect all public health requirements and also be mindful of your wellbeing. Ms Carita Bramhill (carita.bramhill@ucd.ie), your Student Adviser, is always available to help guide and advise graduate research students experiencing difficulties.

Take care and stay safe.

Very best wishes,

Barbara

Professor Barbara Dooley, UCD Dean of Graduate Studies & Deputy Registrar

Summer Modules Registration Open: Thurs 6th May to Fri 21st May 2021

Module Registration for graduate research students opens at 10am on Thursday 6th May and will close at 5pm on Friday 21st May 2021. This round of registration is for Summer modules only and not all Schools will have modules running during the summer.

Modules delivered in 2021-2022 academic year can be requested in August/September 2021.

There are two methods for graduate research students to register for taught modules.

Method A) All September-start PhD students can register directly to a curated selection of modules via SISWeb clicking ‘Enter Module registration’ and then choosing the modules you wish to register to (Guide).

Note: If the module you wish to register to is not on the School listing then you can apply to register for that module via Method B

Method B) January-start or May-start PhD research students and all Research Masters students ( M.Litt, MSc, M.Res) and MD students can register for modules via an online Registration Form submitted to UCD Registry. A list of curated modules is on the Graduate Studies website here and the online form will also be available on the website from 6th May 2021. Please only submit the form once , if you need additional modules after submission you can request registration to them by emailing student.records@ucd.ie (Please do not include the modules you are already registered to unless you are requesting a change).

Please note that Method B is a manual process and Registry will process requests within 3 working days of request submission. Please check your record after 3 days, confirmation emails will not be issued. You will only receive an email from Registry if it is not possible to register you to any module that you have requested.

Please note that if you wish to audit a module (with the agreement of the module co-ordinator), you can enter module codes + 'audit' into the final page of the form and they will be registered as audit, if possible.

Any queries about module registration, including change of mind, should be emailed to student.records@ucd.ie with your Student Number on all communications.

Please take note of the following

While students do not need a signature/authorisation from their Principal Supervisor to register to modules, it is imperative that your module selection will have been agreed with your supervisor prior to registration. You will be required to sign-off on a declaration that states that you have discussed your choice of module with your Principal Supervisor.
Modules have a finite capacity so you may not be successful in obtaining a place on all of your preferred modules
If you wish to register for a module delivered outside your school, please make sure you have spoken to the relevant module coordinator prior to registration to ensure ensure that that this is an appropriate module choice for you and that there is capacity on the course
Students must ensure that they have read the prior learning requirements for a module(s) before making a request for registration.
Please note that, although you may be successfully registered to a module, high demand for a particular module may see a School re-assign you to a different time slot/withdraw from the module (you will be notified if this happens).

Best wishes,

UCD Graduate Studies

Message from the Dean of Graduate Studies: Thesis Boot Camp, ThesisIn3, Upcoming events and Thank you (8th April 2021)

I hope you had a restful break during the Easter holiday! It is important to look after yourselves and take time off from your studies occasionally. I understand that your research is central to your everyday activities whether you are undertaking your studies on a full or a part time basis, but to pause and relax is essential as well. Thus, I would advise you to be kind to yourself and take care of your personal, physical, mental and emotional health. Undertaking a research degree has always been a challenge and during a pandemic it is even more difficult. As much as possible, aim for a work life balance and try not to compensate for lost productivity by working longer hours while at home.

I would also like to take the opportunity to thank you for your participation in the StudentSurvey.ie. As I mentioned in my previous email, this is the second time that graduate research students have been invited to have their say. This year the participation rate was 35% which is a positive result, a 3.8% increase in participation from the 2019 survey. I will review the survey results once received and together with my team, steer our future actions towards your needs. Thank you again for your time in responding to the survey.

Last but not least, I would like to let you know that the new “UCD Strategy for Research, Innovation and Impact to 2024, Shaping the Future” was launched on Friday 26th March 2021 which, in support of the overarching “UCD Strategy 2020-2024 Rising to the Future”, outlines how UCD is going to meet the ambitions for research and innovation and impact.

Sharing some updates and events for this month:

Thesis Boot Camp

This is a great opportunity for Stage 2 PhD students who are ready to start writing up their research thesis. The Thesis Boot Camp is an intensive writing programme for late-stage doctoral researchers and will be delivered by Dr Peta Freestone. The programme will take place from Monday 10th May to Wednesday 12th May 2021. It is a free event provided by UCD Graduate Studies. The goal of the programme is to complete 20,000 words of the first draft of your research thesis. Please find further details on eligibility and how to apply on the UCD Graduate Studies website. The deadline is approaching fast (Monday 12th April 2021), so please apply at your earliest convenience.

ThesisIn3 Competition

The annual UCD ThesisIn3 competition, supported by UCD Graduate Studies, is now open for submissions. The UCD ThesisIn3 Competition supports graduate research students in their development as confident research communicators, and we invite all UCD Stage 2 PhD Students to submit an entry for the fourth year of this event and share their research with the UCD community.

The winner of ThesisIn3 Competition will go on to represent UCD in the Universitas 21 Three Minute Thesis Competition (3MT®), where they will compete with researchers from all over the globe. The winner will also receive a €250 One-For-All voucher and the two Runners-Up will each receive a €100 One-For-All voucher. Winners will serve as ambassadors for research at UCD, with recordings of their presentations on the Graduate Studies website. In addition, UCD Students' Union will sponsor 5 x €75 travel funds to participants as separate prizes. The categories for these SU prizes will be decided and voted upon by a panel of peer judges.

The competition will take place virtually on Thursday 10 June at 11:30am. More details and the application form can be found on the UCD Graduate Studies website.

eThesis Support

UCD Assessment in Registry are hosting live drop-in clinics for thesis submission on the below dates for all eThesis related queries.

Thursday 29th April

10.30am-12pm - Supervisors & Staff

2.30 -4pm - Students

Friday 30th April

10.30am-12pm - Students

2.30 - 4pm - Supervisors & Staff

Thursday 6th May

10.30am-12pm - Students

2.30 -4pm - Supervisors & Staff

Friday 7th May

10.30am-12pm - Supervisors, Staff & Students

2.30-4pm - Supervisors, Staff & Students

To drop into one of these sessions and meet with a member of the Assessment team please log into the following link;

Join Zoom Meeting

https://ucd-ie.zoom.us/j/68179129289?pwd=OXF5ZENOd0k0V3NqdnJHZmh6QjR3dz09

Meeting ID: 681 7912 9289, Passcode: 249427

Further support documentation can be found on the UCD Assessment website which is frequently updated.

Roadmap Project

I would like to invite all PhD students who joined us in January 2021 to enrol on our Graduate Orientation module in UCD Brightspace. Last month we piloted our Roadmap Project to help you take the first steps of your research degree programme, with monthly announcements in Brightspace to support you in staying on track with your studies. I am enclosing the guidelines on how to enrol to Brightspace for your convenience.

Dean’s Award for Excellence in Doctoral Supervision

In recognition of some of the exemplary practice in supervision that is taking place across UCD, Graduate Studies launched the Dean’s Award for Excellence in Doctoral Supervision last year. This award is an opportunity for Stage 2 PhD students to recognise those who go above and beyond what is expected of them as supervisors, in supporting, teaching and mentoring their doctoral students. If you are interested in nominating your UCD PhD Supervisor for this year’s award, please visit the UCD Graduate Studies website to find further information and download and complete the relevant form. The submission deadline for this year’s applications is Friday June 4th, 2021. If you have any further questions about the award, please contact my colleague Dr Janet Carton at janet.carton@ucd.ie.

Information session on Erasmus+

The European Commission has officially launched the new Erasmus+ Programme which covers the period 2021-2027. With a budget of €26.2 billion (compared to €14.7 billion for 2014-2020), complemented with about €2.2 billion from EU’s external instruments, the new and revamped programme will fund learning mobility and cross-border cooperation projects for 10 million Europeans of all ages and all backgrounds. The 2021-2027 programme places a strong focus on social inclusion, sustainability, the digital transformation and promoting young people’s participation in democratic life. This Programme supports priorities and activities set out in the European Education Area, Digital Education Action Plan and the European Skills Agenda. Erasmus+ will also support the resilience of education and training systems in the face of the pandemic.

UCD Global will be hosting an Erasmus+ information session on Wednesday, 14 April at 11:00. During this online event, we will give an overview of the new Erasmus+ Programme, explain the application process and answer questions from participants. Please register for the event by completing this form.

Online Careers Workshops

A virtual careers workshop and drop-in clinics are taking place this month and are being delivered by our dedicated Career & Skills Advisor for Graduate Research Students, Ms Ger Lardner from UCD Careers Network:

CVs for Graduate Researchers

Date: Wednesday 14th April 2021 11.00 - 12.30

Book Here on CareersConnect

Please contact careers@ucd.ie with queries or booking issues.

Drop-in CV Clinics:

Wed 21st of April from 10.00 - 11.30. Zoom dial-in link: https://ucd-ie.zoom.us/j/62953044373?pwd=bEZwNmZjS

Wed 28th of April from 10.00 - 11.30. Zoom dial-in link:

https://ucd-ie.zoom.us/j/62953044373?pwd=bEZwNmZjSUcvSFFMTG0

zRUsydHo3QT09

Fireside Fridays

The series of short 20mins interview-style talks continue with the last two talks taking place in April:

·16th April, 12 noon: Why are PhDs so sought after in the Start-up Sector?

·30th April, 12 noon: Why are Arts, Humanities and Social Science PhDs so essential to the workplace?

Virtual Coffee Morning

Your Student Adviser Ms Carita Bramhill will host one more Zoom coffee morning before the end of this month, on Tuesday, 27th April 2021 at 11:00am. Find the zoom meeting details below and save the date in your calendar. Carita will send a reminder with dial-in details closer to the day.

Zoom Meeting:

https://ucd-ie.zoom.us/j/61048746730?pwd=L1FxVFlGV2d5TGhrcWhsdmFCRnhvZz09

Student Support

I am enclosing a quick guide to help and support services available to students, as I am aware that students are reaching out to us or their Schools requesting for information about university support. Please also be aware that we keep a section with guidelines related to Covid-19 on our website and we ensure it is up to date with the latest information. There is also the UCD Covid-19 website and UCD Student Health Services Covid-19 FAQs that I include for your information.

It is essential to focus on the positive things and as the time passes hopefully we are getting closer to the end of this pandemic. I will continue to be in touch providing as much relevant information to you as possible. Please do not hesitate to contact us at Graduate Studies graduatestudies@ucd.ie, if you have questions, or other suggestions that you would find helpful at this time.

Take care and stay safe.

Very best wishes,

Barbara

Professor Barbara Dooley, UCD Dean of Graduate Studies & Deputy Registrar

UCD Dean of Graduate Studies Award for Excellence in Doctoral Supervision (22nd March 2021)

In recognition of some of the exemplary practice in supervision that is taking place across UCD, Graduate Studies launched the Dean’s Award for Excellence in Doctoral Supervision last year.This award is an opportunity to recognise those who go above and beyond what is expected of them as supervisors, in supporting, teaching and mentoring their doctoral students. If you are interested in nominating your UCD PhD Supervisor for this year’s award, please visit the Graduate Studies website to find further information and download and complete the relevant form. The submission deadline for this year’s applications is Friday June 4th, 2021. If you have any further questions about the award, please contact Dr Janet Carton at janet.carton@ucd.ie.

Best Wishes,

UCD Graduate Studies

UCD Thesis Boot Camp 2021 (16th March 2021)

Drop and give me 20,000 words!

·Are you a late-stage PhD student struggling with the writing-up battle?

·Do you put off writing tasks until ‘tomorrow’?

·Are you finding it tough ‘going it alone’?

We have just what you need – Thesis Boot Camp! Dedicated solely to helping you write your first draft, we’ll help you get over that final hurdle, or to kick-start your writing progress if it has stalled.

Sign up to join other graduate researchers in a no-excuses, no-time-for-procrastination, take-no-prisoners intensive writing Boot Camp. Thesis Boot Camp recruits will learn how to battle through late-stage blues, address writer’s block and overcome thesis fatigue to achieve significant progress on their manuscript.

Introductory sessions will include motivational talks, goal setting and strategies for writing quickly and well. Attendees will be required to complete pre-program planning activities and to commit to their own tangible aims for the Boot Camp, such as completing a thesis chapter draft or similar.

Are you up for the challenge?

More about Thesis Boot Camp

There are many ‘boot camp’ style writing programs at universities around the world, though the award-winning Thesis Boot Camp — designed and developed by Dr Peta Freestone in 2012— has proved a winning formula for more than a thousand graduate researchers in Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and the UK.

But don’t just take our word for it! After Thesis Boot Camp was introduced at the Australian National University, Dr Inger Mewburn of the popular Thesis Whisperer blog said:

The experience was amazing for me as an educator and the students loved it. They told others how great it was. Several people who had been contemplating quitting altogether actually handed in their thesis. FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) kicked in again and students who missed out the first time around actually lobbied ANU for more. We’re now about to run our third one.

You can find out what others have said over at www.thesisbootcamp.com

Now we’re bringing Thesis Boot Camp to campus, with programme creator Dr Peta Freestone to facilitate the event.

Who can attend Thesis Boot Camp?

Thesis Boot Camp is a free event provided by UCD Graduate Studies. You are an eligible Thesis Boot Camp recruit if you are:

·A late, stage two PhD research student at UCD.

·In the final stages of completing your research degree and are ready to ‘write up’. The ultimate aim of Thesis Boot Camp is to write up to 20,000 words of first draft material. It is not for editing, revising, preparing presentations or grant applications etc. In other words, you must be able to identify the particular chapter or chapter(s) of your thesis that you will specifically work on as part of your Thesis Boot Camp goal.

·Able to clearly identify how you would benefit from an intensive Boot Camp of drafting a particular section of your thesis.

·Willing and available to attend all sessions and to commit to the ethos of dedicated writing required at Thesis Boot Camp.

·Able to provide details of an academic referee to support your application (E.g. your supervisor or member of your Research Studies Panel).

·The event is limited to 35 participants and we may receive more applications than there are available places. Please note that due to this, we cannot guarantee participation for all eligible applicants. This also means that you should complete all sections of the application in full, with the above eligibility criteria in mind.

Dates and times

Thesis Boot Camp will take place from Monday 10th May to Wednesday 12th May 2021.

All sessions will take place Virtually. The program outline is as follows:

·Day 1, Monday 10th, 3.00pm - 8.00pm

·Day 2, Tuesday 11th, 9.30am - 8.00pm

·Day 3, Wednesday 12th, 9.30am - 7.00pm

Applying

Applications close on Monday April 12th 2021. The application form is attached here. Successful applicants will be notified the week commencing April 12th if they have been accepted into the programme.

Visit UCD Thesis Bootcamp 2021 here.

StudentSurvey.ie: Have your Say today! (5th March 21)

Did you have your say in the StudentSurvey.ie that is currently open until Sunday 7th March?If you have, we would like to thank you for taking part! If you have not, here are some reasons why you should consider doing so.

1. StudentSurvey.ie is open for graduate research students every two years. This gives our team sufficient time to hear, analyse and make changes for a better student experience for you and future graduate research students in UCD.

2. The only way to be heard is by having your say! Otherwise, nobody will never know what your experience in relation to your research programme in UCD is.

3. By listening to students like you who have different needs from the other university students due to the nature of your studies, our team is constantly working on finding ways to improve things for you.

4. Respondents have the opportunity to opt into a competition at the end of the survey with a chance to win prizes. We have 6 lucky winners so far and next week we are going to announce more. Stay tuned in our social media pages!

We hope that these reasons are sufficient for you to compete the survey today. We realise how busy you are, and we want you to know that your participation is much appreciated!

Best wishes,

UCD Graduate Studies

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Message from the Dean of Graduate Studies:StudentSurvey.ie, Essential Research and Upcoming Events (3rd March 21)

March is greeting us, and longer evenings are now noticeable. University life continues heading towards the middle of the trimester, and last month was full of events, welcome sessions, coffee mornings and talks. Myself and my team in Graduate Studies want to ensure that the offerings are useful, and you may avail of these opportunities when appropriate. It is important to stay connected and keep yourself up to date with everything happening online.

A shout out for StudentSurvey.ie:

I would like to draw your attention to the StudentSurvey.ie which is currently open for all graduate research students (GRS) until Sunday 7th March 2021. Graduate Research Students were first surveyed in 2019 and this is the second time research students have been invited to have their say.

This has been a particularly difficult year for both students and staff so capturing the student voice is more important than ever. By having your say you can help us improve the student experience for you and future GRS.However, to do this we will need a sizable percentage of the graduate research students to participate. I would be very grateful if you take the time to complete the survey.

Respondents have the chance to win a host of prizes including airpods, fitbits and a selection of vouchers. Have a look at what two of last week’s winners had to say. The lucky winners so far are:

Week 1

Heather Steele: Airpods
Seamus Hoey: Voucher
Caroline Donovan: Voucher

Week 2:

Orla Flynn: Fitbit
Owen O’Neill: Voucher
Leanne Macken: Voucher

Congratulations to all of you and thank you for taking part. There are more prizes to come next week.

Essential Research

I would like to take the opportunity to highlight that the research that every one of you is undertaking now will shape the future in different ways. However, you need to continue undertaking your research remotely as much as possible, even if this is not ideal in many cases. Only those of you who undertake essential research activities that cannot be undertaken from home, can seek approval to be on campus by your supervisor/ PI and Head of School/Research Institute. I also understand that there may be activities related to your research that have been postponed and by this time have become critical to be carried out. Thus, you may discuss this with your supervisor and decide what steps need to be undertaken if return to campus is deemed necessary.

Please be aware that the approval process of return to campus is based on a risk assessment exercise. If you must be on campus and your request has been approved to do so, please continue to respect public health guidelines on all occasions.

Student Supports:

As I am conscious that we now have a new cohort of graduate research students who have just joined us I would like to highlight the student support available to you. I am enclosing the relevant links to offerings from the UCD Student Centre and UCD Student Counselling for your reference and attaching here a quick guide on Help & Supports available for graduate research students. The UCD Events Calendar is also a good place to find social virtual events or talks of your interest.

It is essential to focus on the positive things during these challenging times and do not forget that the roll-out of the COVID-19 vaccination programme is ongoing. Restrictions may be in place and have been recently extended by the Government but hopefully we are getting closer to the end of this long and difficult path.

Sharing some updates and events for this month:

Training and Development:

PhD@UCD: This workshop will focus on what it means to do a research degree at UCD.

Date: Thursday 11th March 10:00-11:00, Prof Barbara Dooley

Getting the most from your RPDP: This workshop will be an introduction on how to start completing your RPDP.

Date: Thursday 18th March 10:00-11:00, Dr Emer Cunningham

Mind the TAP: This workshop will provide tips and assistance for Stage 1 doctoral students in preparing for their Transfer Assessment.

Date: Thursday 25th March 10:00-11:00, Prof Barbara Dooley

Working with your Supervisor: This workshop will explore the dynamics of this important relationship and provide tips on optimising the experience from the student’s perspective.

Date: Thursday 1st April 10:00-11:00, Dr Janet Carton

Book here

Online Careers Workshop

A virtual careers workshop is taking place this month by our dedicated Career & Skills Advisor for Graduate Research Students, Ms Ger Lardner from UCD Careers Network:

CVs for Graduate Researchers

Date: Wednesday, 10th March 2021 11:00-12:30

Book here on CareersConnect. Please contact careers@ucd.ie with queries or booking issues.

Fireside Fridays

The series of short 20mins interview-style talks continue in March with two talks taking place in March:

12th March @ 12 noon: Is a Postdoc right for me?

26th March @ 12 noon: What is the best time to apply for jobs?

Virtual Coffee Morning

Your Student Adviser Ms Carita Bramhill will host one more Zoom coffee morning before the end of this month, on Tuesday 30th March 11:00-12:00. Save the date and Carita will send dial-in details closer to the day.

I will continue to be in touch providing as much related information to you as possible. Please do not hesitate to contact us at Graduate Studies graduatestudies@ucd.ie, if you have questions, or other suggestions that you would find helpful at this time.

Take care and stay safe.

Very best wishes,

Barbara

Professor Barbara Dooley, UCD Dean of Graduate Studies & Deputy Registrar

Fireside Fridays - a new series of short talks for Graduate Research Students (9th February 2021)

UCD Careers Network and UCD Graduate Studies proudly announce Fireside Fridays, a new series of short 20mins interview-style talks about topics that matter for graduate research students, based on their feedback to date!

What is the Best time for GRs to Engage with the UCD Careers Network?
How to get the best from your RPDP?
Is a Postdoc Right for me?
What is the best time to apply for jobs?
Why are PhDs so sought after in the Start-up Sector?
Why are Arts, Humanities and Social Science PhDs so essential to the workplace?

Experts from different fields will be interviewed on your behalf to figure out the correct answers to these and other questions!

This Friday, 12^th February 2021 from 12:00 to 12-20, Mr Eoin Lynch, UCD Graduate Research Student will be interviewing Ms Ger Larder UCD's dedicated Career & Skills Advisor for Graduate Research Students on what will be the best time for graduate research students to engage with UCD Careers Network.

Note: Registration closes on Thursday(11/2/2021) afternoon when the zoom dial in details will be sent to those booked.

Best Wishes,

UCD Graduate Studies

Third Round Open HEA Support for COVID-19 Related Research Costed Extensions (27th January 2021)

This is UCD’s third round of this internal funding programme, full details on this scheme can be found in the call document which is available here

We are now inviting applications from full-time research students whose original thesis submission deadline is 7th May 2021 and who are now seeking a funded extension up to the 3rd September 2021 submission deadline, and from full-time research students who are planning to submit between May and September 2021 and are seeking a stipend for their final months because their research will not be completed by their original target date. In both cases applicants must answer YES (or N/A in the case of Question 5) to all of the following questions:

1.Are you currently registered as a full time research student?

2.Can you confirm that funding has not already been secured to cover the cost of the proposed extension?

3.Can you confirm that your PhD/Masters/MD is not fully funded by industry?

4. If your PhD/Masters/MD is co-funded by industry, is industry co-funding (cash or in kind) confirmed for the duration of the proposed extension?

If you meet the above criteria you may be eligible for an extension of your thesis submission deadline and /or up to 4 months of stipend payments under this call. Further information on extensions on the Graduate Studies website here

If you wish to make an application you should complete the following steps:

Step 1 – Read the call document and ensure that you meet the eligibility criteria.

Step 2 - Follow the steps outlined on the call website to complete the online application via Sisweb, following which the system will pass it to your Principal Supervisor and Head of School for approval.

You must submit your application by Friday 12th February 2021 to ensure adequate time for review by your Principal Supervisor and your Head of School ahead of their submission deadline of 19th February 2021. Applications must meet these deadlines or they will not be considered. You can monitor the progress of your application via Sisweb.

We expect that a decision on your application will be available via Sisweb by 12th March 2021

If you have further questions please use the resources available on the call website before contacting the team. In particular, please note that:

Eligibility can be checked by referring to the call document.
Instructions on how to submit an online application can be found in the call document.
Status updates on an application already submitted can be checked online via Sisweb.
FAQs are updated regularly.

If you cannot find the answer to your queries through the links above you can email your question to covidcostextensions@ucd.ie. Depending on volume it may take up to two working days to answer your query.

We are aware that many researchers and research students in UCD have suffered interruptions to their research due to Covid-19. This funding from the Department and the HEA is highly welcome, and will allow us to support some of those most seriously affected to deliver on their research ambitions.

For your information, the Dean of Graduate Studies is hosting a Q&A session for Research Students on Monday the 8th February 2021 from 11.00-12.00.The link to register for the session is here This is not specifically about this call but is a forum where students can raise questions. Students can submit question in advance.”

Message from the Dean of Graduate Studies: Orientation, Extensions, Funding and Upcoming Events (3rd Feb 2021)

Spring has arrived and the bleakest month of the year has passed. Although we are still very much in the throes of the pandemic, we can see light on the horizon with the vaccination programme commencing. I am heartened to see UCD very much to the forefront of combatting this virus, with Dr Cillian De Gascún, Prof Tess Lambe and Prof Karina Butler, among others, providing leadership and conducting important research on COVID-19.

I remind you all to stay safe and stay well while we are all apart. Do respect all public health requirements and also be mindful of your wellbeing. Psychology, as many of you know, is my own field of expertise, and I am very aware of the social and mental challenges posed by this pandemic. UCD Student Counselling offers a number of workshops and programmes that are available to you, including Mindfulness, Stress Management and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) via Silvercloud. I also remind you that your Student Adviser, Ms Carita Bramhill (carita.bramhill@ucd.ie), is always available to help guide and advise graduate research students experiencing difficulties. We also have a quick guide on Help & Supports available for graduate research students, that you can view or download here.

Sharing some updates and events for this month:

Induction for Incoming Graduate Research Students - tomorrow 4 February

We are delighted to welcome a new cohort of graduate research students this trimester and will be holding an Induction Day for our January-start students on Thursday 4th February via Zoom. This will cover key elements about research programmes at UCD, and signpost you to resources and supports (similar to the session we ran in September 2020). We have asked your supervisors to facilitate your attendance and feedback from the September attendees indicated they found it helpful (more than 80% positive). I also thank the students who participated in a focus group in November, which allowed us to hone this programme. This session is primarily aimed at our January 2021 start students but any early stage students are welcome to attend, if you would find it helpful.

Register here
You can find more resources in the Brightspace module: Graduate Orientation (registration details: Brightspace_enrolment_instructions_Graduate_Orientation_2022/23) and on our website

Alumni Buddy Programme

Another note for incoming international students: you may apply for the UCD Alumni Buddy Programme, which brings together local alumni and incoming graduate international students. Its purpose is to provide friendly support to students during their time at UCD, to help them to get to know the local community and to take part in a cultural exchange. Alumni Buddy meetings are taking place virtually, to respect social distancing requirements. Further information on the programme is available here. Note: The official closing date was 27 Jan, but you can still apply this week.

HEA one-off COVID-19 payment of €250

I am aware that questions came up about this payment at the last coffee morning and I have liaised with Registry to clarify the situation for graduate research students. All students who are eligible for this payment (full-time, EU-fee status and ordinarily registered on 1 November 2020, including GR students) were emailed in advance of the credit being applied. The deadline from the HEA for payments is 28 February 2021 and a confirmation email will be sent once the credit hits your fee account.

In regards to research students who are not in their final year, but are fully-funded, you will receive the payment if the application of the credit puts your account in credit. All students set to receive any payment from UCD will receive an email from the Finance Office to ensure bank details are correct, but if you have any individual queries, please contact the Student Desk.

COVID-related thesis extensions & HEA funding call

Applying for a COVID-related thesis extension and/or HEA funding, for full-time eligible students, has moved to SISWeb. The application for a thesis extension will incorporate the application for HEA funding. The deadline for applications from students (endorsed by Supervisors) is Friday 12th February 2021. Further information on extensions is on the Graduate Studies website here.

Q&A with the Dean

I was delighted that so many of you took the opportunity to engage with me directly last trimester via a Q&A session and your feedback was that it was helpful. I will hold another live Q&A session for Research Students on Monday 8th February 2021 11.00-12.00. This is not specifically about the HEA Funding call (although queries are welcome on that subject); the Q&A is a wider forum where students can raise questions.

Register here to receive dial-in details
If you wish, you can submit and vote on questions in advance here, or ask your question directly on the day

Last reminder: Registration for Taught Modules closes 5pm today

I already mentioned this last month, module registration continues until 5pm today Wednesday 3rd February. You can find details of all available modules and how to register on our website.

Fireside Fridays

Your Career and Skills Adviser Ms Ger Lardner is curating a series of short online talks for graduate researchers, starting this month. This is a fantastic initiative, designed to provide career inspiration, suitable for you at all stages of your research journey. These are short, 20 minute long events, held on Fridays at noon, feel free to come along with your lunch. The series kicks off on Friday 12th February with ‘What is the Best Time for Graduate Researchers to Engage with the UCD Careers Network’.

Register here to receive dial-in details
See here for full details on this and the rest of the series

CV Workshop for Graduate Researchers

A C V workshop for Graduate Researchers is scheduled for Thursday February 18 at 11.00 a.m. It will be facilitated by Ger Lardner (Career & Skills Consultant for Graduate Researchers).

Book Here

February Coffee Morning

These monthly social sessions continue via Zoom, very ably hosted by your Student Adviser Ms Carita Bramhill, with over 50 students attending her January session. I am so pleased that Carita provides this opportunity for you to connect and hear the latest news and tips. The February session will be on Thursday 25th February and I encourage you all to dial in.

Contact Carita for the Zoom details.

EUA-CDE Thematic Workshops on Research Data Management (YouTube)

I recently attended a series of workshops on data management in the digital world of doctoral education via one of our international partnerships, the European University Association Council for Doctoral Education(EUA-CDE). This was one of the most useful workshops I have attended in recent years. Three of the workshops are available on YouTube, they are just ~15 minutes and I highly recommend taking a look.

UCD Library Discovery Webinar Series for Researchers

On a related note, the Library is also offering a series of Discovery Webinars this trimester that may be relevant for graduate research students, on topics such as Research data management, GIS, Data preservation.

Research Integrity Training

A reminder that Research Integrity Training is a compulsory element of all UCD Research Degree programmes (for students admitted after 31st August 2019). The University is strongly committed to the highest standards of integrity in all aspects of research (see UCD Research Integrity Policy) and this is an important aspect of your programme.

See details < a href='https://www.ucd.ie/graduatestudies/researchstudenthub/trainingdevelopment/researchintegritytraining/' >here on how to take this training (online or as a module) during your research programme

Zoom Pro accounts for Graduate Research Students

You may already be aware of this: UCD graduate research students are eligible for a Zoom Pro account, which has added features e.g. meetings for up to 300 participants. This is enabled automatically once you create a Zoom account, within 30 days of registering as a student. If you have not created a Zoom account within this timeframe, please contact IT Services (ithelpdesk@ucd.ie) to set it up for you.

To sign into Zoom via your UCD account: see here
Note: download the Zoom client to avail of all features

Research Student Handbook 2020/21

A lso a reminder that the Graduate Research Student Handbook is available online to view or download. This is a useful ‘pocket guide’ for programmes and supports information.

There is also the COVID-19 FAQ for graduate research students on our website, which is kept up to date.

I hope to see many of you next week at the Q&A and greatly look forward to meeting and welcoming our incoming students on Thursday. I will continue to be in touch and we are endeavouring to provide as many touch points for you as we can. Please do not hesitate to contact us at Graduate Studies if you have questions, or other suggestions that you would find helpful at this time. Take care and stay safe.

Very best wishes,

Barbara

Professor Barbara Dooley, UCD Dean of Graduate Studies & Deputy Registrar

Graduate Research Student Orientation Day: Virtual Induction (25th January 2021)

Welcome to UCD! We are delighted to have you commence your graduate research programme with us.

UCD Graduate Studies presents Graduate Research Student Induction. This event is intended to give you a helpful overview of key information and supports for research students at UCD. This is aimed at January 2021-start students but any first year graduate research students are welcome to register and attend, the information may still be helpful.

See link to register via Eventbrite here.

Due to social distancing requirements, the event will take place via Zoom so you can attend from wherever you are.

Please note that all graduate research students will have a Zoom account created for them from UCD IT Services the first Thursday after they complete their registration. The account needs to be activated within 30 days of its creation or else it will expire and you will have to request it via the IT Helpdesk. Download the Zoom Client for Meetings here and log in from there to the event to avoid any issues on your participation.

Note: Recordings of the induction will also be available via UCD Brightspace after 4 Feb, if you cannot attend this event on the day.

Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions.

We are looking forward to seeing you on 4^th February 2021!

Best Wishes,

Graduate Studies

A New Year and a New Trimester: Special Arrangements & Supports - Message from the Dean of Graduate Studies (19th January 2021)

As we commence 2021, I hope you have all had the opportunity to rest and relax over the Christmas break.

University life continues in earnest despite COVID-19: we welcome a new cohort of more than 100 graduate research students this trimester, while 123 research degrees were awarded last trimester and nearly 80 theses have been submitted already this month. A hearty congratulations to all of our new research graduates! Well done to you all for your tenacity and resilience in continuing with and completing your studies.

We have the hope of vaccination programmes on the horizon and the end may be in sight for the COVID-19 pandemic. For now, the University is commencing the Spring Trimester with current restrictions on on-campus activity still in place. Essential research activity can continue and all other teaching and research should be conducted remotely.

We are always mindful of our students’ health and wellbeing at UCD, and particularly so this year. Your wellbeing continues to be at the forefront of our concerns and please do stay in touch with us. The university offers a suite of supports for research students, as well as those for the wider student population. Do make the effort to remain connected and avail of the valuable supports and services at your disposal. And remember: as well as your Supervisor, you can rely on your RSP, Head of Postgraduate Studies and Administrative contacts within your School, and of course on me and my team in Graduate Studies.

Some upcoming events and updates this month:

Induction for new Graduate Research Students

Graduate Studies will run a virtual induction for January 2021 start students via Zoom on 4th February 2021. Details will be sent via email in the coming days and in the meantime, resources for incoming graduate research students can be found on our website.

Careers Workshop for Graduate Research Students: CVs for Researchers

UCD's dedicated Career & Skills Advisor for Graduate Research Students Ms Ger Lardner will host a virtual careers workshop tomorrow 20th January 2021, targeted specifically at graduate research students. No matter where you are in your research programme, having an up-to-date CV is always a good investment. This session presents a great opportunity to get helpful tips and advice from a careers expert and have your CV in good shape for 2021.

Date: Wednesday 20th January 11.00 - 12.30
Book Here on CareersConnect

Virtual Coffee Morning for Graduate Research Students

Your Student Adviser Ms Carita Bramhill will hold another coffee morning via Zoom on Tuesday 26th January next for research students to connect, ask questions and meet some fellow students. Hopefully she can resume the real life sessions this academic year, but for the moment, the virtual coffee mornings continue and I encourage you to seize these opportunities to connect. Zoom details were included via email or contact Carita directly (carita.bramhill@ucd.ie) for dial-in details.

Online Training Opportunity: Introduction to Sonic HPC Cluster for Graduate Research Students

UCD Research IT have introduced a new self-service online training for UCD graduate research students, available via Brightspace.

Getting Started on Sonic is a video-led presentation suitable for all researchers who have large computational requirements. This series of videos gives a brief overview of what HPC (High Performance Computing) is, how to access the UCD Campus cluster Sonic and some step by step tutorials on submitting jobs, transferring data and accessing GPU's (Graphics Processing Units) on Sonic.
The 1 hour course is available through Brightspace and bookable through the UCD Booking Centre
Book Here
Note: once you have booked, wait approximately 6 hours and the module should be accessible via 'My Modules' on UCD Brightspace.

Taught Module Registration

Registration is now open for Taught modules for graduate research students until 3rd February next. PhD students must complete 30 credits of modules relevant to their area of research or for their professional development over the course of their programme. In a registration upgrade for the academic year 2020-21, you will register for modules using online systems. Details of modules and the new registration procedure can be found here.

UCD PhD Students’ Society

I warmly welcome the new PhD Students Society. This is an important addition to the social fabric of the PhD journey and I commend the students who have taken up the baton to connect with their fellow graduate research students:

Auditor Gianluca Fontanesi
Vice-Auditor Monjed Al-Tarifi
Secretary Jillian Scully
Vice Secretary Fernandos Ongolly
Treasurer Giulia Oeschger
PRO Arlene John

Connect with them here. Thanks also to Student Adviser Carita Bramhill, who assisted with the setup. The Society is currently holding a design competition to select their official logo, with a prize for the winning entry. Send your designs via email to phd.society@ucd.ie with the subject line 'logo competition’ by Friday 29th January 2021.

COVID-19 Guidelines for Graduate Research Students

I remind you that we are maintaining a COVID-19 FAQ specifically for graduate research students. Although we are keeping our FAQ updated, this is not an exhaustive list. You may have a question specific to your research, wellbeing, or other areas. If you have a question that we haven't answered, or you need help, please do reach out to us graduatestudies@ucd.ie

Other Student Supports to be aware of, particularly as we maintain virtual arrangements:

Video of some supports (targeted at incoming students but relevant to all)
Recently updated virtual Mental Health/Digital Therapy tool Silvercloud
Students can sign up to virtual fitness classes by UCD Sport and Fitness here
The student events calendar remains active, we expect a lot of events to appear over the coming weeks
The Library has lots of virtual offerings and resources on their website
Bookable study space is available on campus including places like the Student Centre
Some information on what services are currently available can be found here
The UCD Mobile App is a very handy tool for students, with a map and a quick way to connect to fitness information, events etc.
Information on accessing the campus and hygiene packs for students is available from UCD Estate Services

I will continue to keep you updated as the year progresses. Again, please feel free to contact us at Graduate Studies with any questions or suggestions, our doors are always open (virtually via email for now).

Wishing you all the best in this New Year.

Stay safe and stay well,

Barbara

Professor Barbara Dooley, UCD Dean of Graduate Studies & Deputy Registrar

Follow us on Twitter or LinkedIn | See previous Graduate Studies email communications

Christmas Wishes from the Dean of Graduate Studies (21st December 2020)

[To: all graduate research students]

Wishing you all the very best this festive season. After the truly unique year we have had, I commend you all once more for your resilience in persisting and adapting to our new reality.

Life at UCD continued in 2020, despite the pandemic: we have had 555 new graduate research students join us this year, as well as 280 who completed their research studies in the last academic year. I congratulate those who have completed their journey at UCD and for those of you who have commenced or are continuing with us, I assure you of my continued support. Our focus remains on academic excellence, whilst maintaining necessary measures to keep our staff and students safe.

We have also adapted in Graduate Studies during 2020. We have pivoted to deliver many of our activities and supports online:

We ran six virtual training workshops this trimester and seven in the Spring trimester, with over 1600 attendees
Not only this, we held 3 supervisor workshops, a virtual Thesis Bootcamp and we also hosted the 2020 Thesisin3 competition online
We held our first Graduate Orientation event entirely via Zoom and harnessed Brightspace for the first time to share resources with incoming students
Your Student Adviser Carita Bramhill instituted monthly virtual coffee mornings
Your Careers Adviser Ger Lardner has been holding careers appointments online as well as hosting a variety of virtual careers workshops
We relaunched and revamped our website entirely, with the aim of providing a hub of resources for our research students, as well as news and events
I have been sharing monthly communications to keep you up to date. You can review these here
We ramped up our social media, so as to connect with you as best as we can

We look forward to welcoming you back to UCD in 2021. We will be continuing many activities online for the Spring Trimester, including welcoming a new cohort of research students. However, I sincerely hope life may return towards normality next year, with promising reports from several prospective vaccines.

I will be in touch in January about some new initiatives and development opportunities. In the meantime, I wish you health and happiness and encourage you all to take a break and switch off during the holidays.

For those of you remaining on or near campus, UCD is organising various COVID-compliant Christmas activities such as a woodland walk and Christmas morning breakfast. See further information here and search #christmasatucd on social media.

Stay safe and stay well this Christmas, agus Beannachtaí na Nollag oraibh go léir.

With very best wishes,

Barbara

Professor Barbara Dooley

UCD Dean of Graduate Studies and Deputy Registrar

As We Conclude 2020: a Note from the Dean (3rd December 2020)

[To: all UCD graduate research students]

As we approach the end of our Autumn Trimester, I think it is true to say that 2020 was not the year any of us had envisaged. I commend you all for your resilience and flexibility in working through a global pandemic. A special mention to those of you who commenced your UCD experience in 2020 and have not as yet benefited from the usual campus experience. As I write, work on a vaccine looks promising - including work from UCD graduate Professor Tess Lambe - and we hope to welcome you all fully in 2021 to enjoy our beautiful parkland campus. In the meantime, I hope you all have the opportunity to take a break over the holiday period and have some time to rest and recuperate after this truly unique year.

Sharing some upcoming events and training opportunities:

Careers Workshops for Graduate Research Students

CVs for Graduate Researchers - having an up-to-date CV is always a good investment

Date: Tuesday 8th December 11.00 - 12.30

Book Here

Coffee Morning for Graduate Research Students - Christmas edition

Your Student Adviser Ms Carita Bramhill will host one more Zoom coffee morning before the end of the year, on Tuesday 15th December 11:00-12:00. The dial-in information is:

Online Workshops

We have 2 more Transferable Skills workshops with Hugh Kearns in December, and you still have time to book a place:

Presenting your Research with Confidence: Fri Dec 4th, 10:00-12:00
This workshop will provide a clear step-by-step structure that you can use again and again to give high quality presentations. And it will be interactive and fun!
The Impostor Syndrome: Wed Dec 9th, 10:00-12:00
The session will explain why high performing people often doubt their abilities and find it hard to enjoy their successes. It will also show the links to perfectionism and self-handicapping strategies such as procrastination, avoidance and overcommitment.

You can book directly here.

Thesis Bootcamp

This is an opportunity specific to Stage 2 students: if you are preparing to write up, you may apply for the Thesis Bootcamp to help you write your first draft.

UCD Thesis Bootcamp 2021 (virtual), 18-20 Jan 2021. Full details and the application form can be found on the Graduate Studies website.

This is a great opportunity to make it over that final hurdle, or to kick-start your writing progress if it has stalled. Applications close on Friday 4th December 2020 and places are strictly limited, so make sure to get your application in before this date.

Irish Humanities Doctoral Training

The Irish Humanities Alliance has announced a free training event for humanities doctoral researchers across the island of Ireland. This first IHA doctoral training event will take place on Friday 11th December, 10.00-13.00. This event aims to share the expertise of the IHA’s all-island membership with doctoral researchers across the island and, in the context of the pandemic, address the issue of repository access as it affects humanities doctoral researchers.

Dean’s Q&A

I was delighted to have the opportunity to answer your questions at my recent Q&A with the Dean. I will hold another such session in January, when we are all back fully rested and full of energy for the new year. I will also continue to send these monthly communications, which I hope are helpful to you, particularly as we are working in a distributed environment.

In the meantime, hold firm and stay connected with UCD: meet frequently with your supervisor as your primary point of contact, stay in touch with your School and reach out to your Student Adviser Carita if you are experiencing difficulties. You can always contact us at Graduate Studies with any questions or suggestions also; we are here to support you.

Very best wishes,

Barbara

Professor Barbara Dooley

UCD Dean of Graduate Studies & Deputy Registrar

Message from the Dean: Upcoming Events & Important Update about Jan-May Extensions (10th November 2020)

Dear student,

[distributed to: all UCD graduate research students]

Firstly, I would like to commend each of you for your resilience in working through this pandemic and continuing or pivoting your research plans to respond to our new reality. As the bare trees silhouetted against the skies remind us of the arrival of winter, UCD teaching & research activities continue in this ‘new normal’. We at UCD are working to ensure the best experience possible for all our students, and I will be in contact as soon as I can about plans for the next trimester.

Taking Care of Yourself

I would like to re-emphasise my concern for your health and wellbeing; this is of paramount importance to us at UCD. I wish to draw your attention to the Healthy UCD website and in particular to mental wellness supports, both on and off campus. The short winter days can exacerbate difficulties and I encourage you to stay connected and to engage with the supports available to you.

COVID-19 related Funded Extensions

An important update this month: If you were originally planning to submit your thesis by the 8th January 2021 and have been impacted by COVID-19, you may apply for a one trimester no-fee extension and/or funding via the Higher Education Authority. If you are due to submit by May 2021, and wish to be considered for funding via the HEA call, you may also apply.

Full details of the categories of students who are eligible to apply can be found here
Please liaise with your Supervisor if you wish to request an extension and/or funding. The window is quite short, so as to enable funds to be distributed in January 2021
Extensions/funding may be requested via SISWeb by Wednesday 25th November.
See full application process here: https://www.ucd.ie/research/portal/heacovid-19call/

We are aware that many research students in UCD have suffered interruptions to their research due to COVID-19. This funding from the Department and the HEA is highly welcome, and will allow us to support some of you who are most seriously affected to deliver on your research ambitions.

Q&A with the Dean

I will hold a Q&A session tomorrow via Zoom webinar, where I am available to respond to your questions on extensions, or anything else you wish to ask me, as your Dean.

Date & Time: Q&A with the Dean. Wednesday 11th November 2020, 11.30-12.30
Register here for this webinar. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar

This Q&A is an informal session and the agenda is up to you. I am trying something new: you may submit and vote on questions in advance using this link:

www.pigeonhole.at/74GHER (passcode is 74GHER if you are asked for a password)

You have the choice to ask a question anonymously or add your name. Of course, this is optional and you can also ask questions on the day.

Online Workshops

As our autumn trimester progresses, I am cheered to see such huge attendance and positive feedback from our Transferable Skills workshops. My sincere hope is that these present an opportunity to connect with fellow students, as well as to learn valuable skills that will assist you during your research programme and beyond. There are still 4 workshops remaining this trimester, and you can read further details & register here.

I am also pleased to advise that our dedicated Career & Skills Adviser for Graduate Research Students, Ms Ger Lardner, will be hosting 2 Virtual Careers Workshops this trimester, targeted specifically at graduate research students.

Transferable Skills for Researchers, Thursday 26th November 11.00 - 12.30
CVs for Graduate Researchers, Tuesday 8th December 11.00 - 12.30

It is never too early to begin planning your next career steps, so I encourage you to think to your future and to attend. Register via Careers Connect using the links above.

Student Supports: Coffee Mornings

Your Student Adviser Ms Carita Bramhill continues her popular series of Coffee Mornings. These present a great informal opportunity to connect with other graduate research students across the University, and to hear what is going on every month. In the last coffee morning, Carita used breakout rooms to facilitate people to chat in smaller groups, which was very successful. The next session will be an afternoon tea rather than a coffee morning - we realise people are dialling in from various timezones so Carita is switching the time this month:

14:00-15:00, Tuesday 24th November 2020

As always, please do check in frequently with your primary contact at UCD, your Principal Supervisor and keep an eye on our COVID-19 FAQ. I will continue to send these emails regularly and I look forward to hearing and responding to your questions during tomorrow’s Q&A.

Stay well and stay connected.

Kind regards,

Barbara

Professor Barbara Dooley

UCD Dean of Graduate Studies & Deputy Registrar

Reminder: Transferable Skills Online Workshops & Thesis Bootcamp Application deadline in Dec (26th November 2020)

[to: all UCD graduate research students]

This trimester seems to be flying by, notwithstanding COVID restrictions, and we hope your research and/or writing is proceeding well. We wanted to signal a couple of upcoming training opportunities:

ONLINE WORKSHOPS

We have 3 more Transferable Skills workshops in December and you still have time to book a place.

Staying well during your PhD: Wed Dec 2nd, 10:00-12:00
Inevitably over the course of your PhD you will experience times when things aren’t going so well. This workshop draws on evidence-based strategies to help YOU stay well during your PhD.
Presenting your Research with Confidence: Fri Dec 4th, 10:00-12:00
This workshop will provide a clear step-by-step structure that you can use again and again to give high quality presentations. And it will be interactive and fun!
The Impostor Syndrome: Wed Dec 9th, 10:00-12:00
The session will explain why high performing people often doubt their abilities and find it hard to enjoy their successes. It will also show the links to perfectionism and self-handicapping strategies such as procrastination, avoidance and overcommitment.

You can book directly here.

These are all one-off sessions and will be delivered online, so you can join from wherever you are. Participants report the sessions are helpful in their studies, so we encourage you to take advantage of these popular sessions.

THESIS BOOTCAMP

For Stage 2 students: if you are preparing to write up, you have the opportunity to apply for the Thesis Bootcamp to help you write your first draft.

UCD Thesis Bootcamp 2021 (virtual), 18-20 Jan 2021
This is an intensive writing programme for late-stage doctoral researchers, run by guest lecturer Dr Peta Freestone and again, previous participants always have very positive feedback.

Full details and the application form can be found on our website and please contact Dr Janet Carton if you have any further questions (janet.carton@ucd.ie). Applications close on Friday 4th December 2020 and places are strictly limited, so make sure to get your application in before this date.

We hope that you find these sessions useful, and always feel free to suggest other training options that you would find helpful.

Kind regards,

UCD Graduate Studies

Remain connected with UCD during these challenging times (23rd October 2020)

To: All Graduate Research Students

We continue to work in unprecedented times. You have already received my communication that the current level of restriction on academic activities is to be retained until the end of the current trimester. The campus will remain open and Library and lab access will continue for graduate research students. I would like to reiterate that University life continues, albeit in a different way. I encourage you to stay connected with us at UCD and I would like to share some relevant information & supports from Graduate Studies:

Academic Supports

I wanted to assure you that we are here to support graduate research students & there are a number of touchpoints for you at UCD. I am here to support you as Dean of Graduate Studies and my team is here to assist you in training & development. Your Student Adviser Ms Carita Bramhill is dedicated to advising & helping research students. Your School office can answer many questions and of course, your Supervisor is your first and best adviser & academic contact. I also wanted to emphasise that this is your journey. Although COVID-19 has presented a curveball this year, to say the least, I encourage you to seize opportunity where it occurs and explore workarounds and alternatives, if your original plans are not feasible.

COVID-related Thesis Submission Extensions

If you were originally preparing to submit your thesis in January 2021, and are unable to meet that deadline due to COVID-19 associated disruptions, you can be supported with a single trimester extension to complete your thesis for submission by 7th May 2021. This extension is a no-cost fee extension to support graduate research students delayed due to COVID-19

without the financial burden of fees. Please note that this support is only available to students that have not already received a one-trimester no-cost fee extension due to COVID-19 related circumstances. Please see Q11 and Q12 in our updated COVID-19 FAQs for full detail on this application process and more detailed advice on extensions overall.

Wellbeing

We understand that these are difficult times. The University provides a full suite of health and wellness supports for our students. Please do engage with these services - your wellbeing is always to the forefront of our concerns. You can still join UCD sports clubs - details here - and there are over 60 events currently on the UCD Events calendar.

Orientation

We had great attendance at our recent Graduate Research Student Induction and feedback indicates that our incoming students found this was a helpful introduction (resources incl. Recordings are available in the Brightspace ‘Graduate Orientation’ module: see attached instructions to access). Many thanks to all who attended and to Deva Devaraj, George Vathakkattil and Lorna Conway, who participated in a student panel to share their experiences. We plan to run this induction for incoming students from now on: we have gathered feedback from attendees and will run a focus group to ensure we are taking the student voice into consideration, for future events. Please reply here if you would be interested in participating.

You can also rewatch the Virtual GradsConnect Welcome for all incoming graduate students. This video contains further information on supports too (see links below the video).

In addition, we encourage all incoming students to complete the ‘Introduction to UCD’ Brightspace module. In particular, "Becoming an Active Bystander" is a key component.

Virtual Workshops

We are pleased to announce that Hugh Kearns will be back with us for six Transferable Skills workshops this autumn trimester, specifically for UCD graduate research students. These will be delivered online so you can participate from whenever you are. The workshops will encompass a variety of topics such as presenting your research & writing skills, as well as staying well, and I encourage you to participate.

Library Webinars

UCD Library is also running a Discovery Series of webinars targeted at researchers, and these may be of interest to graduate research students.

Virtual Coffee Mornings

Your Student Adviser Carita Bramhill continues her monthly virtual coffee mornings. The next one will take place on Monday 2nd November. Save the date and Carita will send details closer to the time. Carita often invites guests e.g. UCDSU Graduate Officer Carla Gummerson attended the September coffee morning and I was heartened to see more than 70 of you & such great engagement at the September event. I will attend as many of these as I can. We are keen to hear from you and these present a great informal opportunity to stay in touch with your fellow students and hear what is ongoing.

Career Consultations Online

Please note that you can continue to make appointments online with your Career & Skills Adviser Ms Ger Lardner. She is dedicated to graduate research students and again, I encourage you to engage with her on your career planning - she can support you to consider your options and to map out your journey.

Resources

We will continue to maintain our COVID-19 FAQ for research students and the Research Student Handbook is a great first reference point for many questions. There are limited copies available from your School, if you would like a printed version.

I hope that we can fully welcome all of our students back to our beautiful campus before too long. The autumn leaves are spectacular at present. My key message to you in these challenging times is to make the effort to remain connected to UCD and to engage with the resources available to you. We are, and will continue to be, here for our graduate research students. As always, you can send feedback or suggestions to graduatestudies@ucd.ie

Stay safe and stay well,

Barbara

Professor Barbara Dooley | UCD Dean of Graduate Studies

Update on Campus Activity under Government Restrictions (22nd October 2020)

To: All Graduate Research Students

I am writing to update you further on the implications of the Government announcement concerning the imposition of Level 5 COVID-19 restrictions nationally, from midnight 21st October for a period of six weeks (when it will be reviewed again) and its impact on your coming to campus. The Level 5 measures announced on Monday 19th October designate higher education as essential insofar as onsite presence is required and such education activities cannot be held remotely.

To provide you with certainty in what to expect and facilitate your planning, I am advising you that the current level of restriction on academic activities is to be retained until the end of the current trimester. This means that:

Activities that are taking place currently on campus can continue:
- Practical and laboratory access
- Clinical teaching and associated activities
- Studio classes
- Practice based teaching
- Outdoor fieldwork
Activities that are being taught online currently will remain online
Online teaching will continue as per timetables

The campus will remain open so that:

Campus-based research can continue. We know this is of paramount importance to our graduate research students
Libraries and study areas are available. Details on these spaces are available here
On-campus catering can continue, for collection only
The UCD Student Health Service can provide necessary onsite support to meet your mental health and welfare needs
Residences will remain open to students and staff but with no visitors permitted

In line with Level 5, from midnight last night, Wednesday 21st October, students are asked to exercise within 5 kilometres of their accommodation and not visit other apartments on campus.

You are now required to wear a face covering for all on campus teaching and learning events, in all the libraries and internal public spaces of the campus apart from:

When actively eating and drinking in designated seating or social areas
When an underlying medical condition prevents their wearing

Further details of all the facilities and services available both on campus and virtually can be found here.

Please read carefully the specific requirements for attendance on campus outlined in the Short Guide for Students Returning to Campus.

If you have been on campus and subsequently receive a positive COVID-19 diagnosis, please contact the Duty Manager at 01-7167999 as soon as possible. A team is available to guide you through our internal contact tracing process which takes place in parallel and in collaboration with the HSE contact tracing process. It is important that you continue to observe the public health guidelines wherever you are and keep safe and well.

Please ensure you carry your student ID, as you may be required to demonstrate that you are travelling to UCD for educational purposes.

I want to assure you that the campus is a safe and welcoming environment and our faculty and staff are ready to provide you with the best educational experience we can offer, at distance or on campus. We are maintaining a specific FAQ for graduate research students & please continue to work closely with your Principal Supervisor as to how best to proceed during this trimester.

Kind regards,

Barbara

Professor Barbara Dooley | UCD Dean of Graduate Studies & Deputy Registrar

Transferable Skills Virtual Workshops for the Autumn trimester (12th October 2020)

We are pleased to announce an Autumn Trimester series of six Transferable Skills workshops for UCD graduate research students.

Mr Hugh Kearns joins us virtually from Adelaide to deliver a series of his ever-popular workshops. These will all be delivered online, so you can join from wherever you are. Even if you have been to some of the workshops before, you are bound to pick up some additional advice.

Turbocharge your writing, Masterclass: Fri Nov 6th and Mon Nov 16th
How to plan your PhD: Tues Nov 10th
Idea Mapping/ Mind mapping: Thurs Nov 19th
Staying well during your PhD: Wed Dec 2nd
Presenting your research with confidence: Fri Dec 4th
The Impostor Syndrome: Wed Dec 9th

Full details are available on our website and the direct booking link is here.

Please let us know if you have any questions.

Kind regards,

UCD Graduate Studies

GradsConnect follow-up: Supports & Virtual Campus Tour (25th September 2020)

We hope you enjoyed the GradsConnect Welcome from UCD President Professor Andrew Deeks and Professor Barbara Dooley, Dean of Graduate Studies. Rewatch here.

The Dean mentioned various Services and Supports in her chat with Philip, as well as in the Supports video:

We would also like to highlight:

UCD Students' Union. Your UCDSU Graduate Officer 2020/21 is Carla Gummerson - view more info and contact details for Carla here
UCD Global
Gaeltacht UCD
UCD Graduate Studies

UCD is committed to providing a great student experience, including keeping you safe and informed on COVID-19 measures at the University. Visit our dedicated website for the latest information and advice, including a FAQ for graduate students.

As Barbara said, your time at UCD is about personal as well as academic development. We encourage you to reach out and connect via the wealth of Clubs and Societies at the University:

We hope you have enjoyed your first week at UCD. If you have not yet had the opportunity to visit our beautiful parkland campus, we have an interactive Virtual Campus Tour, new this week. We encourage you to explore this and discover the world-class facilities at your disposal. View details of those Woodland Walks here.

Once again, we are delighted to have you commence your graduate study with us. We warmly welcome you into the proud academic & sporting tradition at UCD, ranked No 1 in Ireland for graduate employability. And we hope to see you back on campus soon, to discover those best coffee spots for yourselves!

Stay safe and stay well,

UCD Graduate Studies

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Resources from Graduate Research Student Induction (24th September 2020)

Thank you for attending Graduate Research Student Induction yesterday.

Please confirm that you attended via the survey available in the Brightspace 'Graduate Orientation' module.

You can find the session slides, links and documents referenced during the day on Brightspace. Videos of the session will be added in the coming days.

We would also welcome your feedback via the feedback survey, also on Brightspace.

Notes:

The materials are available via Brightspace as the filesizes are too large to send via email.
Once you register as a student at UCD, you can access Brightspace: see access information & training here
Instructions are attached on how to enrol in the module and how to complete the attendance and feedback surveys.
We will also be available 10-10.30am on Friday 25th September to give live assistance to anyone who has difficulty accessing materials or surveys on Brightspace. Dial in via Zoom at 10am tomorrow: https://ucd-ie.zoom.us/j/92335524398

A reminder that you can view the Thesisin3 videos and vote for our own UCD winner Tom Hall here.

You can also view the Virtual Campus Tour for yourself. We do recommend you take a look, there is lots to see and enjoy on our beautiful parkland campus, if you have not had the opportunity to visit for yourself just yet.

Wishing you the best of luck as you embark upon your studies. We will be in touch throughout the academic year about various training & development opportunities & you can find latest news on the Graduate Studies website.

And remember: tune in on YouTube tomorrow (25th September) at 2pm for our Virtual GradsConnect. An Official Welcome from the Dean of Graduate Studies and UCD President, as well as information on supports & services available to you as a UCD student.

Warm regards,

UCD Graduate Studies

Revised Government public health guidelines impact (18th September 2020)

I am writing to update you on the implications of the anticipated Government announcement concerning the imposition of Level 3 COVID-19 restrictions on the Dublin region and its impact on you working on campus. The Government has instructed that higher education institutions in Dublin take additional precautions to limit congregation of groups.

Consequently, the University Management has taken the decision to operate under Level 4 restrictions for the coming week, in order to provide you with certainty regarding the commencement of the teaching trimester.

As a research student, please make contact with your supervisor to discuss how you can progress your research under these new restrictions.

If you are due to take a taught module this trimester:

Scheduled on-campus activity for the coming week will not take place, with the exception of pre-clinical and clinical teaching
Online teaching will commence on 21 September, as per your timetable
Where you have scheduled face to face lectures, tutorials or labs, your Module Coordinator/School will inform you as to whether these classes will take place online or be deferred until such time as they can take place in a face to face context

The campus will remain open so that:

Libraries and study areas will be available to students
Residences will remain open
On-campus catering will continue
Campus-based research continues

I want to assure you that your supervisor is here to support you and your research.

With very best wishes,

Barbara

Professor Barbara Dooley, Dean of Graduate Studies

Invitation to UCD Virtual GradsConnect Welcome (18th September 2020)

Welcome to UCD! We are globally recognised for excellence in teaching and learning and ranked no. 1 in Ireland for graduate employability. We are delighted to have you commence your graduate study with us: we invite you to become part of UCD’s proud academic & sporting tradition.

As we begin this new Academic Year, you can access Graduate Orientation information and suggested First Steps for incoming graduate students on the Graduate Studies website.

We run an annual event to showcase supports for graduate students. As we are all aware, this is a year like no other and this year’s GradsConnect Welcome will be virtual, to respect social distancing requirements.

To round off your first week with us, we will livestream an Official Welcome from UCD President Professor Andrew Deeks and Dean of Graduate Studies Professor Barbara Dooley, along with supports available to you as graduate students at UCD.

When: Friday 25th September 2020, 2-2.30pm

Where: Tune in Live on YouTube: https://youtu.be/z8m4pJ2_LHs

There will also be the opportunity to participate in a virtual campus tour, after the livestream.

Wishing you the best as you commence your graduate programme and we hope to see many of you online next Friday.

Warm regards,

UCD Graduate Studies

Message from the Dean: Preparing for a New Academic Year (17th September 2020)

We are getting ready to welcome you all next week, whether welcoming you back or for the first time. I understand that students may be concerned; all of us must now live with the new reality of COVID-19. I can assure you that UCD remains committed to providing an excellent educational and student experience for all our returning and incoming students, whilst prioritising your safety.

As we prepare for the new academic year, I wanted to share some initiatives and information from Graduate Studies to support our community of research students:

Firstly, I remind you, as always, to maintain regular contact with your Principal Supervisor. Your supervisor is the primary point of contact for your research and can best advise you regarding all queries on your studies.

Our new and improved Graduate Studies website is now live. You can find a dedicated hub of resources for our graduate research students, and I would draw your attention to the new section focused on student supports. We also have a new repository of Documents & Files, for the most relevant forms and policies and valuable Training & Development resources for research students.

We thank all students who provided feedback thus far and we welcome your thoughts on the new-look website here.

Orientation September 2020

Orientation information can be found on our website. Graduate Studies will host two events next week:

Research Student Induction Wednesday 23rd September
We will be running Induction for incoming graduate research students on Wednesday 23rd September. Please note that this will take place online via Zoom and that attendance is mandatory for incoming graduate research students. We have asked supervisors to facilitate you attending at this time. Dial-in details will follow separately but the times will be 10:00-12:00 and 14:00-16.00 on Wednesday 23rd September.
I will also be hosting a virtual GradsConnect Welcome for all graduate students (taught & research) on Friday 25th September at 14:00 and I invite you all to attend. Full details will be communicated to all incoming students separately.

I would like to draw your attention to the Graduate Research Student Handbook 2020/21

This is a key support for both staff and students. As you are aware, this is an unusual year so the Handbook will be in electronic format this year.

Registration is now open for Discipline-specific Taught modules until 9th October next. PhD students must complete 30 credits of discipline-specific modules over the course of their programme. In a registration upgrade for the academic year 2020-21, you will register for modules using online systems. Details of modules and the new registration procedure can be found here.

I remind you that we are maintaining a COVID-19 FAQ specifically for graduate research students. Although we are keeping our FAQ updated, this is not an exhaustive list. You may have a question specific to your research, wellbeing, or other areas. If you have a question that we haven't answered, or you need help, please do reach out to us graduatestudies@ucd.ie

In other news:

Research Student Coffee Morning: Tuesday 29th September at 11am.

Your dedicated Student Adviser Carita Bramhill continues her series of virtual coffee mornings for research students via Zoom. These coffee mornings are both social and informative - I encourage you to attend. They present a great opportunity to connect with your fellow students & to hear the latest from staff. Mark the date in your diary, details will be sent by Carita later this month.

Our colleagues in UCD Global are running an Alumni Buddy Programme for Graduate Students. This may be of particular interest to those who are new to UCD and to Dublin. Please complete this form by end of day today Thursday 17th September, to be included. (note: this was already distributed to our international students via UCD Global and is open to domestic students too)

Women in Research Ireland are running an online free webinar this Friday 18th September. This will be a panel discussion focusing on PhD life and one of our current PhD student based in the Conway Institute, Emily Sheridan is heavily involved. This event is intended for those who are about to embark on a PhD in this new academic year as well as current PhD students. It will cover important topics such as managing stress, and dealing with setbacks, which is especially pertinent with the effects of COVID-19 on research projects, as well as stressing the importance of recognising progress and successes.

We are always mindful of our students’ health and wellbeing at UCD, and particularly so this year. The university offers a suite of supports for research students and for the entire student population. Do stay connected and avail of these valuable supports and services at your disposal.

I wish you all the best as we commence this academic year. I will be communicating regularly with students and you can always keep an eye on the Graduate Studies website for the latest news and events.

Warmest regards,

Barbara

Professor Barbara Dooley, Dean of Graduate Studies

Further Resources

Brightspace

Access Introduction to UCD and Orientation modules (Current UCD students only)

Learn more

Research Student Handbook

A useful summary of guidance and policies on research degree programmes at UCD

View or Download

Research Student Checklist

Checklist of starting items for new research students

View/Download

Supervisory Resources

View information and resources for UCD staff involved in supervising graduate research students

View Here

Student Communications 2020/21

Further Resources

Brightspace

Research Student Handbook

Research Student Checklist

Supervisory Resources