And now on the Today Programme…

On the 24th November, Meteorology PhD researcher Sammie Buzzard was interviewed on BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme.  Here are her thoughts on her appearance on Radio 4’s most popular programme:

“Late in the afternoon, just as I was hoping to finish for the day, I received a call from the University’s Press Office. They needed someone with knowledge about Antarctic sea ice to talk about a colleague’s work on the ‘Today Programme the very next day.

At first I was worried about talking about work that wasn’t my own; I deal with land ice and I didn’t know the details of the study. However, the Press Office assured me that I only needed to give an overview, and thanks to giving the Graduate School’s Fairbrother Lecture earlier this year, I felt confident enough that I would be able to answer general questions about the polar regions.

I had been warned by the Press Office that it would be an early start; I was due to speak at 6:50am. That’s fine, I thought, no-one will know if I’m still in my pyjamas, it’s the radio, I’ll be phoning in.

Shortly after I received a phone call, “they need you to come into the studio, a taxi will come at 5:30”. So much for pyjamas then, but at least a face to face interview would be far easier than over the phone.

Given that I had relatively little time to prepare, I was only really able to read the paper that my colleague had published and review my notes for the Fairbrother Lecture – luckily I had already been prepared for a lot of questions about sea ice so most of the background information was already there.

Arriving at the BBC in what felt like the middle of the night was very odd, to get to the radio area you walk past the main news room you’re used to seeing on the TV, it was quite intimidating. Yet as soon as I was in the studio the presenters were very friendly and put me straight at ease.

The interview itself went by in a flash. Thankfully the questions were quite reasonable (this is never a guarantee when talking about things related to climate change!) and it was a really great experience. Then it was back to Reading on the train and into the office even earlier than I would have made it in on a normal day!”

If you would like to listen, the interview is still available on iPlayer at around 52:30 http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b084jqx6

Autumn Term Events

Induction event for all new doctoral researchers (October 2016 starters)

Wednesday 5 October, 14.00-16.00
Madejski Lecture Theatre, Agriculture Building, Earley Gate
An essential event for new doctoral research students, this will provide you with an introduction to what you need to know about academic life during your time at Reading, including information on:
• What you can expect from the University Graduate School and what we will expect from you
• Training requirements (RRDP)
• Personal development events
This is also an opportunity for you to meet other new doctoral researchers from across the University.
Attendance is highly recommended.

Breakfast Club
Thursday 10 November, 9.00-10.00 am
Graduate School (Old Whiteknights House)
Sometimes doing a PhD can get a little lonely, so put the books aside for an hour and come and meet others in the same boat as you! (Coffee, pastries and fruit provided.)
Free to attend, but so we know how many croissants to buy, please email gradschool@reading.ac.uk if you are planning to attend.

Seasonal Celebration and Graduate School Quiz
Tuesday 6 December 17.00-19.00
Graduate School (Old Whiteknights House)
Although it might seem a long way off, save the date for the Graduate School’s annual Seasonal Celebration and quiz. More details to follow soon.

Our conference in pictures

On Thursday 23 June, the Graduate School held its annual Doctoral Research Conference. Here is a visual overview of the day’s events…

Conference delegates

Conference delegates

Joanna Baker, Environment Research Theme winner

Joanna Baker (Biological Sciences) PhD Researcher of the Year Award, Environment Research Theme winner

Vaibhav Singh, Heritage and Creativity Research Theme winner

Vaibhav Singh (Typography & Graphic Communication) PhD Researcher of the Year Award, Heritage and Creativity Research Theme winner

Ruth Barnes, Three Minute Thesis People's Choice award winner

Ruth Barnes (Chemistry, Food & Pharmacy) Three Minute Thesis Competition, People’s Choice award winner

Research Image Competition

Research Image Competition

Faith Orchard. Health Research Theme winner and overall winner of PhD Researcher of the Year award

Faith Orchard (Psychology) PhD Researcher of the Year  Award, Health Research Theme winner and overall winner of the PhD Researcher of the Year Award

Lisa Schopohl (ICMA) PhD Researcher of the Year Prosperity and Resilience Research Theme winner

Lisa Schopohl (ICMA) PhD Researcher of the Year Award, Prosperity and Resilience Research Theme winner

Luke Bell (Chemistry, Food & Pharmacy) PhD Researcher of the Year Food Research Theme winner

Luke Bell (Chemistry, Food & Pharmacy) PhD Researcher of the Year Award, Food Research Theme winner

Ioannis Zoulias (Systems Engineering) Three Minute Thesis Competition winner

Ioannis Zoulias (Systems Engineering) Three Minute Thesis Competition winner

Research Image Competition, winning entry: 'Big world in a small water drop'

Research Image Competition winning entry: ‘Big world in a small water drop’, submitted by Anna Freeman (Archaeology, Geography & Environmental Science)

Rebecca Emerton (Archaeology, Geography & Environmental Science) Research Poster winner

Rebecca Emerton (Archaeology, Geography & Environmental Science) Research Poster winner

Gagan Flora (Biological Sciences) winner of the the Research Image Competition People's Choice award

Gagan Flora (Biological Sciences) Research Image Competition, People’s Choice award winner

Saleh Omairi (Biological Sciences) Research Poster Competition People's Choice award winner

Saleh Omairi (Biological Sciences) Research Poster Competition, People’s Choice award winner

Science SLAM performance 'Go Fish, Go!' by Roshan Limbu (Chemistry, Food & Phamacy)

Science SLAM performance ‘Go Fish, Go!’ by Roshan Limbu (Chemistry, Food & Pharmacy)

We hope that everyone who attended the conference had a fantastic day.