Naturejobs

The event is focused on providing career opportunities for young, science based researchers.

• FREE exhibition

• 50+ employers expected

• Networking opportunities

• Insightful conference sessions • In-depth company workshops • One on one CV reviews

Please refer to the event website for more details: http://www.nature.com/natureconferences/njce2013/index.html

Wed 22 May, 10:00 – 15:15
Lewes Subud Centre, Station Street, Lewes BN7 2DB

In brief, it promises to be a really worthwhile and enjoyable day for anyone interested in the psychological, emotional and behavioural aspects of eating – and food education, research and activism.  The focus of the workshop will be on directly experiencing mindful eating practices and exploring them together.

Explore how mindfulness meditation and cognitive therapy can inform food research, education and activism

Programme

• 10.00 Arrival and refreshments
• 10.30 Welcome and warm up
• 10.50 Introduction to mindfulness
• 11.30 Chocolate meditation
• 12.00 Body scan and mindful movement
• 12.30 Silent lunch gathering
• 1.15 Exploring foods we dislike
• 1.50 Mindful eating in pairs
• 2.20-2.50 Exploring applications to our own work
• 2.50-3.15 Check out and evaluation

Download the Tasting Mindfulness 22-05-13 poster, or take a look at out facebook page.

Tickets are £6 and available from our page on eventbrite

Many thanks,
Rachael

Rachael Durrant, MA Cantab, MA SDA
Doctoral Researcher (Sustainable Lifestyles)
SPRU (Science and Technology Policy Research)
University of Sussex Freeman Centre,

Postgraduate Research Experience Survey (PRES): Have your say and receive a £5 food voucher  (or donate £5 to the Alumni Hardship and Opportunity Fund)

The Postgraduate Research Experience Survey gives you a chance to share your views on what it’s like to do a research degree at Sussex. The survey asks you about things like supervision, resources, research culture, progress and assessment, responsibilities, research skills, professional development, opportunities and overall experience.

PRES is the only national survey of postgraduate research students and so the only way for us to compare how we are doing against the national average, and to make changes that will improve your experience in the future.

How do I take part?

You can complete the survey anonymously at: www.sussex.ac.uk/doctoralschool/internal/pres

What happens to the results?

Survey results will be disseminated to the Doctoral School Committee (whose remit is to oversee the delivery of provision for postgraduate research students and postdoctoral research staff, including their educational and career development) and Directors of Doctoral Studies within each School. Collective responses about the need for improvement will help the university to work to make things better.

Who should I contact for further information?

Helen Hampson, Researcher Development Officer (TLDU) is coordinating the survey. Please contact her for further information at H.Hampson@sussex.ac.uk.

The conference programme is now live, and includes games designer Tassos Stevens (Papa Sangre), Steve Benford from the Mixed Reality Lab, Judith Good and Hugo Critchley from University of Sussex, Alessandro Vinciarelli in Social Signal Processing, Tony Churnside from BBC Research & Development, funding consultants from AHRC and EPSRC, and many more. We are looking forward to a very exciting forum for interaction and engagement research, and hope you have already registered – it is a snip at £25 for students, £40 for faculty/professionals.

The full list of modules is as follows:

Technical Programs and Software

• Building a website with WordPress
• Building your academic web presence
• Document preparation with LaTeX
• Introduction to UNIX
• Managing your research with Evernote
• Qualitative data analysis with NVivo
• Using Mendeley to manage your references
• Using Scrivener to write your thesis
• Using Zotero at Sussex

Writing Skills and Support

• Getting your book published
• Writing an article
• Writing tips for researchers (COMING SOON)
• Writing your thesis (COMING SOON)

Research Skills

• Writing a literature review
• Preparing for your Viva

Communication and Presentation Skills

• Better presentations
• Effective communication

Personal Development

• Preparing for a conference
• Time and project management

The Researcher Development Programme also offers a number of Resources and Videos on a wide variety of topics to help you with your doctoral research. These include short films on giving good presentations, preparing for the viva, improving your writing and tips for becoming a successful research student.

Visit the Researcher Development E-Learning site on Study Direct to see all the E-Learning modules and videos that are on offer. Further modules are being developed, so if you would like to suggest a topic or provide any feedback please contact us at researcher-development@sussex.ac.uk.

Shut Up and Write! is a novel way to combat the many distractions and excuses that prevent you from getting your writing done.
Bring your laptop along or paper / pen.  If you would like us to hire a laptop for you, please give us 24 hours’ notice.  If you can’t make tomorrow but would be interested in the possibility of future sessions, follow our blog and stay in touch – contact details below.

We look forward to seeing you there!

The Research Hive Scholars,
Charlotte Morris, Rachel Wood and Frank Verano

Remember to complete the Postgraduate Research Experience Survey: http://www.sussex.ac.uk/doctoralschool/internal/pres - make sure you make your views about your experience as a researcher at Sussex heard and there are £5 vouchers up for grabs!

The Research Hive is now on facebook!  Like us on Sussex Research Hive for information, updates, pictures and chat!

Blog: http//:sussexresearchhive.blogspot.com
Twitter: @sussexreshive
E-mail: researchhive@sussex.ac.uk

Dear Researcher,
We would like to introduce ourselves as the Sussex Research Staff Association (SRSA). The SRSA was set up to promote a better working experience for research staff and we are looking for new members. Becoming a member is an excellent way of boosting your CV and provides an informal support network and opportunity to meet other researchers.

For more details see: www.sussex.ac.uk/doctoralschool/internal/researchstaff/srsa

The SRSA is holding a coffee afternoon on Tuesday 14 May in the Research and Enterprise offices (first floor of Falmer House). Please drop in any time between 13:00 and 17:00 to meet the SRSA committee members. There will be tea, biscuits and probably cake!

If you have already completed the Careers in Research Online Survey (CROS) – details below – by then, you can collect your £5 catering voucher. A PC will also be available if you wish to complete CROS there and then and take your catering voucher away with you.

Hope to see you then,

Sussex Research Staff Association

The Careers in Research Online Survey (CROS) is now open, and I would like to ask you to take a few minutes to complete it. The survey is your chance to tell us about your experience of being a research staff member at Sussex, and your responses are anonymous. The survey will remain open until 31 May 2013.

Your feedback is important. CROS is the only national survey of research staff and so the only way for us to compare how we are doing against the national average, and to make changes that will improve your experience in the future. We will be making the Sussex CROS results available online to Sussex research staff in June.

As a thank you for your time, every member of research staff who completes the survey will receive a £5 catering voucher to spend on campus.

Find out more about the survey at www.sussex.ac.uk/doctoralschool/internal/researchstaff/cros

Just a quick note to remind you that the Postgraduate Research Experience Survey (PRES) is only open until 16th May, and all responses are anonymous – if you haven’t had your say yet, you can find the survey here: www.sussex.ac.uk/doctoralschool/internal/pres

If you have completed PRES already, do use your £5 catering voucher soon – it will expire on 31st August!

Some of you have given us some valuable feedback: that the catering voucher isn’t much of an incentive if you don’t spend much time on campus…. and we’ve listened. So, when you complete the survey, you can now opt instead to have us donate £5 on your behalf to the Alumni Hardship and Opportunity Fund (AHOF).

About the Alumni Hardship and Opportunity Fund (AHOF)

The Alumni Hardship and Opportunities Fund was created to help support students who are experiencing severe and unanticipated financial hardship, or who need financial assistance because of a disability or special need. International students can apply and collect forms from either the Student Life Centre or the International Study Abroad Office.

About PRES

The Postgraduate Research Experience Survey gives you a chance to share your views on what it’s like to do a research degree at Sussex. It is the only national survey of postgraduate research students and so the only way for us to compare how we are doing against the national average, and to make changes that will improve your experience in the future.

The survey asks you about things like supervision, resources, research culture, progress and assessment, responsibilities, research skills, professional development, opportunities and overall experience.

Who should I contact for further information?

Helen Hampson, Researcher Development Officer (TLDU) is coordinating the survey. Please contact her for further information at H.Hampson@sussex.ac.uk.

Related articles

• PRES: Chance for Sussex PGRs to have their say (doctoralschool.wordpress.com)

Nominate them for the 2013 John Maddox Prize for Standing up for Science.

The John Maddox Prize will reward an individual who has promoted sound science and evidence on a matter of public interest. Its emphasis is on those who have faced difficulty or hostility in doing so. Nominations of active researchers who have yet to receive recognition for their public-interest work are particularly welcomed.

Sir John Maddox, whose name this prize commemorates, was a passionate and tireless champion and defender of science, engaging with difficult debates and inspiring others to do the same. As a writer and editor, he changed attitudes and perceptions, and strove for better understanding and appreciation of science throughout his long working life.

The prize is a joint initiative of Nature, where Sir John was editor for 22 years; the Kohn Foundation; and Sense About Science, where Sir John served as a trustee until his death in 2009.

The prize: £2000. The award is presented in November and an announcement of the winner will be published in Nature.

The deadline for nominations is 11:59pm on 20th August 2013 BST.

Full details and online nomination form are at http://www.senseaboutscience.org/pages/maddox-prize-2013.html

8th May 14:00-17:00 – Practical Tips to improve you Academic Writing

Does your cutting-edge research sound a little dry by the time it hits the page? Are you daunted by the prospect of the blank page? Does your thesis need a little flare to keep the examiner’s attention? This workshop aims to help you get the most out of the written word, combining tricks and tips from the worlds of creative writing, marketing, and academic editing.

9th May 14:30-16:00 – Keeping Up to Date in your Subject

Run by Library Research Support, this session will explore the range of essential tools and techniques available to keep up to date with research in your subject area, including the use of database alerts to keep you on top of newly published articles.

14th May 10:00-11.30 – Developing your Sussex Online Profile

This session will show you how to set up your Sussex online profile, a useful tool in promoting yourself and your research. We will cover what sort of information you should include and how to make the most of it.

14th May 14:00-16:00 – Building your Academic Web Presence

Whether we like it or not, marketing yourself as a researcher is now a requisite part of securing employment, whether academic or otherwise. In this session we will look at successful strategies for portraying yourself positively online.

21st May 14:00-16:00 – Managing your Bibliographic References

This hands-on workshop is suitable for anyone who would like to learn about the reference management software which is available to manage bibliographic data and related research materials. The pros and cons of different packages will be discussed, and some practical guidance on using Zotero will then follow.

24th May – 11:00-12:00 – Finding Theses and Dissertations for your Research

Run by Library Research Support, this session will introduce a range of tools that can help you find other doctoral dissertations and theses in your subject area.

28th May 14:00-17:00 – Introduction to SPSS

An introductory SPSS course for beginners that will cover the basics to get you started. You will learn how to use some of the functions of SPSS, including data entry and creating some basic output.

30th May 13:00-15:00 – Preparing for the Viva – Life Sciences and BSMS

This workshop is intended for Life Sciences and BSMS doctoral researchers in their final year. The aim of the workshop is to de-mystify the viva process and provide tools to help you prepare for your viva.