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Top 10 tips when starting postgraduate study

1. Settling in
2. Accessing resources
3. Computers
4. Information management
5. Supervisors
6. News and events
7. Research plan
8. Time management
9. Personal and professional development
10. Balance

1. Settling into your workplace

Forms

A student advice form must be filled out and handed to HR so the institute have record of you. Forms can be found on the MCRI HR website.

Induction

For new students and staff at MCRI, there are compulsory induction sessions:

• MCRI - a 2 hour introduction to the institute with presentations from human resources, IT, OH&S and payroll. Check bulletins regularly or contact Andrea Frigo in HR
• MCRI OH&S - for any lab-based students. This should be organised by your supervisor, your lab's OH&S officer or Yvette Mueller (OH&S coordinator) and run at least once a week
• Dept of Paediatrics - a full day of informational seminars in April each year covering the official procedures of candidature such as confirmation and also career advice

Work space

Lab or office space is provided for students at MCRI. For lab-based students, before any lab work is to be done, you must attend an MCRI occupational health and safety laboratory safety induction.

ID cards and keys

You will need to organise your own ID cards and keys:

• MCRI keys and swipe cards through Andrew Grimes
• Student library card though Uni upon enrolment
• MCRI ID card through HR

2. Access to resources, equipment and buildings

Ask someone in your lab, or a PSA committee member, to take you on a tour of your department and the hospital that covers the following areas:

• relevant departments, facilities and equipment you will need for your research (including IT!)
• how to find your way around the hospital (including Front Entry Building (FEB) and South East Building (SEB))
• the location of other buildings and institutes you might need to visit in relation to your studies
• MCRI administration (9th floor - human resources, pay roll, accounts and graphics)
• Department of Paediatrics (4th floor, FEB)
• Closest photocopier/fax
• Tea rooms, caf�s, bike racks, showers, toilets etc.

3. Computer issues

• The Uni IT Kit offers software, help guides, IT classes and help setting up your university email account
• MCRI have their own IT department (9th floor). They provide all support from installing software to ordering hardware and have a great policy document in the MCRI intranet. Introduce yourself to the MCRI IT as early as possible. You'll need them!
• Identify the IT skills you require - there are heaps of Uni, RCH and MCRI courses (most free). for details on courses

4. Systems for managing information

Consider how you plan to keep track of:

• Meetings with your supervisor, topics discussed and outcomes
• Work undertaken, data collected and analysis
• Thoughts and ideas related to your project
• Tasks to do on a daily or weekly basis
• Literature searched, read and reviewed - EndNote!

Most students develop a series of journals or notebooks - hardcopy or electronic - for notes on readings, database searches and ideas. Wherever you keep your notes, it is important to develop systematic filenames and keep track of drafts as they develop. It should go without saying - always backup your electronic documents.

5. Establishing a relationship with your supervisor(s)

Try to meet with your principal supervisor regularly in the first weeks to discuss:

• Your project
• Research methods you might use
• Particular topics, skills or techniques you might need to learn
• Equipment you might need to build or access
• Research ethics and intellectual property issues including keeping research records
• How you're settling in

The SGS Student & Supervisor(s) Checklist is a great basis. Not everything will be relevant right away but the checklist will give you an idea of the range of topics that need to be discussed in the first 12 months of PhD candidature.

6. Keeping up with news and events

Your supervisor(s), post-docs and other students are a great help in finding out about events and services, and in deciding what might be useful for you, e.g. they will be able to tell you the important mailing lists to be on, upcoming conferences in relation to your area of research.

You can also find out what's on by checking out [also refer to the Resource Sites page for more hotlinks]:

• MCRI
• GradFlash (the newsletter from the School of Graduate Studies)
• MCRI bulletin and MCRI intranet
• UMPA news (fortnightly e-mail bulletin from the University of Melbourne Postgraduate Association)

The main seminars in the MCRI are:

• General - Wednesday, 12.30pm. RCH Grand rounds, Ella Latham Theatre, 1st floor- sandwiches are served before hand 12.10pm
• Lab - Thursday 4.00pm, 10th floor conference rooms
• Clinical - Friday, 8.30am, GHSV, 10th floor conference rooms

7. Developing a research plan

Your research plan should be steadily developed over the first 6 months:

• What is the title of your research project?
• What are your primary research questions?
• What research and/ or experimental method(s) will you use?
• Why these ones?
• What types of data are you aiming to collect?
• How will this data enable you to answer your research questions?

8. Time and task management

• You should identify both the big tasks and small, time consuming tasks for your studies. Check out this sample Gantt chart.
• Break big tasks into manageable 'chunks' - instead of 'Write literature review' or 'Analyse data' try 'read 2 journal articles' or 'analyse responses to question 3'
• When do you work best and for how long? If you're not an early morning person, don't schedule work to start at 6am. If you slump in the mid-afternoon, schedule a break at this time. Don't try to work against yourself - it will just make the task more difficult
• What sort of time (length and quality) does the task require? e.g. If an experiment requires close attendance for 2-3 hours, schedule it in an extended block of time but if it is straightforward, choose a 'low energy' time - say, 4-7pm or 7-10pm. Finding and reading 5 journal articles could be half a day's work or 20-30 minutes when you have time between other commitments

9. Personal and professional development

In addition to the research project and thesis you're expected to develop academic and professional skills. This might include:

• Tutoring, demonstrating and/or lecturing
• Attending conferences and seminars, and networking amongst the local and international academic community
• Learning practical research skills, such as database searching or visual presentation of statistics
• Participating in leadership and professional activities such as being involved in your postgraduate student departmental group, organising conferences or attending leadership and professional skills courses

The Uni's UpSkills program offers heaps of courses, either free or at reduced prices. The School of Graduate Studies' Postgraduate Essentials program is a great on-line course aimed at equipping you with all the study skills you need.

10. Balance

Finally, make sure you keep time for your personal life and interest - it's too easy to burn out if you don't. Sometimes you'll forfeit a social life to meet a deadline but therefore appreciate the quieter times. Also, make the most of a flexible student life - take holidays when other people can't or swap a week day for a weekend day.

Information sourced from The University of Melbourne School of Graduate Studies, Postgraduate Essentials and Postgraduate Association and the Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, February 2006.

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