It will be tough, but make sure you take time out when you need it and lean on each other. That was the takeaway message from a current student at the recent ECI DPhil Induction 2024.
Current and new DPhil students
Back L-R: Nick Chow, Wallerand Bazin, Parth Goel, Pippa Amanta, Petra Bistričić, Tristram Walsh and Genia Hill. Front L-R: Tanaya Nair, Diana Jaramillo, Shiyang Xing, Bawa Sulemana, Domenica Cox, and Gustė Gurčinaitė.
The new DPhil students starting in 2024 were welcomed by ECI staff and current DPhil students.
Presentations were given by each of the ECI’s research programmes and associated research centres and support staff were introduced.
Then it was time for the real lowdown from current DPhil students Genia Hill and Nick Chow.
Genia, a third-year DPhil working with the Food Systems programme, gave an overview of her work including the task of inputting infinite data into a spreadsheet.
Nick, a fourth-year DPhil working with the ECI’s Oxford Programme for Sustainable Infrastructure Systems (OPSIS), advised that there is no such thing as a bad day, even when things go wrong and you lose work, or face a crisis of confidence in your work. Nick said to the new intake:
Remember the product of your Phd is not your final paper, it is you.”
He advised drinking coffee, using a sunlamp ("as the UK is so dark and has no sunlight"), and forming a bond with fellow DPhil students for support.
After the talks students and staff enjoyed a networking lunch. Special thanks to moderator Pippa Amanta, a third-year DPhil student working on the ECI’s Energy programme.
Fifteen new students join the current cohort of 81 DPhils current working at the ECI on 3 to 4 year programmes. They join the wider department of the School of Geography and the Environment whilst working with ECI colleagues.
Dr Tom Harwood, Associate Director at the ECI, said:
It is fantastic to welcome so many new DPhil candidates, both those who have graduated from our Master’s courses and those who are new to the ECI. I am sure they will find the ECI a welcoming and supportive place where new thinking and exciting ideas can thrive. I look forward to enjoying their company over the next few years of their academic journey.
Oxford is one of the few remaining institutions to use the DPhil title. Find out why.
Find out more about the Doctor of Philosophy (DPhil) in Geography and the Environment.