Blog posts

Me and my poster at the British Society of Soil Science

Victoria Burton profile

Science and Solutions for a Changing Planet Doctoral Training Programme (PhD)

Another conference, another poster! This time I was presenting at the British Society of Soil Science (BSSS, or affectionately ‘B cubed’) held at the University of York on the 7th and 8th April. BSSS holds a conference biannually for aimed at students and early post-docs studying soil sciences. In addition to poster sessions and talks there were sessions on tailoring your CV to a career outside of academia, applying for fellowships and publishing. It was also a really good opportunity to meet other students and network. Check out my Storify collating tweets from the conference below.

View the story “British Society of Soil Science Early Careers Researcher Conference 2015” on Storify

Spring Break

Bayan profile

Chemical Engineering

We are more than half way through our Spring Break already (where did the time go??!!) and it has become clear that I have fallen in the latter category: the people hibernating and pulling all-nighters. It’s just that I’ve slacked off the last month and there’s so much to catch up on and revise if I ever hope to pass the exams, now about a month away.

Despite that I still managed to slip away from the mountain of work to enjoy the long, sunny days (England is experiencing unusual weather patterns; it got all the way up to 20°C this week) and went to London Zoo to celebrate my friend’s birthday.

Hope in The Daily Mail comments…

MSCi Physics

The medical research that is reported on in the news is generally rubbish—there is rarely any mention (and certainly never any critique) of what kind of research the stories are based on or how they fit into the overall picture of health research. Important studies (meta-analyses and negative results) are not reported in favour of easy stories that proclaim ‘red meat is bad’ or ‘this vitamin is good’ and are soon replaced by other stories claiming the exact opposite.

But you probably knew that. This blog isn’t about these things—and it isn’t even about the contents of an essay I recently finished looking at the rhetoric of how health and medical research is reported.

Enjoy the Moment

Nebz

MSc Preventive Cardiology

It’s the end of March!

Just a gentle reminder in case you hadn’t realised yet 😀

When this year started I was convinced that by now I would have achieved so many things. Not “resolutions” as such, just plans I’d made – such as joining basketball, gospel choir, writing, learning Japanese, etcetera etcetera… However as of yet nothing’s happened. I find myself getting caught up with studying and working, with little money left to do what I’d planned. However living in London has made me see that cash has little to do with have a decent time. In all honesty, all you need is great company!

The Global Health modules of the MPH

Master of Public Health

The one thing I love the most about having chosen the Global Heath stream is the dynamism of it all. With a field that is still being defined as we speak and its boundaries so mosaic, most of what we learn is hot off the press and currently happening. We’ve even had the opportunity to hear from guest speakers straight from the field. Over the past few months, we’ve had three modules that are core to the Global Health stream:

1. Global Health Challenges

2. Global Health Governance

3. Global Health Innovations

In Term 1, Global Health Challenges involved hearing from those involved in tackling infectious diseases and chronic diseases about the burden of these problems to the world.

Happy Easter!

MSCi Physics

I’ve finally finally finally finished my last lab report!

Labs this year have not been fun, which is a shame because last year I actually enjoyed them, and felt like I was improving and learning things. Not so much this year.

Oh well—I’ve filled out a very angry feedback form, so with any luck the structure of third year labs might change in the future. And they’re over now! Onwards to Easter, chocolate and revision.

This year I’m feeling a lot calmer about exams in general—not because I feel any more prepared (!) but because revision over Easter is something I’ve been doing for the past five years and is now the most routine of routines.

Feeling Nostalgic Already

Bayan profile

Chemical Engineering

I know, I know, it’s been a while but I have just been swamped under a mountain of work this month. It seems like, the closer we get to the Easter Break, the assignments just multiply by ten. After submitting my lab report, Business project and finally completing the rig building assessment on Friday I can finally say: I’M DONE!!

It has been a gruelling month, but as every lecturer completed their final lecture of the course I started to feel nostalgic for some unknown reason. I mean, it’s not like the year is over yet, plus I am still going to the revision lectures after the break.

Adultification

Abhishek profile

MSci Mathematics

Why growing up can be tough, and why you’re still allowed to make up words.

School life tends to be very linear. You wake up begrudgingly at a set time every weekday; you spend most of the day studying and hanging out with friends; you get home sometime in the evening and eat/do homework/relax to varying degrees; you fall asleep at a time that’s socially acceptable; you repeat. And it continues like this, more or less, from the age of 5 till you’re 18. Come to university, and it’s a whole new ball game.

Suddenly your days are irregular. And non-linearity rules (unless you’re solving differential equations, in which case I wish you the best of luck).

A week in the life of an ICSM fresher: Sunday

Medicine

So much for getting up at 8.30. I slept for about eleven hours and woke up at 11.30 … oops …

Might need to make my alarm louder before my exam on Tuesday. And get all my friends to ring me to make sure I’m up.

Besides that it’s been a really good day (not that sleep wasn’t good … sleep is always very very good 🙂 ) I sort of made up for it this afternoon by getting lots of Society & Health/Epidemiology revision done, so feeling ever so slightly better about the exam on Tuesday.

Met up with Katherine at Snog at 5 for a ‘revision break’…

…which turned out to not be a break, because I couldn’t be bothered to do any more revision when I got back.

A week in the life of an ICSM Fresher: Saturday

Medicine

I’m tired, so tonight’s post is going to be short!

I had a much needed lie-in this morning – so much for my plans to get up early to work in the library. But I’m entirely in agreement with the theory that you can’t live with all work and no play/sleep (although slightly regretting the work I could’ve done but didn’t…) After I eventually got up, I met my big brother Richard at Old Spitalfields Market – we had lunch at Giraffe (yum!) and then had a wander round – Rich was really impressed with being dragged to look at clothes and jewellery… But I’m happy because I got a cute t-shirt 🙂

Afterwards we went over to the Museum of London to see the Sherlock Holmes exhibition – it was really good.

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