Studying for a PhD at Imperial can be demanding, challenging, sometimes exhilarating and sometimes deeply stressful. Doing a PhD is like no other academic study you will have done before. It can be very isolating – your work is specific and focused, and even if you are part of larger team of researchers you can feel on your own in trying to resolve recurring or one-off problems. A key factor in affecting how you feel about your PhD, and in influencing your progress and your own perception about yourself, lies in the supervisor-PhD student relationship.

People’s experiences of supervision are as diverse as you can imagine – some PhDs have fantastic supervisors who are engaged in your work, give you time, listen, encourage, and support you through the process. And then there are some who, unfortunately, do none of those things – they are often absent, difficult to contact, more interested in whether your work will enhance their publication profile, and leave you effectively to sink or swim. 

As a consequence of the particular experiences of doing a PhD, research students can find themselves having to cope with high levels of stress, anxiety, low self-worth, depression, poor health and insomnia, while often feeling they should be able to cope with it, but instead feeling overwhelmed. 

This practical and interactive workshop is designed to help you take control and better manage your PhD, and especially the relationship with your supervisor.  It includes a mix of mindfulness, relaxation and stress management techniques, and assertiveness skills training.  It will also help you build long term resilience skills for life so that you are better able to deal with whatever life throws at you.

Learning Outcomes

After completing this workshop, students will be better able to:

• Appreciate how thoughts, feelings and behaviours are intimately connected and influence the way we interpret stressful situations/events.
• Define how the PhD fits with their own personal values and goals.
• Conceptualise their own assertiveness and their relationship with their supervisor.
• Recognise how to relax and be more in the present moment and so enjoy the research process.
• Employ the skills acquired to build greater resilience and self-efficacy in dealing with stresses and challenges in the future.
   

How to Book

Please select a date and book on via Inkpath using your Imperial Single-Sign-On.