Our postgraduate liaison officers have been in similar shoes and have prepared some very useful guidance blogs about 1. joining a research group and 2. navigating the conference as a postgraduate researcher for you.
Joining a research group What is a research group, and what does it do? A research group is a collection of researchers and practitioners, centred around a particular interest. The group might do things such as organise sessions at a conference, hold meetings with its members to discuss topics relating to the group or wider research area, and run activities to increase engagement with the group or general field. Research groups can be a great way of staying up-to-date with your research area and fostering networks amongst the academic community. These networks can act as a fantastic support community, or even develop into joint research projects and publications.For guidance on joining a research group, written by the 2019-21 GCYFRG Postgraduate Liaison Officers, please download the PDF from our resources page.
Navigating conferences as a postgraduate researcher Preparing for, and attending a conference – especially a large one like the RGS summer conference – can be really daunting. Conferences are often very busy, with lots of different sessions going on at the same time, and so it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. There are, however, lots of really brilliant things about attending conferences – it can be a great way to hear about fascinating research taking place, meet really interesting people doing similar work, and potentially make important and valuable connections with others.For tips on how to make the most out of conferences before, during and after the actual event, written by the 2019-21 GCYFRG Postgraduate Liaison Officers, please download the PDF from our resources page. If you are looking for information on how to present at conferences, the RGS Postgraduate forum has some really great blogs on writing conference abstracts, designing a conference poster and preparing a paper presentation.