I first came to the University of Aberdeen to study Psychology in September 2015. I thoroughly enjoyed my undergraduate degree and developed a strong interest in research, particularly in the areas of perception and action in relation to sport. I was delighted to be given the opportunity to continue my studies here as a postgraduate student and I feel very lucky to be supported by a School of Psychology PhD studentship.
I saw the MRes as a great opportunity to develop new skills that would leave me better prepared to begin my PhD. The course was challenging (even before lockdown!) but I feel much better equipped to start my PhD than I was a year ago. Most of the taught courses were not affected by the COVID-19 restrictions but unfortunately, I was unable to finish collecting the data for my thesis project. This was also the case for many of my peers. Supervision of our research projects went online, allowing us to have the guidance and support we needed to finish our projects. Although I missed being able to quickly pop to my supervisors’ offices to clarify and discuss things, I was grateful for their support and their willingness to discuss concepts I was struggling with via Teams (several times!).
The MRes degree required a lot of hard work and it is extremely satisfying to see this hard work rewarded with high grades and academic awards like this. Sometimes, the challenges of the MRes caused me to question my ability as a researcher, so this was a welcome confidence boost. I was delighted to be awarded prizes for Highest Performing MRes Student and Outstanding Thesis, especially given the diligence, talent and humility of my peers on the MRes course.
I am excited to start my PhD in October. My PhD project will examine whether the basic perceptual, visuomotor and proprioceptive skills of highly-trained athletes differs from non-athletes, as a result of motor expertise.
Róisín was an MRes student in 2019/20 and began her PhD in Psychology in October 2020.
