History staff and postgraduate students (both PGT and PGR) enjoyed the recent Burn training weekend, held on the 2nd-4th of February in Edzel.
The weekend began with a roundtable discussion, where students and staff spoke about the various transitions postgraduate students make (from UG to PGT and PGT to PGR, and from small liberal arts colleges to a much larger institution), the challenges faced by distance learning students, the relationship between student and supervisor, and how to make the most of the time spent as a postgrad.
Training sessions were also offerred, including a very helpful session on publishing a first article or monograph, with a lively discussion of personal experiences. There was also discussion about the REF, the role of early career researchers, planning ahead, and a talk about archives.
Students were also asked to give a 10-15 minute presentation on their research. Talks focussed on the process of finding and formulating a topic, priorities and ways of approaching research, and specific areas of study. Students also got some training chairing their peers’ papers.
In addition to the presentations and talks, students and staff took time to relax as well, with a challenging quiz (led by PhD students Doug Smith and Sam Hume) prepared for Saturday night. The weekend was a success, and the school looks forward to offering more events like this in the future.
Many thanks to Rose Luminiello (first photo) and Dr Heidi Mehrkens for the images.