It’s probably considered natural to not look forward to winter. Having hardly experienced a ‘winter’ for the better part of my life in Mumbai, it’s even more natural for me! The better the summer, as we had this year, the more one dreads winter perhaps. But…and I am myself surprised to have a ‘but’ here…this […]
Read More Come winter…come fun!We are all aware that we do things differently. I have this odd habit of procrastinating my research work for most of the morning and then working till late at night. No matter how much I want to break out of this habit…it’s difficult. I generally settle into this routine at the end of all […]
Read More What type of writer are you?I recently attended the European Academy of Management (EURAM) Conference in Reykjavik, Iceland. It was a wonderful experience and one I would strongly urge all PhD students to take advantage of. While it is difficult to capture in so many words how presenting at a conference makes a big difference to one’s PhD journey, I […]
Read More My First Academic ConferenceAs a PhD student, I usually take up non-demanding temporary or part-time jobs to augment my income and to keep financial stress at bay. My favourite place to look for these jobs is Lancaster University’s Employment and Recruitment Service page. One of the work roles that I personally find appealing is that of an ‘exam […]
Read More Why become an exam invigilator?After a long academic year, it’s time to start planning for a visit back home and there are many stories, ideas, experiences, and souvenirs that I am eager to share with my family and friends. As a PhD student I will be returning to Lancaster University after my short summer holiday, yet I know many […]
Read More What I will bring back home with me?This time when I was back home in Mumbai, I decided to bring with me my art painting paraphernalia (which I have never used) including acrylic paint, paint brushes, palette and the like gathering dust in a corner. I could never find the time to get around to using them before. The idea to get […]
Read More Why procrastination is good for meStudent life is an exceptional experience, but it can be stressful at times, especially towards the end of the academic year when students are snowed under with assignments, deadlines and exams. A student can feel under pressure because of many other reasons too, and, fortunately, there has been an increasing awareness about the topic of […]
Read More In the middle of the student life whirlwind: taking care of your mental healthPeople are supposed to be good at a few things and relatively decent at others (I can’t bring myself to say ‘bad’ even though that’s how I would characterise myself at, say, dancing). If you’re doing a PhD, it may not be farfetched to assume that you might be a specialist sort of person—someone who […]
Read More Teaching a man to fish…I recently started volunteering as a teaching assistant at a primary school, and it has been delightful, fun and at the same time very enriching. There are many reasons why students at Lancaster University volunteer at schools, and, from my discussions with a few of them, I noticed that we all shared a very positive […]
Read More Volunteering: In search for something meaningfulI have been in Mumbai for the past two months collecting data for my research. I am living with my family and, knowing I must leave soon once my work is done, I am soaking in every moment of it. All the stuff I took for granted earlier, even the mundane little facts of everyday […]
Read More Shifting spaces