Launching in March 2022: Dr.App
The university has bought licences for our postgraduate researchers and staff supervising research degrees to use Dr.App, the mobile app for Android and Apple devices to support research students. Dr.App contains videos covering everything from working with supervisors and preparing for the viva examination to coping with stress and mental health challenges, from research impact to networking skills. It has content you should find helpful at every stage of a research degree.
Further information about how to access Dr.App will be available here and on the RECAP News section of our website throughout March.
Dr.App includes videos to support research students in all disciplines, and the staff supervising them. More than 8 hours of videos are organised into topics for easy reference, and the producers are keen to hear your suggestions for new content. Topics include:
- Thinking about a doctorate: how do you know if a PhD is right for you, and what do students wish they had known before they started?
- Starting a doctorate: everything you need to consider in your first year.
- Success stories: case studies to keep you motivated on those days when you need reasons to be optimistic!
- Supervisors & supervision: how to work with your supervisors, what to expect from them, and what to do if the relationship goes wrong. Also helpful advice for supervisors themselves.
- Planning ahead: taking the long view to complete your doctorate on time, to build real-world impact into it, and to ensure your employability once you’ve finished it.
- Examinations: the upgrade process that marks the first major landmark in most doctorates, and how to approach your viva with good preparation instead of panic!
- Skills: how to write a thesis, presentation skills and how to network to become part of the wider academic community.
- Wellbeing: how to look after yourself and where to find help if you are finding your PhD stressful, lonely or overwhelming.
- International students: how to understand the UK’s academic culture and the way PhDs are structured if you are arriving from a different culture.
- Professional doctorates: the growing range of alternative doctorates for teachers, health professionals and many other professional careers.