a gold mine guide for PhD funding in the US 🇺🇸

Good morning! ☕️ It’s May 23rd, 2024, and today marks 29 years since Java first brewed its way into the world! In 1995, it debuted as an alpha version of Sun Microsystems' Solaris and has evolved into a programming language that runs on everything from our phones to our toasters. Ready to start your coding journey? Check out our beginner's guide to programming for academics!

A gold mine guide for PhD funding in the US 🇺🇸

Are you thinking of pursuing a PhD in the US? If so, keep reading…

While the US is known for its high cost of education, it offers excellent opportunities for PhD funding, including numerous “fully-funded” programs for international students - but they are not always easy to find (and get).

The information available on the internet can be overwhelming and sometimes difficult to sift through, so a guide including the most relevant information updated to 2024 would be something like the ‘holy grail’, right? 😏 

Well, this comprehensive guide created by Audemic has you covered and includes 20+ PhD scholarships in the US - hurry up because the deadline for some of them is next June!

🧓🏼 Word to wise: Take “fully funded” with a pinch of salt because it doesn’t always mean the same thing. You must be very cautious in checking what is included and what is not to avoid unpleasant surprises later! Check this helpful video by Brisa Marie - Future PhD to learn more about this sometimes big lie…

Seen on Reddit: How does coding help with research?

We recently saw this on Reddit…

In today’s rapidly evolving research landscape, the integration of coding and programming has emerged as a powerful force, revolutionizing the way we approach scientific inquiry. With the exponential growth of data and the increasing complexity of research questions, coding has become an essential tool for researchers across a wide range of disciplines.

Some will still have this look on their faces after reading what they have just read. Others will think: “what’s next? now I have to learn code too?” But, you can look at it from another perspective, programming can become one of your most useful skills. There are many ways coding can be applied in research. Here are a few of the main coding types that are employed in research:

1️⃣ Data Analysis Coding (the king 👑)

Writing code to process, clean, and analyze sizable and complicated datasets is known as data analysis coding. Researchers can do statistical studies, visualize data, and identify patterns or trends by using coding languages like Python, R, MATLAB, or SQL to extract valuable insights.

👀 Check this free course offered by Harvard University on How to Use Python for Research

2️⃣ Automation Coding

Automation coding automates repetitive tasks and workflows in research processes; it speeds up data collection, data preparation, experimental procedures, and report generation through writing scripts or programs. This saves a LOT of time and ensures consistency between experiments or analyses.

👀 The book Automate the Boring Stuff with Python is free to read online if you want to start right now!

3️⃣ Simulation and Modeling Coding

Simulations and modeling are essential tools in PhD research, enabling researchers to investigate complex phenomena, predict outcomes, and gain valuable insights. Python has emerged as a preferred language for conducting simulations and modeling in diverse fields of study.

👀 Real examples using Python for simulations and Modeling in PhD research

4️⃣ Web Development and Data Visualization

Web development is used in research to produce interactive web-based tools, data dashboards, or online surveys to gather and display data; to successfully explain the results of research, researchers may also use R, a statistical programming tool that’s uniquely equipped to handle data, to create plots, charts, or interactive visualizations.

👀 Data visualisation using R, for researchers who don’t use R

5️⃣ Software Development and Tool Creation

To complement their research, some researchers may create specific software tools or applications. This entails building, developing, and maintaining software solutions adapted to specific research aims. It helps researchers with data management, analysis, or experimental control.

👉🏼 Bonus: If you’re just starting to consider data science as a career, check this blog article from Research Unwrapped.

How edtech can help universities support staff and use AI to drive efficiencies in HE

A digital revolution could provide research, teaching and administrative staff working in HE more than one rare resource: time.

Staff need to be taken on this journey. Jisc’s most recent survey of professional services staff found that only about a 21% were offered an assessment of their digital skills and training needs, yet only 26% were given the time to explore new digital skills and approaches. Just as importantly, however, 88% reported that technology allows them to work in a way that’s convenient to them, and 83% said it helps them to make good progress with their work. There is more openness to digital innovation than the sector's perceptions would indicate.

Emerge Education, a European seed fund investing in founders solving the $8.5tn skills gap, publishes an annual list of the top emerging ed-tech companies in higher education.

“Cooking“ the one for 2024. They dive into the trends and opportunities for innovation along each step of the learner’s journey from student recruitment and enrollment to the student’s experience, teaching, learning, assessment, and graduate employability. They mapped out 42 startups focused on scientific research including Scite, a new platform that introduces “smart citations”, Jenni, a research and writing assistant, or Audemic Scholar, a Berkeley Skydeck-backed company wants to give everyone the ability to read and understand research.

They dug into the potential for edtech startups to help universities find efficiencies and streamline administrative burdens during these tough times, with a particular focus on supporting academic, research and professional services staff.

For your mental health

In our commitment to give visibility and importance to mental health in academia, today we want to tell you about an incredible initiative created by the well-known Dr Zoë Ayres (@zjayres): Voices of Academia.

Voices of Academia has been created to bring together the voices of academics across the globe to discuss mental health and well-being in academia. Research has shown that academics – be that undergraduates, PhD researchers, or professors – often struggle to maintain a healthy work-life balance and good mental health.

These are some of our favorite entries (unfortunately the imposter syndrome is an old friend of many people, right?) - we hope they will help you! 💙

• Growth, Healing, and Understanding: The Importance of Humanity in Academia

• Learning to Manage Anxiety and Impostor Syndrome 

• PhD Work-life Balance in Hindsight: Lessons from Parenting 

• It’s Not Your Fault That Academic Life is Getting Harder

👉🏼 Bonus: Dr Zoë Ayres is the author of the book Managing your Mental Health during your PhD: A Survival Guide. If your university has a subscription to Springer you can access it for free 😉

Science and beers can go together

Look at this map.

These are the events that have taken place and will take place as part of Pint of Science in 2024.

Established by a community of postgraduate and postdoctoral researchers in 2013, Pint of Science aims to deliver interesting and relevant talks on the latest science research in an accessible format to the public – mainly across bars, pubs, cafes and other public spaces.

They provide a platform which allows people to discuss research with the people who carry it out and no prior knowledge of the subject is required. If you want to join them as a volunteer, you can apply here.

An example of the multiple events they organize is the one they organized last July with Dottie Metcalf-Lindenburger (Retired NASA Astronaut | STS-131| NEEMO 16) in London. Interesting, isn't it?

🍻 The next Pint of Science 2025 festival will take place on May 19, 20 and 21 so, stay tuned!

Something fun 😂