Author: Emma

Why attend a postgraduate open day?

Posted on by Emma

We asked Alice Brereton, Postgraduate Recruitment Manager, to tell us all about Bristol’s postgraduate open day in 60 seconds.

 

“You have the opportunity to meet our internationally renowned academic staff and current postgraduate students, whilst getting a feel for the university and city”

Why should students come to a postgraduate open day?

There is only so much you can gather from looking online – the fantastic thing about coming to our open day, is that you have the opportunity to meet our internationally renowned academic staff and current postgraduate students, whilst getting a feel for the university and city.

We recognise that continuing to postgraduate level, or coming back to academic study, is an important decision for individuals. Our postgraduate open day on 20 November allows you to get the answers to your specific questions and experience the atmosphere here – Bristol is a friendly campus in the heart of a vibrant city.

“There’ll be talks on offer, such as personal statement top tips, postgraduate funding, getting back into study, research at Bristol, student panels.”

What can attendees expect from the day?

The day begins at 1.00pm when you can register and collect your welcome pack. The main exhibition will be taking place between 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm. You’ll have the opportunity to talk to our students and academics and find out more about course units, types of assessment and anything else you’d like to know. Our support services will also be on hand to explain what support is available to help you feel safe, supported and able to reach your full potential.

From 1:20 pm to 3:50 pm there’ll be a suite of informative talks on offer, such as personal statement top tips, postgraduate funding, getting back into study, research at Bristol, student panels and many more. You can take a look at our open day programme to find out more and plan your day.

From 4:00 pm until 5:30 pm there will be a selection of Faculty specific and subject specific tours and presentations, where you will get to explore the different classrooms, libraries, labs and study spaces.

What else is on offer?

We are running city tours and campus tours in the morning, before the event begins. This provides you with more time to attend talks and chat to academics during the afternoon. Morning tours can be booked in advance and whilst the event is running, from 1pm to 4pm, we are holding student led tours of the campus, which you can book on to at registration.

“I’d recommend making a plan before coming to the event to get as much as possible out of the day.”

How can students get the most out of the day?

I’d recommend making a plan before coming to the event to get as much as possible out of the day, talk to student ambassadors in the red t-shirts, interact with the academics who are on hand to answer questions – along with experts from support services; everyone is keen to help and ensure you get all the information required.

Use the timings in our program so you can attend the talks, go on a tour and also have enough time to talk to academics and students. You can attend as many talks as you like – but please make sure you get to the talks 5 minutes early, as they can fill up quickly.

Most importantly, enjoy the day!

How do I keep in touch with all the latest postgraduate information at University of Bristol?

Remember to like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn and keep an eye on this blog channel. You can also visit www.bristol.ac.uk/vip where you can sign up to receive further information and updates.

Written by Alice Brereton, Postgraduate Recruitment Manager

 

To find out more about postgraduate study attend our Open Day on 20 November.

 

Get to know Bristol Students’ Union

Posted on by Emma

The SU’s Chris talks to us about his full-time role and his work to develop postgraduate networks  

 

“My PhD is now on hold for a year so I can work full-time to represent the 8000 postgraduates at the University of Bristol”

I first arrived in Bristol as an undergraduate to study Physics in 2012. After I graduated, I was fortunate enough to be offered a place to continue the research I had started in my final year as a PhD in Membrane Biophysics. Alongside that, in my first year, I was a course rep for my research group within the school, through which I got involved in activity around student representation at the Students’ Union. Then, earlier this year, I stood for election for my current job – Postgraduate Education Officer at Bristol SU. Having been elected into this role, my PhD is now on hold for a year so I can work full-time to represent the 8000 postgraduates at the University of Bristol.

The title of Postgraduate Education Officer can sound quite vague, so what does it mean in reality? In short, it means that I support the work done at the SU (a separate partner organisation to the university) whose vision is to support the best student life. I work on this through the lens of being a postgraduate student, and particularly around the educational experience side of things.

“Working with students and hearing about issues from new perspectives is definitely one of the most enjoyable and rewarding aspects of doing this job”

At a postgraduate level, educational experience is fairly all-encompassing, so really, I end up working on all sorts of issues, particularly around the academic support that postgraduates get once they get here. I work really closely with course reps to get a wide-ranging student perspective into what I report back to the university and campaign on. Working with students and hearing about issues from new perspectives is definitely one of the most enjoyable and rewarding aspects of doing this job, however tough and busy it can sometimes be.

“One of my focuses this year is to ensure that all networks are inclusive of postgraduates and their voices for their time at university and beyond”

I’m really keen to see more and more postgraduates – both taught and research – involved with what the SU does. Outside of direct educational issues, we run Networks, which are grassroots groups in our democracy for students to campaign on topics that matter especially to their identities and interests, ranging from BME to LGBT+ to Sustainability. Postgraduate students have traditionally stuck to their own dedicated network, but one of my focuses this year is to ensure that all networks are inclusive of postgraduates and their voices in these issues for their time at university and beyond. Overall, I’m really looking to use this year to shape what the postgraduate student experience looks like holistically – not just for current Bristol students, but for the students of the future as well. 

If you’re a postgraduate student at University of Bristol, come down to the SU and say hello and see how you could get involved.

Written by Chris Brasnett, Postgraduate Education Officer, Bristol SU

 

To find out more about postgraduate study attend our Open Day on 20 November.