I'd be really careful with this money i went to two conferences in my first year and spent may first two years research budget in one go.

So now im my second year I'm paying for my own travel and accomodation and just saving the money for conference fees - it doesn't go very far.

I know most people save it up and get all their transcription done with it but I don't think this is a very wise way to spend it. Also the ESRC guidlines say that it shouldn't really be spent on personal computers and that sort of thing.

We have to get out head of dept and supervisors permission for what we spend it on which is a bit annoying but if you're having problems just say you are going to see your ESRC rep - might help speed things along, at the end of the day it is your money.

I am considering applying for an overseas university visit for three months as part of my PhD. This interests me but I'm not really sure what is involved. The idea is that you continue your research but work at another university with benefits that can not be met at your own university.

But I guess there is more to be gained than simply continuing by studying in a different room (i'm a sociologist btw).

Has anyone participated in a university visit / exchange as part of your PhD?

What did this involve? What tasks did it involve? Did you find it beneficial? How did you go about finding a host / mentor?

Any experiences or stories from anyone who has visited or knows someone who has done something similar would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks :-)

Hi thanks. I'm just starting my second year and I have one year of teaching already.

I would personally prefer to focus on my research for a while but I've just been afraid that if I was ever to apply for some sort of job after my PhD they would wonder why I had stopped teaching and not done it for two years.

Maybe I should start of the new year more positively! I still can't explain why my supervisor is overlooking me.

My supervisor is against spending time on teaching on irrelevant courses and I have therefore turned down teaching from other lecturers. However she has asked other PhD students to teach on her courses which are exactly relevant to my research.

I'm a bit peeved as one person in particular has made the comment that maybe she thinks I'm just not very good at teaching and has showed off a bit about being better than at things I'm supposed to be expert at (I am almost certain this isn't true).

This is all making me feel a bit down and i can't help worrying that this is going to weaken my CV as after following my supervisors advice this means I will be doing no teaching this year :-(

Thanks your comment is really helpful.

I think I'm just going to get it down on paper and send it off...:$

Hi, I've just started my PhD and my supervisor asked for a few pages on my research questions - putting them in a sociological setting and stating what I want to find out.

Ok to me that sounded quite straight forward to start with but now it is a week late and I'm struggling. I'm not sure if this means a research proposal and methods etc or simply justification for my questions.

Not to mention the fact that I'm not sure if my original ideas are just quite stupid. I really want to write something impressive and not something he will pick holes in immediately - VERY STRESSED:-(