Hi I am filling out my application form for a PhD Studentship in which I am asked 'why this research studentship interests me and what personal focus you would bring to the project' and 'please explain how your skills, abilities and experience demonstrate relevant research competence and experience'.

Obviously none of you will know my skills, experience etc, why the PhD interests me and what focus I would bring to the project... however I am just looking for some guidance on what would constitute a good response to these questions and what kind of things the uni/PhD supervisor will want to hear.

Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks :-)

Shanksy: It is very difficult and almost impossible to answer your question. You can check this article for an acquittance what it's really like. http://www.cs.unc.edu/~azuma/hitch4.html.

i realise nobody will know my skills etc, I was just asking for guidance on what kind of things an interviewer would be looking for in the answer...