For those of you who are new to the city and University, welcome to Bath! For those returning for another few years of fun – welcome back!
You might currently be recalling the first weeks of being a new undergraduate right now, and the general feeling of excitement/terror just before starting your first degree. Chances are you remember your first Freshers’ or Welcome Week, making new friends, meeting mentors, trying new sports (Quidditch, anyone?!) and are worried that it’s going to be a thousand times more difficult to do that as a doctoral student. The truth is that it can often very much feel that way, but I’m delighted to introduce the Doctoral Welcome Team as a way to ease the path into your doctorate.
The Doctoral Welcome Team is a group of current doctoral students tasked with the job of making you feel welcome and supported in the first few months of your doctoral studies. The team consists of me (Jane), Bethan, Darlington, Aoibheann, Jenna, Mike, Philippa, Jo, Holly and Zehan. We come from all the Faculties - Science, Engineering, Humanities & Social Sciences and the School of Management - with wide-ranging doctoral experiences. We have mature students who have worked for several years outside of the academic bubble, students coming straight from their undergraduate degree into the doctoral programme, and those who joined our community from the other side of the world. Whatever your background, whatever your worries, we can empathise and hopefully point you in the right direction if there’s anything you need! Hopefully this arrivals guide will help you with the small details of life at Bath that people often forget to pass on.
To help you settle in, make the most of your time here and meet people from all over the University, we have events planned specifically for doctoral students throughout the year. Our regular ‘Cake in the Commons’ on Friday mornings (10W 5.01 10.30-11.30) is a great place to start. Bring your own cup and the rest (coffee, tea, cake, biscuits) will be provided. We will be joining the SU for their Welcome Breakfast on 2nd October and running the Doctoral Welcome Reception on Thursday 11th October. Links for booking these two events can be found on the Induction Events Overview page (keep scrolling down after all the faculty induction details!). We will also be running Campus and City Tours so you can familiarise yourself with areas outside of your faculty. Sign up at the events page.
To find out more and stay updated on upcoming events, check out the weekly digest for more information. We’ll also be blogging regularly about surviving your first year, tips on the best food, places to hide from undergraduates and little snippets on our experiences and life at Bath. If you have any questions email the team on doctoralwelcometeam@bath.ac.uk
We look forward to meeting you soon
Jane
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