ANZCA Preconference Newcastle

The ANZCA preconference was well organised and most informative. A/Prof Inger Mewburn, known as The Thesis Whisperer, provided valuable insights for doctoral candidates about to move to the next level. Her comparison of commercial and academic job advertising, while being confronting, certainly explained the challenges facing doctoral candidates. Her concise and direct responses not only painted a clear picture of what one should expect on concluding a thesis but also provided  possible avenues to pursue once the doctorate is conferred. I highly recommend following her blog The Thesis Whisperer

After a lively and informative panel in the afternoon session I had the pleasure of hearing A/Prof Phillip McIntyre present a keynote speech titled ‘What is the Fifth Estate and Why Does it Matter?’ I was thrilled to hear someone talk about concepts that I had been grappling with and to find that his research sources were similar to mine. It is not that we are looking at the same issues but from Phillip’s presentation there was certainly a lot of intersection and after feeling so isolated for so long the presentation was a breath of fresh air… I look forward to catching up for a chat in the future.