All day academia
I am sitting at my desk in the Architecture PhD studio at UTS, catching up on things after a busy two days. The start of this week has been dedicated to getting up-to-speed on an array of academic things as I dive into the PhD.
Monday, I met my cohort for the Industry Doctorate Program. It is a fairly new program at UTS, only in its fourth semester, and overall there will be five of us at a university this fall. I am the first student ever to do the program in architecture.
We had an intimate introductory session in the morning, punctuated by morning tea and lunch. After lunch, we were joined by a few students who are already into the program. Each student who has started their research gave a presentation about their work.
Following their presentations, the new students were asked to give an overview of our research plans. It was very interesting to hear about the work others are doing. For example, one person works for the Reserve Bank of Australia and is working on block chain research (the type of stuff that makes Bitcoin run), while another is working with Sydney Trains to create a way to check for defects in the tracks.
Afternoon tea was taken at a cafe in the UTS Business School, located in the Frank Gehry-designed building just down the Goods Line from the Faculty (or department, as we would say in the states) of Design, Architecture and Building (DAB). Then, the new cohort was given a tour of the library. As PhD students, we have access to a dedicated librarian to support research in our faculty, so that will be useful in the coming years.
Once that wrapped up in the late afternoon, I took the chance to wander in the neighbourhood a bit, walking up City Road to my old stomping grounds at Sydney Uni. From the hill which leads to the main building at the university, overlooking Victoria Park. From the vantage point, you could see both the main Quadrangle of Sydney Uni, and UTS Tower—the main building at the heart of our urban "campus."
After killing a bit more time, I walked back over toward UTS to check out a house in Chippendale, just a five minute walk from the Uni. Earlier in the day, I had looked at a place in Redfern, and while I liked it, it wasn't quite what I was looking for.
After touring the property and meeting who I would be living with, I decided it was a great fit, and I am happy to report that I found a place to live! I will explain that entire process at another time.
Today was filled with a full day of training on PRINCE2, the Commonwealth equivalent of PMP. While unexpected, the insights into project management (and how we can use it in relation to our PhD work) was very interesting. The training will wrap up tomorrow morning and then I have a meeting with my university and firm supervisors to get everyone on the same page. By the end of the week, everything should be up and running!
Monday, I met my cohort for the Industry Doctorate Program. It is a fairly new program at UTS, only in its fourth semester, and overall there will be five of us at a university this fall. I am the first student ever to do the program in architecture.
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| The view toward the CBD, through the very dirty window of our room in the UTS Tower. |
We had an intimate introductory session in the morning, punctuated by morning tea and lunch. After lunch, we were joined by a few students who are already into the program. Each student who has started their research gave a presentation about their work.
Following their presentations, the new students were asked to give an overview of our research plans. It was very interesting to hear about the work others are doing. For example, one person works for the Reserve Bank of Australia and is working on block chain research (the type of stuff that makes Bitcoin run), while another is working with Sydney Trains to create a way to check for defects in the tracks.
Afternoon tea was taken at a cafe in the UTS Business School, located in the Frank Gehry-designed building just down the Goods Line from the Faculty (or department, as we would say in the states) of Design, Architecture and Building (DAB). Then, the new cohort was given a tour of the library. As PhD students, we have access to a dedicated librarian to support research in our faculty, so that will be useful in the coming years.
Once that wrapped up in the late afternoon, I took the chance to wander in the neighbourhood a bit, walking up City Road to my old stomping grounds at Sydney Uni. From the hill which leads to the main building at the university, overlooking Victoria Park. From the vantage point, you could see both the main Quadrangle of Sydney Uni, and UTS Tower—the main building at the heart of our urban "campus."
 |
| The view up the hill to the Quadrangle at Sydney Uni; the reason it is known as a "sandstone university." |
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| The view down the hill, across Victoria Park, to the infamously hideous UTS Tower, across from Jean Nouvel's Central Park. |
After killing a bit more time, I walked back over toward UTS to check out a house in Chippendale, just a five minute walk from the Uni. Earlier in the day, I had looked at a place in Redfern, and while I liked it, it wasn't quite what I was looking for.
After touring the property and meeting who I would be living with, I decided it was a great fit, and I am happy to report that I found a place to live! I will explain that entire process at another time.
Today was filled with a full day of training on PRINCE2, the Commonwealth equivalent of PMP. While unexpected, the insights into project management (and how we can use it in relation to our PhD work) was very interesting. The training will wrap up tomorrow morning and then I have a meeting with my university and firm supervisors to get everyone on the same page. By the end of the week, everything should be up and running!
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