One great thing about doing research is the opportunity to go and spend some time doing your research at an overseas institution, and to go to conferences and present your work. The conferences are often in interesting places, and if you are lucky you will be able to apply for some sort of funding from the university (or from the organisation funding your research). I’m spending a year in the US on a Fulbright Scholarship, and last week I attended a wildlife conference in Washington State, which meant, hurrah, that I got to spend some time in Seattle, too.
Previously, everything I knew about Seattle was gleaned from TV shows. For example, I’d vaguely heard of the Space Needle, had seen some shots of the ferries, and was excited about the possibility of meeting McDreamy in Seattle Grace Hospital. The moment I stepped out of my hotel, the illusion of being in a film or TV show began. I felt that I’d stepped onto the set of Grease when a 1950’s boy walked past, complete with a greased ducktail hairdo, black shoes, white socks, and a plastic comb in his back pocket. I followed him for 3 blocks and he did his hair at each set of traffic lights, shoving the comb back into his pocket each time. I arrived at the famous Pike Place markets and watched the fish sellers hurling giant salmon at each other next to rows and rows of cut flowers, and saw the famous ferries ran to and fro across Puget Sound. McDreamy and Meredith Gray did not appear on the deck of any of these, so I headed on to see the Space Needle. A marvel of 1960’s architecture, it was built for the 1962 World’s Fair (where the microwave was first unveiled!). I couldn’t decide whether I was in the opening credits for Frasier or some 60’s movie- the Needle is indeed very spacey!
But I digress- the upshot of all of this is that as a result of my research degree, I was able to get a little taster of a city that I’ve never been to before. Conferences are a great opportunity to see a bit of the world- from small trips just enough to decide whether you’d like to visit again (a big YES for Seattle), to longer trips that you can tack on after the conference (eg. I spent two weeks in Vietnam after a conference in Hanoi). The only trick is getting a bit of funding to help you along the way- and for this, I direct you to the Research Office. The Research Office administers a scheme called the Postgraduate Research Support Scheme (PRSS), which aims to provide some funds for research students for conferences, fieldwork, computer software etc. The downside is that you have to outlay the money first and claim it back later, and the selection process is competitive, but the upside is that you can apply for up to $1200 each year (or up to $2000-$3000 if you’re presenting at a conference overseas). There is also a Grant-in-Aid scholarship-type scheme too, where you can apply for a grant to visit an overseas institution for your research (eg. I spent three weeks in the US last year). And if you’re really keen, there are lots of bigger scholarships that can support long-term stays at overseas institutions. My Fulbright Scholarship (applications are now open!) is a great example, but there are heaps more, from the new Prime Minister’s Australia Asia Endeavour Awards to the Churchill Fellowships http://www.churchilltrust.com.au/. The link here has some great information about overseas scholarships.
My advice to you is to apply for all of the scholarships that you can- I did and have been able to travel to some really interesting places, culminating in my Fulbright year in the US. These are opportunities that I would not have had if I was not doing a PhD.
Next time: I'll be reporting on the fabulous WA wildlife conference I went to- and the star-studded line-up of wildlife that I saw there.