I am involved in a variety of activities at Radboud University, some of which form part of my core responsibilities as a PhD candidate and others that I do because I like the challenge and thrill associated with it
Reading background literature, designing and conducting experiments, analysing data and presenting my results forms the bulk of my working hours. For more details on what I do on an everyday basis, go to research.
I also wrote a poem about my research project. If you do not have a background in Neurolinguistics (or even if you do), this poem might help you understand the specific question I am studying in my research. Find this poem here.
Next to research, teaching is the thing that makes me most grateful to be a PhD candidate at the DCC. I love teaching and the process of coming up with simple, intuitive ways of explaining tough concepts. It gives me great joy in helping students understand and work their way through the challenges and difficulties they face. I follow two philosophies: "If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough" and "Give a man a fish, you feed him for a day. Teach a man how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime."
I always wanted to be a teacher. Just like kids play house, I used to play classroom and pretend to be a teacher. I even made my parents buy me a small blackboard, chalk and duster when I was 7.
Courses
A PhD candidate plays many roles. As part of both the Donders Graduate School and the International Max Plank Research School, I get the opportunity to take courses on a variety of subjects. Working where I do, I have the luxury of choosing from a wide variety of courses. I have taken courses through my graduate school programs and Radboud university like Art of Presenting Science, Work-Life Balance, Dutch Language Courses, Statistics courses, ACT workshop, etc.
Conferences and Workshops
Another aspect of research life that I really enjoy is attending conferences and workshops. Admittedly, I have only been to three of those in my PhD so far, but they were a LOT of fun. In my first ever conference experience, I got the chance to present a talk about my study. As nerve wracking as it was to prepare and present my first ever conference talk, I relished the experience and have gone to many conferences since. Some of the work I have presented at conferences can be found here.
Extra curriculars
Apart from all of these activities which more or less are part of my responsibilities as a PhD candidate, I also , from time to time, indulge in activities just for the fun of it. Christmas choirs and PhD galas are some of the things that spring to mind.
Some time back, I participated in the Radboud Talks preliminary. It is a science pitch competition where researchers have to explain what they research, in three minutes, in a manner in which a general audience can understand what their research is about. I presented a poem in this competition.