HDR Student Profiles
Amy Nethery
PhD student - Centre for Citizenship, Development and Human Rights,
Faculty of Arts and Education
'I'm currently completing a doctoral thesis examining immigration detention in Australia at Deakin's Centre for Citizenship, Development and Human Rights. I began my PhD at Deakin in 2006 and have had the wonderful opportunity to work with experienced and dedicated supervisors. I have access to many resources - including office space and administrative support - and Deakin has also offered career development opportunities, including sessional teaching and professional development programs.
'My research into immigration detention in Australia is interdisciplinary, drawing on social and political theory, law, and history ... I've also done sessional teaching, research assistant and administrative work throughout my candidature. Multi-tasking is important training for any job, and particularly academia, but the skills I develop as a tutor are completely different from those I develop as a researcher, and just as valuable.
Deakin has a lot to offer and my advice to others is to get in touch with other Deakin post grads, find out what resources are available, and attend all the info sessions and seminars you can. As well as giving you what you need, it's an important way of being part of university life at Deakin.'
Adam Karg
PhD student - School of Management and Marketing,
Faculty of Business and Law
'I completed a Bachelor of Commerce (Sport Management/Economics) and after four years of working and travelling overseas, returned to Deakin to complete my honours - which I really enjoyed. I was then offered a scholarship to continue postgraduate study and am now 12 months into my PhD candidature.
I was very comfortable with Deakin during my undergraduate and honours studies and that played a big part in the decision to continue. Deakin also offered a great deal of expertise in sport management where my research interests are based - additionally the opportunities for undergraduate teaching and other research project work were very attractive.
Within Deakin, there's a focus on developing strong research training ... and overall there's a supportive network and an environment of collegiality between PhD students ... finding the right people who you feel comfortable to work and generate ideas with can make a huge difference.
The HDR program at Deakin offers a great opportunity to pursue an area of interest and to establish a career either in that area, or in wider areas of research.'
Emma Cohen
PhD student - School of Nursing
Faculty of Health, Medicine, Nursing and Behavioural Sciences
Current job: Oncology and haematology clinical nurse specialist, The Alfred Hospital, Melbourne
'I graduated from Deakin in 2003 with a combined degree (Bachelor of Applied Science and Bachelor of Nursing) ... I then undertook an honours degree concurrently with my graduate year in the oncology and haematology ward at the Alfred Hospital. I also pursued my interest in research by working as a research assistant until I commenced my PhD in 2006. My PhD program explores the notion of patient participation in symptom management in an acute oncology setting.
There were a couple of factors that led me to choose Deakin for my PhD ... a supervisor who produced high quality research and had the relevant expertise, and the School of Nursing's research partnerships with major hospitals. These partnerships provide a link between the University and clinical environment which is very important to me and also enabled me to have a PhD workspace within the hospital environment.
There is a great network of support available for postgraduate students at Deakin, particularly for higher degree by research students, and one of the highlights of my PhD candidature has been presenting my research program to both national and international conferences.'
Yvonne Fazendin
PhD student - Analytical Chemistry and Forensic Science,
School of Life and Environmental Sciences,
Faculty of Science and Technology
'I left school and home at 15 and worked full time for 16 years in offices. I then decided that working in an office until retirement age wasn't going to be enough. So I started studying part time at TAFE and completed a three-year diploma course before continuing my studies at Deakin completing an undergraduate degree in chemical science. I was then accepted for an honours project at Deakin, and after achieving first class honours, applied for a PhD candidature.
I'm currently undertaking a PhD project in natural product chemistry, which involves the search for new bioactive compounds produced by microorganisms. Ultimately, the main aim of this project is to discover new natural products for use in the fight against infectious diseases.
I'm finding that the skills I acquired during undergraduate studies and honed during the honours year are very applicable to my current research. Two that I consider most important are critical analysis of published research, and scientific writing.
Deakin's academic and post-doctoral staff are great to work with, and you are made to feel part of the academic community. Academic staff are open to new research directions and ideas, and encourage an attitude of thinking "outside the square". One of the things that has really impressed me about PG studies at Deakin is the multidisciplinary approach to research, which is fast becoming a trend internationally.'
