PhD research title

EIMxxxEAR

Hi so I've been thinking I would really like to stay in education and do a PhD. When looking at applications it's asking for a research proposal. I have no idea what I would like to do for a research project, only that I would like it to be in the biotechnology area. How do people come up with ideas? And how hard is it to get funding? Any advice would be greatly appreciated

thunderdog

A bit of advice on the PhD. It is all about having a good supervisor. If you have a good supervisor, you will (mostly) enjoy your PhD and come out with a good thesis.

The topic / title are secondary to this.

If you fund a research group you are interested in, contact the current post docs / masters / PhD students

They will give you a good feel for it

ATTY

+1 for the supervisor being your first concern.

Find someone with a good track record of students finishing, I have started and finished my PhD and there are still people who were there before me hanging around waiting for their supervisors to decide if their work is good enough (mostly with the same two supervisors). The danger then is that the work they have done is no longer novel, some of them have nearly written two thesis at this stage.

Most supervisors should be able to give you contact details for past and current students, also if you can talk to other students who may have an outsiders perspective of the supervisor.

Also just because the supervisor has a lot of current students doesn't mean they are the best supervisor for you, they may not be able to give you the time you need. Sometimes two supervisors is a good idea. Part of doing a PhD is managing your supervisor too and its hugely important that you develop a good relationship with them early on.

I would start with your own HEI and talk to a few lecturers there, if they are not interested they could recommend someone else. Also take the initiative and email anyone whose work you find interesting, have a look at any websites for biotechnology research, is there an Irish Institute for biotechnology research? or read some journal articles or industry magazines and see what is happening out there at the moment. Some funding agencies require that PhDs are openly advertised but often there is someone earmarked for them so the direct approach is best.

If you are relaxed about the topic then you could find someone with a developed proposal and maybe funding, I had no idea what I wanted to do at first either and it worked out okay for me.

There are several online resources you could look at; vitae.ac.uk, times higher education are two that come to mind.