Congratulations Dr K! (up)

Lara, congratulations!!!! Well done, that's brilliant news!!! (up):-)(up)

You've worked so hard over the past year and have really been up against it, what a great outcome after all that work!! So you can leave it behind you now- wooohhoooo!!! Do you feel a bit strange now you've got no viva to think about, because it's been dragging on for so long, longer than most people have to wait.

Have a great rest of the week, you deserve it!!!!(up):-)(up)

Hi there, I'm still at it - time just vanishes when you're up against it, doesn't it!! Have made another cup of tea and a bit of toast and reminded myself how horrible word is when you've got loads of images - gggrrrr...

Sue, it's good that 3 of you are planning to sub,it around the same time, I found it helped me a lot to have a bit of online company for similar deadlines.

Alpaca, a gig and a trip - very nice! Who are you going to see?

Oh well, better crack on I suppose.... another hour maybe should do it for tonight. :-s

Hi KT, Bilbo and Sue,

May I join you for the next few hours? Not normally one for a night shift, but have my corrections deadline tomorrow so am getting a bit desperate. :$:$ how did it get so close....? :$ ... aah well, it's not too late til the deadline has gone.

I've just made a cup of tea too and must get my conclusion rewritten and get my figures typos cleaned up by midnight or I won't sleep.
Good luck to everyone still working! (up)

I use all of those in 'real life', though not so much hiya, plus 'morning' as well (short for good morning, assuming it is before noon, of course). I think I say them in different ways as well, so that plus the actual greeting used depends on the level of familiarity, I suppose. I would say any of them to my mum or people I know well or regular colleagues at work, but would probably not use hi for the head of college or the postman... probably hello or morning for them.

I use 'dear' so and so in emails for formal greetings, or hi or hello for those I already know - eg supervisors, managers, colleagues. I would use 'dear' for emailing the head of another dept or anyone I don't know very well, then go with whatever they use to greet me with in reply - if they use 'hi' back, then I think it's ok to be less formal after a couple of emails. Sometimes I use 'hello' when someone's being annoying instead of 'hi', though I don't know why. Maybe 'hello' looks a bit more lugubrious in an email than hi, so it comes back to the way you say it again in real life.

I'll probably think about this tomorrow now and monitor my greetings all day! :-)

Hi Lara, good luck tomorrow! (up)

======= Date Modified 27 Sep 2009 10:41:33 =======
Hi Biggl, if the problem relates to what your contribution to knowledge is, it sounds more as if your supervisors have concerns about the core ideas of your project, rather than your methodology or your ability to do the work. You could defend this in your upgrade viva. Are you thinking about how your practice extends what other artists or critical theorists have done in that field, and how your use of certain facilities or methods contribute to this practice to make it original research? Apologies if it sounds really obvious, but that should be your contribution to knowledge, you're doing something new that other people haven't done yet.

If the problem with continuing to PhD is that your supervisors don't think there is enough mileage in your project (that presumably got you enrolled on the degree in the first place), can you think of how you might extend and develop your work in different directions to do what they think is necessary for a PhD? Are there related ideas that you could explore, to build on what you're already started and give it more depth? It's not necessarily a problem with your practice, but might be with the original concept for your research degree proposal. Some projects don't have enough scope for a significant contribution to knowledge, practice-based or otherwise, but that's not to say you can't necessarily develop what you've started to meet the needs of a PhD. I think it depends on you convincing your supervisors and the external. Good luck!

I don't think being part-time and having to work as well is a real downside, because if work's vile then it's a constant reminder of how much you appreciate doing your MA. Or if your MA occasionally has bad patches, then you can immerse yourself in work so you're doing well in that, so there is always something going well for you, MA or work. Or sometimes both!! Hope you continue to enjoy it anyway! :-)

======= Date Modified 23 Sep 2009 15:51:13 =======
Academically, I'd like to have at least 2 books published, one from my PhD subject and one for the next interesting topic I fancy working on, and also maybe an edited collection about my spin-off subject. I've a feeling I might still be involved with the same institution in some capacity, as a Reader would be nice as I'll have done some interesting research projects too by then!!! :-) Dream on!!

And from a more materialistic perspective, I'd like to have paid off my current mortgage, and also have a nice flat overlooking the sea for breaks from London, which would be nearer my brother too.

And I sincerely hope I'll be happy and healthy too, as life's a hell of a lot easier when that's the case.

Eska, thanks for PMs!! :-)(up)

I did my BA at a Poly, and I've never felt it was equal to, say, Oxbridge. My school was an Enid Blyton style girls grammar school, and my schoolfriend went to Cambridge, so I knew our HE choices were really different but suited us both in different ways, so definitely no denial there on my part! I've never felt it's stopped me from doing whatever I wanted to do though and neither have I ever wished I'd gone elsewhere. Maybe I was naive or ill-advised, but I chose that Poly because I liked the sound of both the college and the course, and really enjoyed both.

Maybe it matters more if you're from a family background where university is the norm, or if you have a grand life plan as to which uni you want to go to, in order to be successful in some field or other. I've probably pursued my education in an odd way compared to other people on here, but I've never regretted doing it that way or felt disadvantaged. I'd never realised how snobby attitudes were towards some HE institutions and their students until I started reading this forum, even though I've worked in HE for years now. (That's not directed at anyone in particular on this thread, btw). Even if places are crap in the league tables, their students might still have a valuable experience there, or do something that helps them change their lives for the better, so it must be worth something.

Eska, that sounds really interesting. I wonder if similar models are being explored in different places... I feel like if the college can make money out of it then it would be viable, it always seems to come down to economics in the end, unsurprisingly, but if it was student-driven...

Sneaks, maybe that's where your musical interests came from if your dad makes instruments? I think it's a bit sad, but that original purpose-built Central School building is being sold off soon, it's such a lovely place and has so much character. They sold off the Long Acre site in Covent Garden a while back where my old bf did film and video, it was so weird walking through the building when it became H&M and remembering all the little editing suites in the basement, with students poring over their creations in the subterranean gloom. Oh, happy days!!

Yes, students do sell stuff or get commissions at the end of year shows, well, the lucky ones anyway! The college also buys work for its own collection, which includes students going back to its early days. Maybe your dad's in it! My dad used to go to gigs there in the late 50s/early 60s.

======= Date Modified 21 Sep 2009 17:56:01 =======
Eska, I wouldn't like to say one way or the other really, depends on the subject and the person, but very good postgrad course directors though and ex-students seem to do ok out of it, very interesting cohorts to work with. I'd say to any would-be student for any college to check out the course work at end-of-year shows, talk to current or graduating students, or go to an open day and see if it suits your own work, then decide. I noticed that design students on the Phillippe Stark programme on BBC2 tonight are from many different colleges, so talent and good teaching are clearly found all over the place. Luckily for the likes of us looking for interesting jobs!! :-)

======= Date Modified 21 Sep 2009 17:38:50 =======
Design courses at St Martins already have commercial relevance built into them as personal and professional development modules, working with external companies and organisations.

[EDIT] Oh yes and they engage with design in relation to social and environmental problems like sustainability and crime. They are 'real' courses too, validated by HEFCE for any cynics out there! :-)