PhD group activities

Fruktstund is a 30 min break every day where we meet, chat about anything and have some healthy fruit (unhealthy alternatives are also fine). It takes place at the kitchen corner (5th floor) everyday at 3pm. Please try to engage in this activity whenever you are present at SRC as it is important to stay connected, especially in the fall and winter when it gets dark outside earlier.

"How2B a Scientist" seminars organized by PhD group representatives usually include a presentation delivered by an expert, either from within our organization or from an external source. Following the presentation, there is a group discussion lasting approximately 60-90 minutes.

If you would like to propose a topic and speaker for the discussion, please reach out to PhD eduction coordinators, Erik Zhivkoplias (erik.zhivkoplias@su.se) or Diana Veronica Luna Gonzales (diana.lunagonzalez@su.se). Recorded seminars are available here (please don't share it outside of the PhD circle) .

Each new PhD student should have a student mentor when starting the PhD. A student mentor can be found either asking directly to fellow students and/or supervisors, or sending out a friendly request using the PhD mailing list. 

A student mentor should be experienced (at least one year into his/her own PhD or one year left) and ideally should not share supervisors with the new student, to ensure neutrality.

When signing the ISP, the student mentor needs to be present. The student mentor helps the new student with administrative issues and management of the procedures required for the important milestones of a PhD, such as your extended proposal, licentiate exam and dissertation.

In preparation for PhD milestones (e.g. ERP, licentiate & defense) or giving a BBL/conference talk, a student can arrange a presentation practice seminar with the other PhDs. This can include giving feedback on a presentation, reading papers & preparing questions.

Students can also self-organize peer support groups with other PhDs who are going through similar milestones.

Please let others know at least a few days in advance if you want to practice your presentation. You can present using PowerPoint slides or any other format you prefer!

In the Accountability Group, we aim to structure our PhDs using methods from project management, inspired by Åsa Burman’s book and course “Finish on Time”. Members meet once a month to discuss whether we have met our targets and how we are progressing. We exchange planning and PhD management tips, and general advice on overcoming difficult situations during the PhD.

Please contact the group leader Abigaiyl Blandon (abigayil.blandon@su.se) for more information.

The Resilience Research School students may organize an annual retreat for all members outside the SRC venue. The retreat aims to give the students the opportunity to socialize and share experiences with each other. It is also expected that it will create or strengthen research co-operation and other academic activities between students. 

The 'ledamots' of the PhD council can be in charge of organizing the retreat. 

The R-Club met once a month. The purpose of this club is to:

• Share our research through what we are doing with R 
• Share best practices, tips, tricks
• Problem solving – group thinks solutions to 1-2 problems per meeting

The club meeting has been discontinued in 2020, but the materials can be found here.

The Diversity reading group met on the last Friday of each month at 3pm, to discuss reflections on papers on the topic of "Diversity in Sustainability Science". The group meeting has been discontinued in 2020, but the materials can be found here.