I am a PhD student who recently spent a six months in Leicester. My last night I had a wonderful time with two PhD students, Brenda and Grace. Brenda asked me what was the best for me in Leicester, and I replied, “ILI”, without hesitation.

International environment at the Institute of Learning Innovation

I came to the ILI on  April 1st and left on September 25th. Although it was not my first time abroad, it was my first time abroad alone. Yet, I never felt lonely. At the ILI, it was just like home. The ILI building is lovely. For me it was more than a working place; it was a comfortable place to stay with friends and family. People at the ILI made me feel love in this “family”.

In the ILI, there are two nice traditions. The first one is to send birthday cards. Even though I didn’t receive any cards as my birthday is in January, it felt very nice to write my best wishes in birthday cards for others. The second tradition is to have lunch together regularly. It was a good opportunity to taste dishes from various countries as everyone brought dishes from their respective countries.

Beside the friendly and warm atmosphere, there is another reason for me to choose ILI as the best of Leicester. It was a very important period in my PhD project. I got opportunities to present my work in postgraduate research conferences (University of Leicester and University of London), to get feedback from peers, to participate in seminars and workshops (ILI, University of Birmingham, University of Loughborough), to enhance my research skills and to network with people. I can really see I “grew up” rapidly in this six-month period and gradually found a clear direction for my ongoing research.

Thank you all!

I would like to thank everyone at ILI for making my stay in the UK a beautiful, memorable period. Many thanks to Grainne and Palitha, your support and advice were crucial for making this productive research period possible. Thanks to David; having a regular discussion with you was one of my most enjoyable moments. Thanks to Terese; I enjoyed working with you in the 7Cs learning design workshop; you made me realize how interesting and important is the job of a learning technologist in higher education. Thanks to Gabi; your input was really valuable to my study. Thanks to Ming; your advice had a direct impact on my PhD life. Thanks to Paul; now I know more about the British culture. Thanks to Ale; your suggestion makes a future collaboration possible. Thanks to Brenda, Grace, Bernard, Oznur, Nada, Natalia, Tina, Tony, Marion and Alison; I am quite happy to become a member of this PhD student group.

I wish you all the best!

Regards, Nan

PhD Research Students and Supervisors

Approximately three times a year, a Research Day is offered for students of the Beyond Distance Research Alliance at the University of Leicester. Student presentations provide updates on research to date and the planned direction. Supervisors, research staff, student colleagues, and invited guests ask questions and provide feedback. We can anticipate presentations by others, and this day included updates on our department, critical writing, social media research tools, and methodological perspectives.

Usually joining online from home in Canada, I can participate subject to the limitations of technology and obviously missing the traditional evening dinner together. This time was different, as I combined the event with a couple of extra days at the university and a vacation that included visiting relatives not seen for a long, long time. I don’t feel this needs to be done with a physical presence, but there was added value. First and foremost was the ability to see everyone at one time. There was not the opportunity to speak individually at length, so perhaps the follow-up will be one-to-one conversations by videoconference–at least as needs are identified.

I am a believer in, and supporter of, distance learning, but there was something special about this visit. Beyond the opportunity to develop relationships and meet new people, such as PhD students from the School of Education that we recently became a part of, it was the academic setting. It reinforced the journey I am on and the academic nature of it. With three tutorial sessions during the first and third days (the research day was in the middle), I emerged with a fresh motivation to research and to write. Plans started to come together for the next stage which is a pilot study. I even had a chance to meet with a senior representative of an organisation that confirmed an interest in participating in the research.

One of the most important things for me to do right now is to write and to write regularly. I came away making a commitment to myself (shared with supervisors) that I will aim for a written output every two weeks or so. It is up to me to keep on track with this, but I know a colleague or two in the PhD student community will hold me accountable.

It was wonderful meeting everyone in person, many for the first time. I look forward to returning again.

A.E. (Tony) Ratcliffe
PhD Research Student, BDRA