I really wish (as a Physics graduate) people wouldn’t offer to induct me, horrible images come to mind. I’m sure the Open University had no such electromagnetic desires as part of the two day induction programme into starting a PhD.

It was a strange deja-vu of registering for study elsewhere as an undergraduate decades ago. The mixture was new students was, as perhaps expected of the OU, remarkably inclusive in age and background. I certainly didn’t feel out of place as slightly older. Interestingly, I found myself able to talk with a really wide-range of people about their prospective projects in a (hopefully) reasonably intelligent way. Musicians, mathematicians, historians and a vulcanologist among others though strangely few computing types. But all able to give good explanations of their ideas and clearly showing great passion, it was easily the best part of the induction.

The problem with being a remote part-time student is the potential disconnect with the intake cohort and while there are plenty of forums and so-on I never find these terribly helpful. Remaining connected to the broader research community is going to be a challenge, one which the OU is clearly trying to tackle and improve on. The next positive result was the chance to meet and do some initial planning with my supervisors. Obviously I’m going to be trouble because I have three instead of the more common two. Obviously they all add particular skills but also have papers and ideas to throw at you. So that’s three lots to process and consider not two!

The more practical sessions were helpful in clearing up some administrative points but to be honest you can’t help but feel the glare of a full-on bureaucracy lying in wait like a lurking Jabberwocky. The point was usefully made about the relationships with supervisors being considered as less like a passing work association and more like a long-term relationship and to invest time in them. Supervisors want (and need) your PhD success so it’s aiming to be a win-win. Or in my case a win-win-win-win.

So overall a positive induction process, perhaps a bit less speech-making and introducing the hierarchy and more talks with second-year students would have been better. Next step is to get moving with the literature searching, setting up some technical systems to communicate and accepting and paying the official offer to be a research student. For a vague ‘nice’ it now seems all terribly scary, real and exciting.