(click to see enlarged versions of all pictures)

I still can’t get over the idea of being a student at the PhD level.

Not only do I get special treatment at enrollment - I didn’t have to join the long queues with the hoi-polloi’s but was enrolled in a private office on a one-to-one basis - but I also get office space!!! This is so unreal. OK, I might have to share it with one other person eventually, but I wouldn’t have been given any office space if I had gone here instead… And then there’s the free printing, free photocopying, higher library loan entitlements, no coursework, no real timetables - I love being a PhD student! Well… at least until real work sets in and the crunch time comes along!

The ANU is fab. I’ve never been in a university with a proper campus before so this experience is quite novel. As with all else in Australia, there’s so much space everywhere. All the buildings are low-lying and are all partially overshadowed by trees. Walking through the campus is a sensory experience - on a warm day, you can smell “wood” (probably coming from the wood chips in the planted area or the mini-”bush” that we have). I haven’t yet walked all over the campus as it’s so big (145 hectares!) - I reckon I’ve only seen about a fifth of it.

Everyone here is super friendly - I think most Aussies are, at least the ones in Canberra. Everyone is on first name basis in this country and while I can do that in almost all situations, I find it disconcerting within the university environment particularly with individuals who are effectively my seniors and mentors - so it’s still “Prof so-and-so” or “Dr so-and-so” for me.

I’ve met my supervisor and we had a lovely and very productive chat. I need to start “reading around” my subject this week and work towards producing a 10-page “statement of intent” - effectively a research proposal in great detail. The major deadlines will start looming up pretty soon, and that’s quite frightening…!

While most universities have various programmes (skill enhancement programmes, counselling, health & well-being programmes etc.) that support student life, the ANU appear to have a really wide range of these and they are heavily publicised - they really want students to use them! The university is heavily reliant on the internet. A lot of things are done through it - enrolling for/swapping/changing courses, changing your contact details, obtaining course material, short self-taught skill enhancement courses, releasing examination results etc.

It’s all been very positive so far - but then it is my first week. I may change my mind in due course. But yes, I should enjoy it while it lasts… and we all know it wouldn’t (c.f. this blogger and this one too)!

Posted on February 22nd, 2005 by jl
Filed under: VivaVoce