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A Chat with Timoti

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Another Year Gone, What’s Next?

It was this time last year that I was finishing my undergraduate science degree in physiology, and I had no idea what was next. I was engulfed by exam prep but the constant stress of not knowing what I was going to do the year after made me extremely anxious. Should I stay at Uni and do postgraduate study? Do I have the motivation to continue? Should I move back to Hamilton and get a job?  What job can I get following my degree?

NZBIO Conference 2017: ‘Global Mega Trends’

The NZBIO 2017 Annual Conference was held on 12th & 13th October at Te Wharewaka o Poneke in Wellington. This year, the theme of the conference was ‘Global Mega Trends’ where we gathered to explore some of the biggest opportunities evolving in biotech across the world today. With world-leading entrepreneurs, investors, scientists, and people at the forefront of biotech gathered together, exciting conversations and ideas were shared around the room. Many of us left inspired and excited about the future of New Zealand’s biotechnology industry.

Chiasma’s Career Catalyst series

This year Chiasma ran four workshops as part of their Career Catalyst series. Quite honestly, I was put off workshops in the past due to speakers that would get too technical, or activities during the workshops I did not really find useful. However, being a committee member of Chiasma motivated me to attend these workshops anyway, to help run the evening. And I could not believe how inspired I felt leaving these workshops and how many people we managed to gather for most of them.

Jigsaw puzzles

Having studied a science undergraduate degree consisting mostly of many hours of individual study, which was like hunting as a lone wolf; group work was practically non-existent. It was not until this year upon stumbling across Bioscience Enterprise that I had my first proper experience of group work in the university and a taste of being a pack hunter

Do less, achieve more

I enjoy the moment when I cross out an item from my to-do list. It is like an acknowledgement of my efforts. Having a sense of achievement is helpful to keep motivated; however, chances are also higher for us to be blinded by the number of items accomplished, rather than their importance. As Henry David Thoreau said, “It’s not enough to be busy, so are the ants. The question is, what are we busy about?”

How is PhD life different to Bachelor time?

The full name of PhD is doctor of philosophy, or more descriptively “permanent head damage”. Generally, you conduct your own research over three to four years and contribute novel knowledge to the field. At the end of journey, you defend your thesis and get rewarded as “Dr”. As a Bachelor student, you take papers, write reports, assignments and exams, then you pass the course.