What I wish I had known!

Recent graduate Kumar Uddipto shares his advice on what he wishes he had known before he started his studies with us.

Be ready for a challenge...it will lead to good and unexpected things

My name is Kumar Uddipto; I graduated from the MScR Biomedical Sciences (Life Sciences) programme in 2016. Looking back, I wish I had known how much critical analysis the programme would involve.

I did, though, feel lucky to have found myself in an inspiring, supportive and academically invigorating environment: we were always encouraged to question, analyse and form our own opinions - whether it involved published literature or critiquing our own work. This was a far cry from my previous academic experience - I could clearly see the difference in my academic writing between when I started and my final thesis. My presentations also became a lot better:  I learned how to best get my message across to target audiences and employ brevity in my communications – a very important skill for life scientists! These skills were instrumental in securing my current PhD position in Medical Genetics, carrying out research in Acute Myeloid Leukemia at The University of Newcastle, Australia.

The other thing which I wished I had known was how hilly the beautiful city of Edinburgh was. But this did mean I became quite fit navigating the streets by bike – which is an excellent way of getting around the city!

Take advantage of the expertise at your fingertips

Be comfortable asking for help... it's so important to ask for help when you need it; ask your supervisor or personal tutor, if they don't know, they can point you in the right direction and you can network along the way!

I would strongly recommend the programme to anyone thinking about a research career in Biomedical Sciences, it allows to one to glimpse the challenges as well as the joys of pursuing an academic research career.