David Robertson - FAQ on Being Involved With my Research
I get a large number of enquiries from people who want to become
involved in my research or, more broadly, in research in informatics.
To make it easier for you to find the answers to the most commonly
asked questions I have listed these below.
I am interested in applying for a postgraduate place (e.g. a PhD
or MSc) in your institute (CISA). How do I apply?
All formal applications must go through our Graduate School. You can
find information and application forms at
www.inf.ed.ac.uk/postgraduate.
I want to study for a PhD with you specifically. What should I do?
First you need to be sure that I'm really the best person to supervise
your PhD. You should read a few of my recent papers (perhaps start
with this one and this longer
one) and take a look at my research project Web sites (on my
home page)
to get an idea of the sort of thing I'm interested in right now.
Think carefully about whether this is the sort of thing that really
interests you and that you are able to pursue. Bear in mind that
there are plenty of people in Edinburgh and elsewhere who are more
talented and/or experienced than me so it is the area of research that
distinguishes me from others. If, after giving all of this some serious
thought, you want to study with me then mail me and we will chat.
I don't agree to work with anyone until I feel that there is a
"meeting of minds" on the sort of research (broadly) that we might
do, so if your prospects look hopeful I will want to talk with you at
length (either on the phone or in person).
I want to study for a PhD with you but have no funding. Can you help?
Normally I have little or no funding personally for PhD
studentships. There is a small amount of funding available through
our Graduate School (see information on funding schemes linked from
www.inf.ed.ac.uk/postgraduate but competition for this funding is
fierce so you need an excellent academic record to have any chance of
a studentship from this source.
Can I be accepted for a PhD without funding?
Your PhD application is considered on its academic merit so it is
possible for you to be offered a PhD place even though you have no
funding. This offer, however, will be conditional on you obtaining
funding before you arrive. If you don't have evidence of sufficient
funding before you start your PhD then you won't be allowed to start.
This is for your own protection - we don't want foolhardy folk to believe
that they can somehow "get by" and then have things fall apart when
they arrive. Talk with our Graduate School if you are unsure how our
rules are applied.
Can I do a PhD with you part time while I work somewhere else?
Although it is permitted (under some circumstances) by University
rules to do a PhD part time, I will not agree to be involved in this
because I find it difficult to work effectively with students who do not
have all their work time to spend on research.
Can I do a PhD with you while staying at some far away location?
The University will require you to stay for a minimum period in
Edinburgh but, apart from this, I won't agree to supervise you if you
spend the majority of time away from my research group. I believe
that a lot of the benefit of doing research comes from the environment
in which students work so you need physically to be here.
Must I start a PhD at some specific time of the year?
You can start a PhD any time.
Can I apply for a PhD at any time?
Yes, you can apply at any time. If you are looking for funding from
Edinburgh, however (and this is scarce, see above) then a lot of the
funding decisions are made around April/May so you are best to apply
before then for any given year. The dates I give are a rough guide
only and could vary - I don't control this.
How long does it take to do a PhD?
Normally at least three years, full time. If you spend more than four
years then it feels like you are extending for rather too long.
You aren't obliged to do a lot of teaching work as part of
your PhD (although most people want to do a little tutorial work)
which tends to shorten the period of time. Nevertheless, don't
bargain on less than three years and often it takes a little more.
I don't have the training to understand what I might
research with you but I very much want to work in this area. What can
I do?
You might consider doing a MSc or M.Res which lasts a year and gives
you the chance to collect the necessary background. This is arranged
through our Graduate School. You can
find information and application forms at
www.inf.ed.ac.uk/postgraduate.
I want to join your research group as a visiting researcher. Is
this possible?
My institute (CISA) normally takes in a few visiting researchers each
year. We have to be careful who we accept because we have limited
office space. This means there are two hurdles to clear before I
could work with you here. Firstly, we must have some area of research
charted that we can jointly explore when you are here (and that I have
time on which to spend with you). Secondly,
there has to be space and computing facilities available at the time
you want to be here. The combination of these means that I tend to
accept only one research visitor per year, although sometimes I have
more than one visitor for short periods. Normally we charge a bench
fee for research visitors (to cover our costs) but in exceptional
cases we may waive this.
I want to be employed on one of your research projects. Can I apply?
That depends on whether we have a vacancy. Normally my research projects
last about 3 years and staff are hired at the start; then stay on for
the whole 3 years. This means that vacancies are infrequent and when
they come up we advertise them (so you would normally have to wait for
an appropriate advertised post to appear).
Wow! You have a lot of reasons why someone couldn't work with
you. Don't you want PhD students or research colleagues?
The best part of my job is working with PhD students and other
researchers. I try to have a large number of PhD students in my
research group. I also try to bring in other researchers when I can.
Sorry about the negatives in many of the questions but these are
intended to filter out the things that just won't work. For many
people these negatives do not apply - I hope you are one of them.
I'm very interested in understanding your area of research but I
can't join your group. Will you talk with me?
Yes, I will try to find time to talk with you. I don't have much
spare time and my first obligation is to the people with whom I'm
already working so please don't be offended if I can't say much or
only give you a pointer to somewhere else. If I think your message is
a query broadcast to lots of people or if I believe you could easily
get the answer by searching the Web then I won't reply.
Prof. David Robertson Informatics
The University of Edinburgh
Informatics Forum, Crichton Street
Edinburgh EH8 9AB, UK