>Finding the right PhD project
Pinpointing a suitable project starts with recognizing what type of research excites you, the type of environment in which you flourish, and the skills you aim to acquire during your PhD journey. Here are some resources to assist you in discovering your ideal PhD:
- University websites, like that of Imperial – hunt for particular departmental pages detailing their available PhD positions
- Consolidated PhD portals and job boards, including FindAPhD
- Pages of research groups and supervisors
- Academic networks and advice from professors or supervisors
- Websites of funding entities and doctoral training centers
My experience in the application process may vary a bit from yours. For my PhD, I received financial support from my home country, so my primary task was to locate a research group engaged in a project I found appealing. I accomplished this by navigating the Imperial website, identifying researchers and research groups, reviewing their research descriptions, and looking into their research outputs.
Since I was already a Master’s student at Imperial while on the hunt for PhDs, I engaged with my lecturers to gather their recommendations on which research groups might suit me well. My current project supervisor was introduced to me via a list of research groups provided by my MSc course leader.
The crucial element is to communicate with EVERYONE and seek as much feedback as you can. I know a fellow PhD student who stumbled upon their project after chatting with someone at a pub, leading them to their current principal investigator (PI) and PhD supervisor.