Faizah
MA Social Research Student
Things I wish I had known
As adults we often talk about things in our life we’d have done differently, or if we could give advice to our 16year old self, what would it be? When we have these conversations, we focus on big moments, times of life changing significance, and we never talk about ‘things we wish we knew more about’. Today, I’m reflecting on my experience as an academic researcher and employee of the University of Leeds, and these are the skills I wish I’d known more about when I started my academic journey.
Critical thinking: My undergraduate degree was in Philosophy and Sociology at the University of Leeds. For those of you who have come across philosophy and sociology in other topics, or studied them at A Level, you will know how complex the theories are within this area of study. Looking back at my first year of undergraduate study, I struggled a lot with critical thinking. I was unaware of how to think and write critically, and I didn’t know where to get started with learning more about it and understanding it as a skill. Critical thinking is an essential academic skill: it will help you understand course material; it will enable you to be a better researcher; it will give you the tools you need to develop as an academic; and support you in learning other new skills (for me this was understanding the difference between primary and secondary sources). I often think about how much more enjoyable my undergraduate degree might have been, if I’d known more about critical thinking before I started.
Time management and organisation: My organisation and time management skills were very poor before I started university, and during my undergraduate degree I noticed how vital the development of these skills where to my success - there was a lot of trial and error! During my postgraduate degree I have been working for the University of Leeds, delivering research and study skills workshops, one of which focuses on time management. Delivering this workshop introduced me to new time management techniques which I now use not just in my academic life, but in my personal life. I really would be lost without Gantt Charts and Prioritisation Matrices! I use the Prioritization Matrix for daily tasks and Gantt Charts for big projects such as my dissertation, which I will be working on for 8 months. The ability to organise yourself and manage your time will support you through university, research, employment, and honestly, just life in general!
Presentation skills: Presentations are a core part of university study, at all levels. When I think back to my first year of study, all I remember about presentations is how awful they were and how much I hated doing them. I actually ended up speaking to some lecturers privately about how stressed I got about delivering presentations, and how unhappy it was making me. Honestly, I’m not sure anyone really enjoys delivering presentations, however, I know I’d have felt better about them, if I’d just been better equipped with the skills to deliver a good presentation in the first place. This is a skill I have really developed in the last year, as my job involves delivering workshops to 16-18 year olds all around the UK. And do you know what? I don’t hate delivering presentations anymore, I actually quite enjoy them!