My name is Brett Gordon, and I am a doctoral candidate in the Department of Physical Education and Sports Sciences. In October of 2018, I was awarded an Irish Research Council postgraduate scholarship, due in large part to the overwhelming support of my supervisors, department, and critically, services provided by the faculty of Education and Health Sciences. These services included multiple information sessions with successful applicant testimonials, the Education and Health Sciences application reader schemes, and now include several additional components, such as supervisor information workshops, and writing workshops. These programs are spearheaded by Dr. Orla Power-Grant, the EHS research funding officer, and she does an amazing job turning what may seem like an incredibly daunting process, winning an IRC scholarship, into something achievable.
I was recently fortunate enough to participate in one of these information sessions from the other side, as a successful applicant providing a testimonial to assist in the preparation of future proposals. This session was structured to allow each IRC scholar to break down a component of the proposal, and indicate what we struggled with, and how we demonstrated our strengths. I covered how I presented my proposed research project; others covered aspects of career development, and environment. Following, there was a question and answer period, where we reflected on the entirety of the application experience and was another opportunity for me to acknowledge how helpful these information sessions and schemes were to my successful application.
I would sincerely encourage anybody aiming to successfully apply to the Irish Research Council Postgraduate Scholarship to avail of these opportunities. The next scheduled components are the writing workshops, September 27th, and October 9th, which provide advice, practical exercises and exemplar applications to illustrate how to write a successful application. In addition, EHS repository of successful applications will be made available to view at the workshop.
Dates of workshops: 27th September & 9th October 10-1 pm, HS2-046.
Please note these are not repeat sessions. Course content is spread over both workshops therefore attendance at both session is essential to maximize success.
Please sign up using the link: https://doodle.com/poll/pnkd5mg3ftvu5kzm
Brett Gordon is an IRC postgraduate researcher in the Department of Physical Education and Sport Sciences at the University of Limerick. His current research interests include the effectiveness of acute and short-term resistance exercise training among young adults with elevated worry symptoms.
Contact Brett via email at Brett.Gordon@ul.ie or view his research profile on Researchgate
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