Dear PhD Lab,

Bit of a curve ball by Carl below, but nothing this PhD Lab shouldn’t be able to handle. :-)

I would say: All of you who can make Thursday work should go for it. Our division consists of nice people and I trust the feedback will be friendly and constructive. Given the super short format, it lends itself to ideas that aren’t fully cooked yet, rather than projects that have lots of results already. Great forum to collect high-level feedback and feedforward.

So: 

@All students: Please get in touch with your supervisory team and let them know (a) if you want to go for it and (b) discuss which project to present. 

P.S. I am typing this on an airplane, so this e-mail won’t be sending out until after my arrival (past midnight).

Best,
Till

Begin forwarded message:


Hello,

Hector is unable to present or attend at the seminar this coming Thursday (30th Jan).

So, I have decided to repurpose it as our inaugural "PhD Economics & Behavioural Science Flash Talks" event. 

PhD students will each have 5 minutes to introduce and explain their current research, focusing on one research paper. This can refer to a paper at any stage of progress. This serves several purposes:
  1. It allows you to introduce yourself and your research to everybody else in the Division.
  2. It serves as good practice for job market interviews, where in Economics it is common at the first stage to be asked to summarise your research paper in just a few minutes — hence it is probably best to talk about the fullest paper you have.
  3. The time constraint and preparation will focus your own mind on what the crux is of your current research.
  4. At conferences, you often meet people who ask you about your research in the corridors or breakout areas, who will only want to listen for a few minutes.
  5. Some conferences have flash talk sessions, as well as poster sessions, at which you need to be able to describe your research succinctly.
The rules for the talks are as follows:
  1. 5 slides maximum, including the title slide if you want. I recommend using slides mostly for graphics (tables/figures), rather than plain text.
  2. 5 minutes speaking time maximum. Somebody will moderate, and the talk will strictly end after 5 mins.
  3. No interruptions from the audience.
  4. To enable a fast flow from one talk to the next, please upload your slides onto the PC via memory stick before we start (i.e., before 12.30am).
Because I am pressed for time with organising this, I decided a schedule of talks already, using a random number generator. 
Kevin, Jayne, and Katie: because you presented something in the seminar series last semester and we already heard about your research, I have included you as "maybe" participants at the end of schedule — no worries if you decide just to watch and listen. 

Running Order
Speaker
Talk 1
Jeon Chulhyun
Talk 2 
Jasmine Yang
Talk 3
Liz Barker
Talk 4
Gabe Han
Talk 5
Stewart Robertson
Talk 6
Hannah Cocks
Talk 7
Liz Barnes
Talk 8
Omobola Olagbenro
Talk  A1
Kevin Kim
Talk A2
Jayne Brown
Talk  A3
Katie O'Neil


If you are not going to attend the seminar on Thursday, perhaps just let your supervisors know. On the day, we will just proceed through the running order missing out any non-attendees.

Best wishes,

Carl






-------------------------
Carl Singleton
Senior Lecturer in Economics, IZA Research Fellow
Stirling Management School | University of Stirling
E: carl.singleton@stir.ac.uk

Scotland’s University for Sporting Excellence
The University of Stirling is a charity registered in Scotland, number SC 011159