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I am really enjoying my time at the IMS-MRL as an MPhil student. From an academic point, it is fantastic with a variety of opportunities available to you as a student to help broaden both your knowledge about the field and allied fields as well as technical expertise. As an MPhil student, you have access to weekly seminars, alongside all other researchers at the IMS-MRL hosted by either internal or external researchers, where both published and unpublished work is presented with the opportunity to ask questions afterwards if you so wish. Additionally, all first-year students attend weekly ‘Hot topics’ sessions, where a principle investigator within the institute discusses either their own research or research they find important. These are particularly helpful and are done in a variety of formats subject to the leader of the session but they always incorporate ample opportunity to ask any questions on the topic, no matter how trivial. This is especially valuable for a student who may be hesitant about asking more basic questions in a larger talk. Moreover, this institute has an accessible structure for researching in with many people available to help guide you with particular experimental techniques.
When not in the lab, students can work in the general hot desk area which is communal and social. This is valuable as it prevents research from becoming isolating and means there is always someone around to either help you if you get yourself stuck or just to share commiserations and successes with. If you so wish though there are spaces available to work in solitude. Additionally, throughout my time here, we have had very good student social secretaries who have put on a range of activities, from journal pubs – where we will discuss a chosen paper over food and drink to monthly cake clubs and activities such as bowling.
Anon (April 2019)