Postgraduate Offer-holders
Online Distance Learners’ eZine
In this issue Nina Kominiak Student, MSc Equine Science
“I couldn’t be happier with my choice of postgraduate studies.” Page 1
AUGUST 2016 Uzma Tufail-Hanif Academic eFacilitator
“Students who conduct an exceptionally good research study would be able to get their work published in a peer-reviewed journal.”
PART 2
#EdinMedVetsPG Academic tips Farmers’ markets
Welcome
In this issue
August is a busy month over here in Edinburgh and so are we with processing all the applications, but also trying to ensure everyone gets their postcard. You should have received yours already, but if you haven’t, don’t panic – you will receive it soon.
Welcome .......................................................................2
Wait no more, grab your camera and take a picture with the postcard! We can’t wait to see all your amazing photos.
News from around the University..................................4
Hello,
In this issue, we have prepared two inspiring interviews – one with Nina Kominiak, who is an Equine Science student, and another one with Uzma Tufail-Hanif, Academic eFacilitator of two surgery programmes. We also have an article about Edinburgh’s farmers’ markets, which have become quite a tradition in the city. Perhaps you will decide to visit one day, and the farmers’ markets are among the best places to go for quality shopping!
Latest research news.....................................................3
Student perspective Interview with Nina Kominiak, MSc in Equine Science..............................................................5 #EdinMedVetsPG..........................................................6
We hope we’ve made you feel ready to start your studies and wish you good luck on your journey to online study with the University.
Academic matters
See you soon,
Interview with Uzma Tufail-Hanif, Academic eFacilitator......................................................................7
The Graduate School Team
Photo
Helping your academic development...........................8 Social Discover the University community...............................9 Join us on LinkedIn!......................................................9 Edinburgh Farmer’s markets.........................................10
Page 2
Latest Research News Diabetes patients living longer
Family disease risk not all in the genes
Ocean bugs inspire smart therapies quest
People with type 2 diabetes in Scotland are surviving for longer, research suggests. New cases of type 2 diabetes have stabilised in Scotland even though the number of people living with the condition continues to rise, a study has found.
Family history of disease may be as much the result of shared lifestyle and surroundings as inherited genes, research has shown. Factors that are common to the family environment – such as shared living space and common eating habits – can make a major contribution to a person’s risk of disease, the study found.
Fresh insight into how ocean bacteria search for food could help develop bacterial therapies programmed to treat disease. The behaviour of marine bugs could inspire development of friendly bacteria engineered to carry out a range of tasks, such as searching organs for signs of illness, diagnosing diseases and delivering drugs to diseased tissue.
Read more
Read more
Page 3
Read more
News from Around the University Summer schools open doors
Festival ties run deep
Uganda trip widens students’ horizons
More than 300 students have attended summer schools involving Edinburgh aimed at widening participation in higher education. Workshops and lecture series gave high school pupils who might not otherwise apply valuable insights into life at university.
The University played a starring role in a spectacular light show marking the start of the Edinburgh Festivals. Deep Time was an epic outdoor digital artwork, delving into 350 million years of history, all beamed on to Edinburgh Castle and the Castle Rock. The story erupted in front of an audience of thousands, making it one of the largest visual art spectacles ever to be held in Scotland.
Edinburgh students from more than 10 countries are taking part in a conservation summer school in Uganda. Some 30 Masters students will visit Makerere University and the Budongo Field Station, where an Edinburgh online MSc student leads a veterinary medicine programme.
Read more
Read more
Read more Follow The University of Edinburgh Although you have not arrived yet, you can be part of what’s going on at Edinburgh even now. Join here!
Page 4
Student Perspective Nina Kominiak talks about her passions and sums up one of the most important points: the key to success as an online learner is prior and proper planning. Nina Kominiak, MSc in Equine Science
My name is Nina Kominiak and I am studying Equine Science here at Edinburgh. I live in the gorgeous state of Tennessee in the south-eastern United States but I was born in Finland. Tennessee is not only famous for Memphis and Elvis Presley but we also have the country music capital of the world - Nashville, as well as the area is perfect for horse lovers. The picture is of me and my Quarter Horse Mr. Peanut who is mainly a dressage horse. How are you finding your day-to-day student & work life? Besides studying, I also work full-time in the technical field and run my own, small horse training facility, Sliding Stops Farm. There are days when it is challenging to get everything done on time, and there has been some very long nights spent by reading and writing papers. However, I have rather good time management skills and when it is time to work on my studies, I can stay very focused on those tasks. The key definitely is prior and proper planning. On the other hand, I truly enjoy my programme of study so it is also terribly easy to stay motivated since each week I am eager to learn more and love reading and writing the papers. I also have been going to the school for a very long time: I have a few other science degrees so studying is like a second nature to me. Describe in a word or two that sums up how you felt when you started your studies. Excited! I was very thrilled about the opportunity to study in this programme, and the university is making online learning extremely pleasant and easy. The excellence and high quality of the university’s online learning environment allows students to focus on the most important: their studies.
Page 5
“I truly enjoy my programme of study so it is also terribly easy to stay motivated since each week I am eager to learn more and love reading and writing the papers.” I personally was blown away by the easiness and availability of the information at the time when I started. It was easy to find answers to all my questions and the virtual learning environment is easy to navigate. Is your student experience what you expected it to be or is it completely different? It is a lot better than what I expected! I have taken quite a few online courses throughout my studies at various universities as well as I have taught online classes as an adjunct instructor myself. The university is definitely working very hard trying to make the online programme students form cohorts, and it is working great at least in the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies. All the courses are very well planned and professors and instructors are extremely committed to support the student success. I couldn’t be happier with my choice of postgraduate studies. Tell me what your plans are for after your programme finishes, write out a word or two that sums up how you feel now about the future. My future plans after finishing the Equine Science programme include teaching Equine Science in a university or college, contributing to the equine research as well as completing my doctoral studies in biology. Also, I am eager to incorporate my learnings to the horse training. Although I have been working with horses all my life in various capacities from competing to training, and that way gained a vast amount of information and experience, there is a lot of scientific research that can have a significant impact on how we can take the best possible care of these animals and how to train them efficiently.
#EdinMedVetsPG Have you received your postcard yet? We’ve sent out these postcards to all our offer-holders, so one of them should also land on your doorstep! Take a pen or a marker, fill in your one word that describes how you feel about starting your studies with us and join others in sharing their photos holding the postcard on social media! If you cannot post your photo on social media, we will happily do that for you - just send the photo to mvmpg@ed.ac.uk along with your name and country where you live. We’re looking forward to seeing all your amazing photos! Don’t forget to add the hashtag #EdinMedVetsPG.
Page 6
Academic Matters Uzma Tufail-Hanif, Academic eFacilitator of two surgery programmes, talks about the vital role the programmes can play in the academic development of surgical trainees who want to study while continuing to pursue their career. Uzma Tufail-Hanif, Academic eFacilitator
What is unique about your programme?
Tell me a little about yourself.
Our suite of 5 surgical distance learning programmes have been developed to meet the needs of today’s surgical trainees and to fit alongside professional development and examination. Thus students are able to access the programme content and participate in asynchronous discussions at a time and place suited to them. Importantly, since our programmes are delivered online and only require part-time study, they enable the trainees to obtain an academic degree without the need to take time out of their surgical training or clinical practice. Our programmes are delivered using bespoke virtual learning environments and the suite of surgical distance learning programmes was recognised by the Queens Anniversary Prize in 2014, an award widely regarded as the highest national honour in UK education.
My name is Uzma Tufail-Hanif. I gained my honours degree and then a PhD in Respiratory Medicine from the University of Edinburgh. Prior to my current role, I was involved in delivering clinical case based tutorials for undergraduate medical students. I then moved into my current post as Academic eFacilitator for two of the Master of Surgery programmes which are delivered online by Edinburgh University in partnership with the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh. What is your average day like? There is no such thing as an average day when it comes to delivering an online programme since the nature of my role means that I have a variety of responsibilities. Being an online programme, email is the mainstay of our communications so my day will often begin with responding to emails. I also interact regularly with the virtual learning environments to ensure courses are on track and also monitor how students are progressing. I also have to ensure marks and feedback are made available to students in accordance with the University policy. In addition to keeping the programmes running, I also take an active role in student recruitment both from an applications perspective as well as marketing.
Page 7
What do you hope your students will get out of the programmes to help them in their future career path? Whilst the MSc programme is aligned with the curriculum for Membership of the Royal College of Surgeons (MRCS), our ChM programmes are designed specifically for the advanced trainee approaching Fellowship of the Royal College of
“The best students are those who establish a good workhome-study balance early on and participate in discussions on a regular basis.�
Academic Matters (continued)
Helping your Academic Development
Surgeons examination (FRCS) and consultancy. Our programmes therefore support surgical trainees in attaining their professional milestones as they progress through the surgical training pathway. Students are able to discuss challenging yet interesting and relevant topics and they also develop the ability to critically evaluate the scientific literature in surgical research in order to make informed judgements on new and emerging issues in surgery. The student is then given an opportunity to put these skills into practise when undertaking their own research project during their time on the programme. We would anticipate that students who conduct an exceptionally good research study would be able to get their work published in a peer-reviewed journal.
Getting started as an online student
What is your idea of an ideal student of your programmes? An ideal student will actively engage with all aspects of the programme they have enrolled on. Students need to plan their studies so that they are able to dedicate around 15 hours per week on their programme-related studies. The best students are those who establish a good work-home-study balance early on and participate in discussions on a regular basis. We recognise that their clinical practice can mean that a student can sometimes have a particularly busy period at work and as such not engage as much. However, the ideal student would ensure that they find time to catch up on anything they have missed. It is important that students understand what is required of them throughout the programme and they are encouraged to take advantage of the dedicated support the ESSQ team offers throughout.
Page 8
The essential guide for new online distance learning students featuring info on academic support, the students’ association and lots of useful links. Download and save this PDF now!
iad4masters blog The Institute for Academic Development runs a blog for all Masters’ students at the University of Edinburgh where it informs of relevant workshops and information sessions for postgraduates. Follow the blog here to get informed about dissertation workshops, academic writing workshops and to gain access to many other helpful resources for your studies.
Useful info for Online Distance Learning students Go to this page to get help with accessing your email, Ease and MyEd. You can also get help with getting your student card and using the library.
Join your future classmates on LinkedIn! inburgh In in the Ed d re e k in L n o et your futu nity e u m m n m a o c c u l o a rnation group. Y from all Join our inte Vets Online Learning who come , ts n e d d e y! tu M s University burgh famil ur current in o d E to e lk th ta f d o an e a part classmates rld. Becom o w e th f o ers continents tance learn is d e n li n o ring elp our reated to h r to and du c o ri n p e r e e b th s o a h u feel h The group will help yo te with eac a s ic n n io u s s m u m c d co tons of new e group dis e k th a t connect an a m th u o e y p nts , while s. We ho commitme our studies e y their studie th g ll in a rt in ta t s fi ow to se with more at ea ore about h m ing! rn a le d n sa p of everyth to n o y ta s connection still our tudies and e a part of with your s b d n a s d n u. ake new frie e perfect place for yo m to e k li is is th ke you’d ns, an nity, then th If you feel li u m m g discussio o n c ti ’ s rs re e te rn in a f le welcoming art o a p d a n e a distance r m e o tt c e study b pect to be on how to s You can ex k ic tr d n a f tips exchange o phere. rtive atmos me from and suppo r-holders co
arning Offe e L e lin n O Where our
Discover the University community through films, blogs and social media. Click on the icons below: Click here to join our online distance learning offer-holders’ Facebook page!” Keep up to date with the latest news from the Postgraduate Office. We have our own channel and are adding student experience films all the time. Take a sneak peak at postgraduate life through our students. View our e-zines featuring interviews and key information for applicants.
Page 9
Edinburgh city Farmers’ markets in Edinburgh by Brian Burgon If you come here for your graduation or even before, Edinburgh has a great selection of farmers’ markets to explore. One of the longest running farmers markets’ within the city is the “Edinburgh Farmers Market” which you can find at Castle Terrace. This market is on every Saturday all year round from 9am to 2pm. You can pick up anything from wild boar burgers and smoked salmon to freshly baked bread or locally brewed craft ale. Valvona & Crolla also have a stall here, a main staple for foodies. You can enjoy all of this whilst you are treated to amazing views of Edinburgh Castle. There are farmers’ markets also in Leith and the Grassmarket on Saturdays starting at 10am to 5pm, you can also visit a market at Stock Bridge at the same time on Sundays. Here you can find food and beauty products and other really interesting stalls.
Page 10
I would recommend looking at I-Papyrus 3-D cards which you can find for sale here, perfect for a special occasion. Some stalls are not a permanent feature so be sure to check that they will be there the week you are wishing to visit! If you are traveling to and from the City, then why not visit the Waverly Market at Platform 2 situated in Waverly train station? This market is on every Friday from 11am to 7pm and is always busy with people looking at the varied selection of products and gifts up for sale or even a quick snack before you depart on your trip. If you do this trip, don’t forget to visit at least one of the markets. Explore and see what local farmers are selling in the city. You will love it!