Getting a PhD in Australia. Continuation
In the previous part, I tried to share my experience of entering the graduate school of an Australian university. In the second part of the story about graduate school, I would like to write about the system of postgraduate education in Australia (well, or as it seems to me) and talk a little about life on a distant continent. I beg!
The university where I study is called Macquarie University, named after the famous governor of the state of New South Wales (the name of this character here carries everything from cities and streets to rivers and lakes, and even a bank!). The university is positioning itself as focused on research, for this means a lot is allocated in this area. The campus of the university occupies a solid area and contains a good dozen four buildings for various purposes. Special attention is attracted by the recently rebuilt library (in the photo), where they created very comfortable conditions for studying, which the students actively use. Also an interesting fact related to this university is that they invented the IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi) standard and the money received for the use of patents is sent, including to the research budget.
I study at the department of electronics (electronic engineering), where more than 30 candidates for the title of Doctor of Philosophy (Doctor of Philosophy, PhD) work with me. Students represent countries such as China, Pakistan, India and Iran, there is even one Nepalese, not done with a finger. Australians on the background of this ethnic diversity are a bit lost, there are 3 of them here. We all sit in a large office, divided into compartments. Students form research groups united by topics, such as antennas or wireless. Groups other than students and professors also include researchers, or what they are called here, Research Fellow, aka Postdoc, that is, those who already have a PhD degree (they also usually supervise several students). Groups hold regular meetings where current issues are discussed.
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Funding for student research at this university comes from two funds: the Faculty Foundation and the Postgraduate Foundation. The faculty covers all costs associated with ongoing work, such as working space, laboratory equipment, consumables, etc. You can also withdraw funds from this fund for a trip to a local conference. Money from the second fund can only be received once, and the distribution itself takes place by competition. The statement should include a weighty rationale for why you need this money, i.e. how these tools will help improve the quality of the thesis. It is believed that the main goals here will be trips to international conferences with a presentation of their work on them or visits to third-party laboratories, where they work on similar problems. The amount allocated by this fund can reach as high as $ 5000.
Publication of articles in the course of working on a project is not a mandatory matter, as in Russian graduate schools, but very encouraged. There is no formal learning, i.e. no lectures and seminars are provided, although there is one mandatory course related to research methodology and dissertation writing. It is also possible to enroll in an academic letter course in English, which will be useful for those who do not have English, but English-speaking people also take this course.
In the first 3 months a student is engaged in reading literature and tries to formulate the topic of his dissertation. If desired, this topic can be changed (as well as the head, if you do not get much character). After half a year, you will need to write a report on your work, including a literature review, experiments conducted and problems encountered. In my case, the supervisor also wanted very much to see in this report the approximate content of my dissertation. Students on scholarships must also annually submit a so-called progress report, a report on their progress as proof that you don’t waste university money. Since my scholarship also comes from the industry, I have to periodically send small presentations there too.
Students are mostly left to their own devices and work separately. Although the help of a manager or postdoc, as well as simple, more experienced students from your group can always be obtained. It is assumed that the student will spend at the workplace 35-40 hours per week. In fact, this is not controlled in any way and, theoretically, it is sometimes possible to work from home if the head allows (or does not notice;). There are 4 weeks of vacation per year and it is expected that the student will take them in December - January - during the summer (yes-yes) vacation. Here I want to note how strange and unusual all the standard Christmas decorations look like, Christmas trees and Santa Claus in a sleigh, at temperatures well over +30.
A little more specific talk about your project. An industrial partner - a manufacturer of integrated circuits for radio engineering (transmitters, amplifiers, mixers, etc.), noted that in circuits based on gallium arsenide (GaAs), where transistors with high electron mobility (pHEMT) are used, there is often a discrepancy in the values ​​of transistor parameters in the test area (which determines the suitability of the crystal) and in the workplace. In extreme cases, the test transistors functioned normally while the main circuit turned out to be inoperative. The test region of the crystal is a simple set of circuit components such as transistors of various sizes, resistors and other elements by which it is possible to determine the thicknesses and resistances of individual layers in order to detect failures in various technological operations. An idea emerged to use for quality control not individual elements, but a functioning circuit, according to the indications of which one can judge the suitability of the whole crystal. The scheme should be simple, take up little space and at the same time be a good indicator. It was proposed to use either a low-noise amplifier (LNA), or a mixer, or an oscillator. I started working with a generator: a clever generator of chaotic oscillations was suggested - a very interesting thing, and I would like to write a separate article about it soon.
Let us now talk about such an important side of the issue as finance. I will not make secrets out of the size of my scholarship, especially since I was convinced that it is not as big as it seems at first glance. The industrial scholarship (called the APAI-Australian Postgraduate Award Industry) is more than university and is approximately A $ 28,000 per year, paid every two weeks for A $ 1100. Also, to my surprise, the scholarship covered the cost of the air ticket, to which I was unspeakably happy, as it cost almost 700 euros. Behind such a large scholarship is the fact that Sydney is one of the most expensive cities in the world! The Australian dollar is approximately equal to the US dollar.
So, a little about the cost of living in Sydney for a foreign student. To rent a room in a house or apartment will cost from 130 to 230 (and higher) dollars a week. Accordingly, the more people live in the house, the cheaper it is, as a rule, the district also matters. A separate apartment or studio will cost from A $ 300 per week. So at least a third of the scholarships will be spent on rental housing. Products in stores are also not cheap, although a Moscow resident will not notice much difference. My food takes an average of $ 50-80 a week, but it all depends on your appetites and addictions. Lunch at the student food court will cost $ 6-8, a cup of coffee about $ 3. Public transportation is also not cheap, and foreign students in the state of New South Wales do not provide benefits. The cost of the ticket depends on the distance: for the bus at least A $ 2.10 per trip. On the metro (it is difficult to call the metro, because trains run underground only in the center, so the name “train” is more appropriate) to get from the university to the center and then it will cost A $ 6.80. (By the way, this is the only University of Sydney, which has its own station). Weekly, monthly and seasonal tickets are, of course, cheaper, but the order of prices is clear. Mobile communication is relatively inexpensive, people prefer contracts, although unlocked phones are also easy to buy. There are many different plans, they usually last a year or two. On average, for $ 60 a month you will get a good device, a couple of GB of mobile Internet, a lot (or even unlimited) SMS and enough “credits” to talk.
The city of Sydney is very dispersed, and it is inconvenient to get to certain areas by public transport, so it is preferable to have personal transport. Who does not know, the movement is left-hand here, so the cars have a right-hand drive A used 12-15 year old Toyota can be found for A $ 3,000 or a bit cheaper. Prices for cars are very close to the Russian, the new ones are even more expensive. Gasoline prices are not low: from 1.3 to 1.5 dollars per liter, they change every day, moreover, both upwards and downwards.
Australia is a country far from everywhere, but this does not prevent it from being very prosperous and attractive. She rarely appears in international news and people don't know much about her. However, this kind of isolation does not prevent Australia from being internationally active in science, research and technology (scientists representing Australian universities, for example, recently created the same monatomic transistor). In general, I am satisfied with my studies and life - the nature is beautiful, the climate is comfortable, the people are friendly, and the rest is the same everywhere.
Thank you for reading to the end, and if someone thinks about studying here, then believe me: everything is not so difficult, the main thing is to want and start!
PS Thanks to Habra, I appreciated the opportunity to work on the demonstration of a 3D printer on the university's open house and that you can order a Google Nexus tablet from here :)
What was printed on this printer
University
The university where I study is called Macquarie University, named after the famous governor of the state of New South Wales (the name of this character here carries everything from cities and streets to rivers and lakes, and even a bank!). The university is positioning itself as focused on research, for this means a lot is allocated in this area. The campus of the university occupies a solid area and contains a good dozen four buildings for various purposes. Special attention is attracted by the recently rebuilt library (in the photo), where they created very comfortable conditions for studying, which the students actively use. Also an interesting fact related to this university is that they invented the IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi) standard and the money received for the use of patents is sent, including to the research budget.
I study at the department of electronics (electronic engineering), where more than 30 candidates for the title of Doctor of Philosophy (Doctor of Philosophy, PhD) work with me. Students represent countries such as China, Pakistan, India and Iran, there is even one Nepalese, not done with a finger. Australians on the background of this ethnic diversity are a bit lost, there are 3 of them here. We all sit in a large office, divided into compartments. Students form research groups united by topics, such as antennas or wireless. Groups other than students and professors also include researchers, or what they are called here, Research Fellow, aka Postdoc, that is, those who already have a PhD degree (they also usually supervise several students). Groups hold regular meetings where current issues are discussed.
')
Funding for student research at this university comes from two funds: the Faculty Foundation and the Postgraduate Foundation. The faculty covers all costs associated with ongoing work, such as working space, laboratory equipment, consumables, etc. You can also withdraw funds from this fund for a trip to a local conference. Money from the second fund can only be received once, and the distribution itself takes place by competition. The statement should include a weighty rationale for why you need this money, i.e. how these tools will help improve the quality of the thesis. It is believed that the main goals here will be trips to international conferences with a presentation of their work on them or visits to third-party laboratories, where they work on similar problems. The amount allocated by this fund can reach as high as $ 5000.
Publication of articles in the course of working on a project is not a mandatory matter, as in Russian graduate schools, but very encouraged. There is no formal learning, i.e. no lectures and seminars are provided, although there is one mandatory course related to research methodology and dissertation writing. It is also possible to enroll in an academic letter course in English, which will be useful for those who do not have English, but English-speaking people also take this course.
In the first 3 months a student is engaged in reading literature and tries to formulate the topic of his dissertation. If desired, this topic can be changed (as well as the head, if you do not get much character). After half a year, you will need to write a report on your work, including a literature review, experiments conducted and problems encountered. In my case, the supervisor also wanted very much to see in this report the approximate content of my dissertation. Students on scholarships must also annually submit a so-called progress report, a report on their progress as proof that you don’t waste university money. Since my scholarship also comes from the industry, I have to periodically send small presentations there too.
Students are mostly left to their own devices and work separately. Although the help of a manager or postdoc, as well as simple, more experienced students from your group can always be obtained. It is assumed that the student will spend at the workplace 35-40 hours per week. In fact, this is not controlled in any way and, theoretically, it is sometimes possible to work from home if the head allows (or does not notice;). There are 4 weeks of vacation per year and it is expected that the student will take them in December - January - during the summer (yes-yes) vacation. Here I want to note how strange and unusual all the standard Christmas decorations look like, Christmas trees and Santa Claus in a sleigh, at temperatures well over +30.
A little more specific talk about your project. An industrial partner - a manufacturer of integrated circuits for radio engineering (transmitters, amplifiers, mixers, etc.), noted that in circuits based on gallium arsenide (GaAs), where transistors with high electron mobility (pHEMT) are used, there is often a discrepancy in the values ​​of transistor parameters in the test area (which determines the suitability of the crystal) and in the workplace. In extreme cases, the test transistors functioned normally while the main circuit turned out to be inoperative. The test region of the crystal is a simple set of circuit components such as transistors of various sizes, resistors and other elements by which it is possible to determine the thicknesses and resistances of individual layers in order to detect failures in various technological operations. An idea emerged to use for quality control not individual elements, but a functioning circuit, according to the indications of which one can judge the suitability of the whole crystal. The scheme should be simple, take up little space and at the same time be a good indicator. It was proposed to use either a low-noise amplifier (LNA), or a mixer, or an oscillator. I started working with a generator: a clever generator of chaotic oscillations was suggested - a very interesting thing, and I would like to write a separate article about it soon.
A life
Let us now talk about such an important side of the issue as finance. I will not make secrets out of the size of my scholarship, especially since I was convinced that it is not as big as it seems at first glance. The industrial scholarship (called the APAI-Australian Postgraduate Award Industry) is more than university and is approximately A $ 28,000 per year, paid every two weeks for A $ 1100. Also, to my surprise, the scholarship covered the cost of the air ticket, to which I was unspeakably happy, as it cost almost 700 euros. Behind such a large scholarship is the fact that Sydney is one of the most expensive cities in the world! The Australian dollar is approximately equal to the US dollar.
So, a little about the cost of living in Sydney for a foreign student. To rent a room in a house or apartment will cost from 130 to 230 (and higher) dollars a week. Accordingly, the more people live in the house, the cheaper it is, as a rule, the district also matters. A separate apartment or studio will cost from A $ 300 per week. So at least a third of the scholarships will be spent on rental housing. Products in stores are also not cheap, although a Moscow resident will not notice much difference. My food takes an average of $ 50-80 a week, but it all depends on your appetites and addictions. Lunch at the student food court will cost $ 6-8, a cup of coffee about $ 3. Public transportation is also not cheap, and foreign students in the state of New South Wales do not provide benefits. The cost of the ticket depends on the distance: for the bus at least A $ 2.10 per trip. On the metro (it is difficult to call the metro, because trains run underground only in the center, so the name “train” is more appropriate) to get from the university to the center and then it will cost A $ 6.80. (By the way, this is the only University of Sydney, which has its own station). Weekly, monthly and seasonal tickets are, of course, cheaper, but the order of prices is clear. Mobile communication is relatively inexpensive, people prefer contracts, although unlocked phones are also easy to buy. There are many different plans, they usually last a year or two. On average, for $ 60 a month you will get a good device, a couple of GB of mobile Internet, a lot (or even unlimited) SMS and enough “credits” to talk.
The city of Sydney is very dispersed, and it is inconvenient to get to certain areas by public transport, so it is preferable to have personal transport. Who does not know, the movement is left-hand here, so the cars have a right-hand drive A used 12-15 year old Toyota can be found for A $ 3,000 or a bit cheaper. Prices for cars are very close to the Russian, the new ones are even more expensive. Gasoline prices are not low: from 1.3 to 1.5 dollars per liter, they change every day, moreover, both upwards and downwards.
As a conclusion
Australia is a country far from everywhere, but this does not prevent it from being very prosperous and attractive. She rarely appears in international news and people don't know much about her. However, this kind of isolation does not prevent Australia from being internationally active in science, research and technology (scientists representing Australian universities, for example, recently created the same monatomic transistor). In general, I am satisfied with my studies and life - the nature is beautiful, the climate is comfortable, the people are friendly, and the rest is the same everywhere.
Thank you for reading to the end, and if someone thinks about studying here, then believe me: everything is not so difficult, the main thing is to want and start!
PS Thanks to Habra, I appreciated the opportunity to work on the demonstration of a 3D printer on the university's open house and that you can order a Google Nexus tablet from here :)
What was printed on this printer
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/151833/
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