Long before I threw caution to the wind and (as a mum with 2 small children) began my part-time PhD my Professor Andy Gale (@AndrewWGale) gave me a very wise piece of advice “Don’t be afraid of a PhD, it’s really just a project”.  As a new academic who had previously enjoyed a career as a project manager in industry (and one whose last serious academic study had been 10 years previously) I found these words both reassuring and encouraging. Now that I am entering the 3rd year of my part-time PhD I want to reflect on the similarities between a PhD and a project and offer some tips on how to use the tools and techniques of project management to make sustained progress in a research degree.  I will share these lessons in two successive blog posts as there is a lot to cover – Happy reading!
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