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I was selected for an interview for a PhD scholarship and asked to give a 10-minute presentation consisting of 10 slides including "summarising both your research experience and your research plan for the project".

How should I set up the PPT?

  • I briefly introduce myself
  • describe my master thesis as previous experience
  • outline my research plan for the project in which I would like to participate

Is this way ok?

How much detail should I go into when describing my thesis? Should I describe more the methodology which is more akin to what I am going to do or describe more the results? How do I set up the research plan if it is something that is not yet defined and therefore without conclusions?

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Given that you are being asked to talk about research, I suggest keeping the introduction to yourself very short. Hopefully they have read your file, but they may have read a lot of files. So maybe one slide about who you are and your prior experience just to refresh their minds about which applicant you are.

The main thing to show is that you think like a researcher. So for both your previous and your proposed research show an understanding of why the questions are interesting, why the methods are appropriate. For the previous research show not only the results but be clear about their strengths and limitations.

Above all, show that you are still open and eager to learn. One thing no one wants in a PhD student is someone who is sure they already know the answer to their topic question and just want to prove it.

And stick to time! One thing they are checking to see is whether you can be selective and clear in science communication.

Good luck with your presentation!

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  • Thank you very much for your reply. The point is that I don't know how to say everything in 10 minutes, my thesis is quite rich in content and although I have chosen the most important parts I still don't know whether to focus on the methodology or more on the results. I will certainly add the strengths and weaknesses of the research as you suggested. As for my research plan, I have researched and more or less framed a methodology. How can I make assumptions about conclusions on something I don't have enough knowledge or practice of?
    – SilviAaAaAa
    Oct 9, 2022 at 15:48
  • As I said, they want to see how you THINK, not what you found. You should focus on *why you knew it was a good problem to work on and *your methods, and maybe a bit about *critique / future work. Don't focus on the results, do them quickly, also just one slide.
    – Joanna Bryson
    Oct 11, 2022 at 6:15

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