Looking back on my experience at the Life Beyond the PhD conference, I have many great memories. It was indeed an unparalleled opportunity to network with PhD peers across the UK, a fantastic and practical learning experience, and a safe and welcoming environment to explore some difficult ethical issues in research and share our views. I am grateful for this learning opportunity.

During the five days, I attended the career panel discussion, explored research ethics through the perspective of impact, engaged in various skills sessions (including public speaking, written communication, and media communication), had fun with role-play by employing what we had learned, and was guided to consider the policy impact of my research.

Above all, I was greatly impressed and motivated by candid, inspiring, and witty words/questions at the conference. Here are the two examples.

• “I was typing and crying, because if I stopped to cry, I would not have got it done…Calm down and trust the process a bit more”. Hearing this sharing from a professor was overwhelmingly enlightening to me. I understand that no PhD is easy, and everyone has their difficult stories to tell. The good news is that we can get it done no matter how hard it is.
• “Is it ethical to break the law in order to draw attention to pressing global issues, for example, climate change?”. This thought-provoking question has stimulated me to evaluate and be more emphatic towards people’s actions from an ethical perspective.

To conclude, I would like to thank not only the staff of Cumberland Lodge who have indeed lived up to their motto to provide social progression by offering/organizing such a wonderful learning event for PhD students in the UK, but also, in particular, I would like to express my sincere thanks to Doctoral College at the University of Warwick for funding this valuable event and arranging the trip, without whose generosity and support, all the gains would not have been possible.