How I started my PhD at Hasselt University

After a very long day with administrative work, I received an e-mail on August 29, 2018, regarding a Skype interview for a PhD position which I applied only a few days ago and the deadline was just a day before. I was surprised by the speed of feedback and the welcoming e-mail. The interview was scheduled for a week later.

On September 4, 2018, I had an interview with 2 young professors. They both were super friendly and welcoming. We spoke about technical things as well some nontechnical things. My interview went very good, I was feeling very confident and relaxed. For once, I felt like I said everything I needed to and was myself. At that time, I already was confirmed to Celal Bayar University, where I pursued my bachelors. I also mentioned that during my interview and asked them when to expect to hear from them. They said I will hear from them on the coming Friday which was September 7, 2018.

Around 11 AM on September 7, 2018, I got the good news. I was in tears after the e-mail since I was waiting for such a position. Since then, I am very motivated to work on a PhD with my current colleagues and promoters at Hasselt University.

I will be sharing my previous interviews and details about how it went.

Hasselt University

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Hasselt

The University I am pursuing my PhD in, Hasselt University. It is located in Hasselt, Belgium which is a city in Eastern Belgium.

Even though I found Hasselt University in a common academic job web page, after searching about it, I found that it has some very strong research groups. The group I am a member of, call Construction Engineering Research Group is one of them.

Even though I am only enrolled for 6 months, I cannot imagine a better work and research environment. The structure of a PhD is very fulfilling. As part of the PhD program, as a student, you're involved in doctoral schools, which has certain requirements you need to fulfil within the time of PhD. Some of these requirements are non-technical skills such as ethics, communication etc, however, some are very useful practice requirements such as a min number of publication requirements, conference requirements, teaching assignments etc.

As the first female PhD student, I am working towards accomplishing my goals and providing service to the university.

Here is a link to the University vacancy page, if anyone is interested.