Authors: Drs Jennie Billot & David Parker
The last 2014 Postgraduate Writers’ Retreat was held at Vaughan Park during 17th to 20th of November and proved to be another positive opportunity for thesis students! The weather treated us well and David and I enjoyed seeing the group share their topics, experiences and research strategies. We were joined by two research students who had recently completed their doctorates and they talked to us about what it was like ‘getting to the end’- Congratulations to Sonja Goedeke and Nancy McIntyre!
Read some of the comments from students who were at the retreat. Have you any questions to ask them? Other students who attended can post their comments on to this site too…
Wonderful venue, beautiful views, scrumptious food, individual direction, insightful feedback, informative groups sessions, interesting guest speakers, great conversation, new friends. Karen
I would like to thank AUT for organising the writing retreat, it has been an absolutely fantastic opportunity and has been very motivating! Thanks, Katy
Too good to be true! Thanks to two facilitators’ warmhearted, full support for four days, I was able to accomplish my goal. On top of that, all the programmes -workshops, discussions and Q&A sessions- were so useful, informative and inspired. Thank you so much, Jennie and David. Don
I strongly recommend all of my friends to apply for the writers’ retreat – it is a real privilege to attend. The expertise the facilitators shared was incredibly useful. The workshops are also very useful. I managed to achieve my writing goals for the week, and had some incredibly insightful conversations with other students during social times. The experiences the guests shared were inspiring. The atmosphere of Vaughn Park is great. The facilities are great with comfy beds, lovely food and lots of spaces to work. I think three-and-a-half days is too short. The writers’ retreat should run for full five days. Paweena
The retreat was a great experience even apart from the beautiful location and ideal facilities. In particular I was able to benefit from beginning a new daily routine – so my time management skills have improved and given me greater confidence that I can complete the thesis. Having the real life comments from people who have recently completed their studies I found valuable. Bruce
Thanks for organizing work for the Long Bay retreat. The best thing about it is I found I could be productive and efficient with planning, concentration and focus. I will continue with the practice to have a more rewarding journey for my PhD study. The final session was the most impressive for me, as I saw multiple sides of PhD study from the words of the candidates who have survived! Hope more postgraduates from AUT can benefit from the event in the following years. Bill
It was a great opportunity for me to attend Writers’ Retreat. There is such a wonderful place to do a research. Wallayaporn
Three retreats are planned for 2015; April and November for mixed Doctoral and Masters research students and a retreat for Masters research students in September. If you are eligible to attend one of these retreats, talk to your supervisor about the best timing for an opportunity to focus on your writing. The 2015 retreats will be advertised prior to each event.
We just received an additional comment from Alexis: “Many thanks to Jennie and David for co-ordinating this retreat. It was great to have the ‘space’ to focus on writing – and in such a beautiful location. I also really appreciated the opportunity to hear from guest speakers who shared their experiences and advice in relation to successful writing.”