Choosing a mentor and a magnet is a two-way selection process.
We carefully prepare research proposals and portfolios to show ourselves to the tutors, but before that, it is equally important to investigate and judge the background and research direction of the tutors, and if we do this step well, the subsequent exchanges will become more efficient and the probability of successful applications will be improved.
It just so happens that recently a research center of Huangyi, Textiles Circularity Centre (referred to as TCC), has the research results to be released, this project jointly carried out by Cambridge, UCL and other famous universities has attracted a lot of attention in the field, and the former head of Sharon Baurley also made a video display:
视频：TCC's Annual Showcase in 2021
Then we will take the opportunity to introduce the research direction of Sharon Baurley, the head of the TCC Center, the director of the Huangyi Materials Science Research Center, and the doctoral supervisor, and incidentally also give the students a reference for future research and doctoral research directions.
01 Sharon Baurley, who is she?
Sharon Baurley seems to be a little more low-key in the starry world, mainly because Sharon Baurley has focused on research center projects and doctoral programs and is less involved in teaching since he retired as a product design leader.
But if you look at Sharon Baurley's resume, you will find that in her academic career so far, there are several keywords that have always run through it, that is, "professional", "interdisciplinary" and "cutting-edge", or , volume + gold.
Looking back at Sharon Baurley's academic experience, Sharon has won many awards in international competitions as early as her undergraduate studies at the Winchester School of Art, and after graduation, she entered RCA to pursue a doctorate in textile design, and during her doctoral period, that is, in the 90s, Sharon began to research and develop 3D fabrics and began to try interdisciplinary design work.
Sharon's Doctoral Research is in the permanent collection of the Medallenge of Materials Gallery, London' Science Museum
Sharon has since consulted for international companies such as Unilever, visiting and researching at Musashino University of the Arts, Central Saint Martins, Brunel University, working as an academic partner at the Horizon Digital Economy Research Institute, and joining RCA in 2014 as a product design leader.
After formal academic research, Sharon Baurley has hardly left the position of principal investigator. Over the past 16 years, Sharon has led and managed more than a dozen projects, received more than £10 million in research grants, and is an unquestioned expert in materials research and development, where shifts in research direction and interests almost represent movement in the field.
Projects and funding in which Sharon Baurley has participated and directed (partial) Source: RCA website
But what exactly is Sharon Baurley's research interest? At its core, nature is materials science, but its scope spans engineering, neuroscience, biology, and even the digital economy and business, breaking the perception that research should be "specialized and in-depth".
In order to more clearly sort out Sharon Baurley's research direction, we may wish to briefly review her research history.
02 What is she studying? Why is it attracting so much investment?
In 1997-10, Sharon Baurley mainly coached at Central Saint Martins and conducted project research, the themes of the project are related to "smart fabrics", "wearable technology", such as "Smart Textiles Network", "Communication Wear", etc., while during the 10-14 years at Brunel University, she focused on "digital economy technology", when she first entered RCA (14-18 years). Sharon Baurley's research direction has not converged, but has expanded to "engineering physics", "biomanufacturing", "circular sustainability" and other aspects.
Sharon Baurley's ongoing project to use biotechnology to convert by-products of the agricultural and food industries into biopolymers for use in textile manufacturing
Perhaps in the early years, Professor Sharon Baurley's research direction will seem very jumpy, but in today's context, it is not necessary to say that everyone can see through, each permutation and combination of these topics can burst out of a topic with unlimited potential, so we can also see that in recent years, Professor Sharon's research has gradually converged under an integrated concept, and this concept is "STEAM".
One of Professor Sharon's most recent projects was the Material Futures Research Group, formed by the Burberry Foundation, which, when announcing Sharon as project director, announced that the centre would be the first in the field. It is also the first explicit STEAM research group in an art and design university like RCA, which is equivalent to recognizing Sharon Baurley as a pioneer and leader in STEAM.
Source: Huangyi official website
And look closely at the group's project themes — developing sustainable materials through research into biomaterials, biomimetic textile innovations, smart materials; integrating manufacturing industries through digital processes, 3D manufacturing technologies, and integrating manufacturing industries with digitalization; and changing the consumer experience through user research, immersive experiences, and smart wearable device development— none of them are not relevant to her previous research.
Another research center, TCC, in addition to the above-mentioned collection of leaders of different disciplines from many of the UK's top universities, also gathered the support of more than 40 companies and institutions such as IBM, Ideo, Yoox Net a Porter, etc., with research and development funds of up to 5.4 million pounds. In addition to exploring the research and development of environmentally sustainable new materials, this project also emphasizes the practical application of research and development, supply chain, manufacturing, retail and import and export, and ultimately aims to stimulate the development of the UK's circular economy.
Comparing the promotion of ecological civilization construction in the mainland and the systematic engineering to achieve carbon neutrality, it seems that the potential economic benefits brought by the integration of various industries are already obvious, and it is already a consensus in various countries to promote industrial adjustment through STEAM, and as a long-term practitioner of the STEAM concept, it is not difficult to understand that Professor Sharon Baurley's project can attract so much investment.
03 After understanding the research direction of the supervisor, how should the doctoral application be prepared?
Through the above combing of Professor Sharon Baurley's experience, we may be able to perceive that in her case, professionalism and comprehensiveness are not incompatible, relying on interdisciplinary networks to expand the development space of smart textiles and wearable technologies for the platform is where the value of her research lies.
So what kind of student would such a professor want?
First of all, on the point that she herself has a wealth of interdisciplinary experience, we can speculate that Sharon will not exclude applicants with interdisciplinary backgrounds, in fact, some of the doctoral students she currently leads are also from industrial design and product design backgrounds; but considering that Professor Sharon has ongoing projects, it is reasonable to prefer applicants for project-related majors when accepting doctoral students.
Sharon teaches student Katrine Hesseldahl the works
So to expand to the general level, we know that doctors often have their own topics, and some professors are also very welcome to applicants with interdisciplinary backgrounds but high comprehensive quality, and at this time, their research direction is slightly different from that of doctoral supervisors; however, in some cases, the tutor will require the applicant to be absolutely consistent with his own direction, for example, when the tutor has an ongoing project, it may be so.
This once again confirms the importance of understanding the research direction of doctoral supervisors and the current work trends.
In addition, in terms of conventional materials, although it is called "regular", there is also room for making a lottery, and in other supporting materials such as CV, research plan, recommendation letter, English score and portfolio that need to be submitted for a doctorate, the research plan and the portfolio require special efforts.
Huang Yi Doctor Application Material Requirements (Partial)
For example, the research plan, after we understand the situation of the tutor, in fact, we can roughly infer what the tutor expects from the applicant, and there are more details to the specific direction and design field, and you can check your own research plan before setting a magnet with the tutor, so that it is more efficient to modify it after whether it is a question or a feedback.
In terms of supplementary materials, we can also show our comprehensive ability to the tutor through the portfolio, most of the doctoral research results are produced in the form of papers, but it is in this case that the portfolio can make the tutor more eye-catching, especially in the field of emphasizing the combination of industry and academia, and the research results can be landed, one or two figurative projects may be the key to the success of the application.
Naiying, Deputy Director of Teaching Department of Hanyi International Education, Kang Shi Shi Dongjia, counsels students to apply for phD experience sharing at the University of Plymouth
In summary, it is equally important to fully present yourself to the tutor and understand the research direction of the tutor, not only because respect and choice are two-way, but also the deeper the understanding of the doctoral supervisor, the more targeted the material preparation. If you have more questions related to the application for the Doctorate, Art Study Abroad, Baoyan, Portfolio Creation, and Graduate School, please scan the QR code and ask Kang Shishi.