Aberystwyth University

‘I thought it would be completely impossible’, states Becky Tavernor as she graduates with a Masters with Distinction.
Like many of our students Becky started her studies in a small way with a two-day workshop in soil science. In common with other participants she enjoyed her first module in this area so much, she decided to take things further by enrolling on the part time Masters course. Becky took a total of six twenty credit modules and undertook a work based research project over a total of four years to achieve her degree.
Becky is a dairy consultant with the Dairy Group and works with dairy farmers to tackle technical and productivity challenges in their herds. To develop her research project, Becky took aspects of her day job where she undertakes mastitis control work, to create a work based project which explored the use of digital pedometers in dairy cattle and whether data gathered from these could be used to predict the incidence of mastitis in a dairy herd.
‘The course has given me a complete technical update and all the advice I give to my clients has been improved and updated’, is one of the other positive outcomes that Becky is able to report from completing the course.
Becky is typical of the hardworking ambitious students we are looking for on the programme’, stated Marty Spittle, Co-ordinator at Aberystwyth. ‘We fully recognise and appreciate that our students have busy work and home lives. Our courses are flexible enough to allow people to progress as their work and domestic commitments allow. We wish Becky all success in her career and hope that she and her clients will continue to benefit from the improved technical and scientific knowledge she has gained on the course.’

Following completion of my BSc, I was keen to pursue biology further. However, I was uncertain whether a career in research or industry would suit me best. The structure of the MRes Biosciences course, with two thirds of credits allocated to the dissertation module, helped me to answer this question by focussing more on the research aspect than was possible at undergraduate level. The emphasis on the dissertation also enabled me to devote more of my time to an area of personal interest (in my case, the Varroa destructor microbiome).
Opportunities to volunteer at the university science fair, demonstrate in practical sessions or become a peer mentor were available for those interested. All students also attended an in-house MRes conference which was a new experience. The staff were extremely supportive throughout, particularly with respect to the coronavirus pandemic and job applications. Another big bonus of studying at Aberystwyth University is the lifelong subscription to the careers service.
I now work in a microbiology lab, helping to process food and water samples. There is no doubt that my understanding of microbiological and molecular biology techniques acquired on the MRes Biosciences course have aided my transition into the world of work. I am also very grateful for the confidence that working independently in the lab on my dissertation has provided. I would highly recommend the course to anybody interested, no matter where in biology your career aspirations lie.

This course looked like it would give me the opportunity to bring myself up to date with the latest research without having to take time away from my farm and young family.
What worried me most was fitting study around the rest of my life – and it was quite intense but, once I had got used to studying via the web, I found it really enjoyable. The videos were easily as good as being in a lecture theatre AND had the added bonus that I could pause them (to make a cup of tea!) or replay bits I felt I hadn’t quite got. I also found using the electronic library was an absolute joy in terms of time saved ferreting around in a library. The deadlines throughout the course were good because they meant that I wasn’t falling into the trap of leaving everything until the end. Fitting study around life was a struggle but once I started planning for study time my marks did reflect the extra effort I was able to make.
What I gained was a much broader understanding of loads of topics; for example, the methane debate. The course really highlighted the importance of going back to the source material rather than accepting the word of others. On top of this, learning how to critique research papers has made me much more questioning of claims and their sources.
I have made several small changes to the way I farm as a result of the course.
I am now much more aware of the impact on the rumen of changing diet and as a result I am implementing changes much more slowly; and because of my much deeper understanding I feel confident about the changes that I am making.
The course really got my brain back to work. I loved the level it was pitched at and the challenge that presented.