"When I started my Psychology degree at Anglia Ruskin University I had no 'Grand Plan', but as I progressed through the course I found that I was becoming increasingly fascinated by the brain and cognition and learning disorders such as autism. In my third year one of my lecturers approached me and asked if I'd thought about postgraduate study.

Since starting my PhD I haven't really looked back. My research project is called 'The Neurocognitive Basis of Goal-directed Behaviour' and looks at exploring what non-verbal intelligence is at both the cognitive level and the neural level. I love my research, but whatever topic you choose, the life experience and skills you gain from doing a PhD are incredible. The support I've received here at Anglia has been great, my research supervisors are available for a quick chat whenever I need them and everyone in the Faculty is so helpful, if I need anything all I need to do is ask!

Part of my role at Anglia also requires me to help out with teaching the undergraduate Psychology courses. At first I found this was a little bit daunting as I'm not much older than some of the students! but the nerves soon disappeared and I've now really grown into my role. Having studied at Anglia myself I found that I could relate to the students, and teaching is now one of the most rewarding things I do. It provides me with lots of opportunity to practice public speaking too, which is really handy for conferences and presentations.

Looking to the future, I hope to make good use of my time here to learn about the brain and cognition. In the long term I'd like to use this knowledge to help people with brain damage, learning difficulties, or mental health problems. Studying at Anglia has opened up so many possibilities that I'm sure will open many doors in my career. I'd recommend studying here as the department is so friendly and supportive and Cambridge is a great city to live and work in."

"I've always been passionate about science and music, and the BSc (Hons) Audio and Music Technology course appealed to me with its mix of music and electronics modules. A friend of mine who was already at Anglia also strongly recommended the course. Whilst studying a couple of my lecturers encouraged me to stay on and consider postgraduate study, and as I'd enjoyed my time at Anglia and had always wanted to take my studies further it was an easy decision to make.

My PhD project is entitled 'Acoustic Analysis and Tuning of Cylindrical Membranophones' and my research focused on providing scientific knowledge behind how expert percussionists tune their drums. The research has worked towards producing an electronic drum tuning device, which works by analysing the sound produced when a drum is struck, in order to aid novice musicians in the tuning of their drums. So far, I've presented my research at the Art of Record Production and Reproduced Sound conferences.

I recently won Anglia's 'The Big Pitch' competition with a business idea to create a software programme that analyses music and then generates an animation based upon it. I pitched 'Dragon's Den' style to a panel of entrepreneurs and as part of my winner's prize, I've been given £10,000 of start-up funding and office space for a year. I'm really looking forward to turning the idea into reality and hope that the finished product will be able to be used by aspiring musicians to easily and cheaply create professional music videos to showcase their talents via online channels such as YouTube.

I believe undertaking my PhD at Anglia has given me the knowledge and confidence to achieve success in the future, and it's already paying dividends with my success in The Big Pitch! The academic staff are always really approachable and happy to help, and they also have great links with businesses in the region - one my tutors was able to put me in touch with ARM Holdings, where I've been able to do some work producing teaching materials for the mbed microcontroller.

In the future, I hope to develop my business ideas and perhaps even work abroad, Japan is a country that I'd love to work in and there is a lot of demand for people with the skills that I've acquired.

Phillip supervisor is Dr. Robert Toulson, and for further information about Phillip's research, please visit his website."

"I completed my PhD research at Anglia Ruskin University in 2009. The University offered a supportive and enriching environment in which to conduct research. In addition to excellent supervision and a diverse, committed student body, there were opportunities to deliver working materials to the department and to teach on both undergraduate and postgraduate taught courses. This has subsequently made me well prepared for the challenges of an academic career, and I have been able to teach extensively for Anglia Ruskin, Cambridge University, and Birkbeck College, London, since completing my PhD. Currently, I'm a postdoctoral research fellow in the Childhood and Youth Research Institute at Anglia Ruskin, and I am co-writing a book on the publishing history of 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland' and 'Through the Looking-Glass' for Ashgate."

"All of my higher education and scholarly activity has been undertaken during my time at Anglia Ruskin. I discovered my niche in education and love of educational research in the second year of my undergraduate study, when I took part in a research taster placement with Mallika Kanyal, Senior Lecturer. Our findings led onto the publication of book chapters, a journal article and presentations at national and international conferences.

At the time of achieving my first class BA (Hons), I produced a poster for the Annual Research Students' Conference, where I was awarded a full-time PhD research studentship. My PhD has progressed during the last three years under the excellent supervision of Dr Hazel Wright and Dr Chrissie Rogers. My research focus is the generational differences in mothers' and daughters' access to higher education. The joy of constructing my own research has included presentation of my findings at 15 local and national conferences and writing journal articles (currently under review).

Alongside my PhD, I have used my time at Anglia Ruskin to advance both my personal and professional development. I have taught on eight education modules, supporting undergraduates and postgraduates. I am an active member of the Early Childhood Research Group. I have convened or been a representative on many internal groups, societies and committees. I have extended my scholarship to include engagement with the wider academic community, being part of the British Educational Research Association's (BERA) Membership and Engagement Committee and a member of BERA's Postgraduate Forum Committee. I am part of the Women's Workshop for Research into Qualitative Research, an interdisciplinary research group of national academics. Anglia Ruskin has provided me with the opportunities to take the initiative to build experience and engage with teaching and research."

"I completed my MA (Education) degree at Anglia Ruskin University in 2006 and since then I have enjoyed teaching part-time on both the MA and BA in-service education degrees, alongside my substantive, full-time role as a primary school headteacher. Homework interests me because at present, in this and in many other primary schools, arrangements for homework are ad-hoc and do not take into account either the views of stakeholders or theoretical perspectives about independent learning or the role of the family in supported, off-site learning activities.

I am currently approaching the end of my second year on the EdD programme and have successfully completed three of the four required assignments for phase one of the programme. I have discovered that doctoral writing is both challenging and rewarding and I have benefitted enormously from the advice of a knowledgeable and extremely supportive doctoral studies team. I was delighted to have succeeded in getting one of my assignments published in a peer review journal and working with the journal's editor to refine this article also added to my developing competence as an emerging academic writer.

I am looking forward to entering phase two of the EdD programme (the thesis stage) with an equal measure of excitement and trepidation, knowing that the focus of my activities will move away from group teaching sessions to independent research and writing, supported at intervals by my supervisors.

The EdD programme is the ideal doctoral studies vehicle for me as a serving educational practitioner. It extends my academic studies and allows me to focus my work in my own school and on real life solutions in order to improve the learning experiences of all our pupils."