Rati Sandeep Choudhari is a first year PhD Architecture student in the School of Environment, Education and Development / Manchester School of Architecture.

I first came to Manchester to pursure my master degree at Manchester School of Architecture in 2019. I was studying MA Architecture and Urbanism, which was a 1 year degree. After graduating in 2020, I went back to India and started remotely working (from India) as a freelance urban designer and researcher at an Austrian firm, BUSarchitekture.

In September 2023, I came back to Manchester to pursue PhD Architecture at The University of Manchester. I am exploring the coexistence of formal and informal public transit systems in Bhubaneswar (India). I am investigating the gap between the capacity of the public transit services provided in the city and the mobility needs of the users and how this gap impacts urban accessibility in the city.

Bhubaneswar Train Station. Bhubaneswar is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Odisha, located in the Khordha district.

Why Manchester?

While I was applying in other universities in the UK, The University of Manchester was definetly my first choice. There were a few reasons behind the preference:

• First, being an alumini, I already knew who would have been an ideal supervisor for my research. I already knew most of the professors and therefore, it was much easier to navigate through the process of applying for the PhD.
• Secondly, Manchester School of Architecture has a specilised research unit called the CPU-Lab, which is one of very few places in the world, where complexity based urban-research is undertaken. Manchester School of Architecture is a joint collaboration between The University of Manchester and Manchester Metropolitan University. Therefore, it was possible to have a co-supervisor from the CPU-lab, which was essential for my research.
• The third reason was the scholarship options available for international students.

When did you first know you wanted to study at PhD level?

My educational background is in a field where research is not an obvious career path, especially in India, where I undertook my bachelors training in Architecture. When I started my master’s, I came in with a mainstream vision of my career, getting a masters in Architecture, finding a job as an Part II Architectural Assistant or an Urban Designer and working towards gaining my RIBA chartership. My master’s was the first time I had a taste of what research was and despite the fact that I started to enjoy the process of research, being an architect and having a design career was still my primary aim.

Examples of work from students on MA Architecture and Urbanism

During my master’s, the world was hit by COVID-19 and by the time I graduated, there was a global recession. The visa rules at the time for international students meant we didn’t have the opportunity to apply for a graduate route. I only had four months after my degree to find a job in the UK, at a time when companies were not hiring.

What happened after your Master’s?

So, I moved back to India in January 2021. With the same issues in the job market, I decided to use this opportunity to explore alternative career trajectories other than design roles. I was inclined towards research since I liked it during my master’s and started thinking about PhD opportunities. Initially, I was hesitant whether I would want to pursue it as a career and what opportunities would be available but I started taking up small research fellowships, volunteering roles and finally the freelance role in the Austrian firm. Design was enjoyable because it involved creativity and innovation and I realised through the research roles I undertook, that research also involved creativity and innovation and at a much larger scale.

With this realisation, I was sure that a career in research is what I wanted, even though it looked like an unusual career path for an architect and I decided to pursue a PhD. Therefore, while master’s was definetly the first push towards a career in research, the unprecedented situation of the pandemic was a blessing in disguise. It led me to explore career paths different from main stream architect roles and guided me into research.

What skills are essential for PhD success? 

PhD is all about making an orginal contribution to knowledge. Its a degree which is not structured and ability to work independently is of utmost importance. While, supervisors are always there to provide guidence and help, you will be responsible for the project and it will be your decision of how you want to navigate your PhD project. Therefore, it is also important to be proactive, build networking skills and ask for help whenever it is required. 

I have learnt a lot about resilience, patience and staying motivated.

How do you manage your PhD workload?

I usually treat my PhD research as a 9-5 job, come to the university every day (weekdays). As a PGR in SEED (School of Environment, Education and Development), we have a dedicated shared office space, where all PGRs in the school work. So coming to the office, where everyone is working on their research, helps me to be productive and stay motivated. Also, it provides a chance to socialise, which otherwise is very difficult.

PhD is an issolating experience, and therefore, working in the office helps me to navigate that isolation effectively. Also, I usually avoid working on the weekend (of course, sometimes you have to work on the weekends), to have a reasonable work life balance. Additionally, PGR support at the university is very strong. Every now and then, social events for PGRs takes place in the school, like coffee mornings, and sometimes even picnics or city tours, which provides an opportunity to escape from the research for an hour or two and meet and talk to people. This has helped me in creating an effective social circle.

I also like going for outdoor walks to clear my brain and get a bit of exercise and Manchester has beautiful parks and canal sides, which works like a charm for this purpose.

Coming from a design background, another challenge I faced was to stop thinking like an architect or designer (who are problem-solving oriented) but like a researcher, where you are understanding the problem rather than finding a solution for it.

How are you funding your PhD? 

I am currently on the SEED studentship, which is a university-based PhD funding. The University of Manchester has good scholarship opportunities for international students.

I was highly dependent on securing funding and while the competition is quite fierce, with the guidence of my supervisor, I secured the funding after two unsuccessful attempts. I published my masters dissertations as an article in a journal, presented my research at the conferences and took up research roles to stregthen my CV, which had a big impact on the funding applications. The process of funding applications is quite straight forward and for the university based scholarships like SEED (School of Environment, Education and Development) and PDS (President’s Doctoral Studentship) awards, so seprate applications are required.

Your Highlights? 

The main highlights through my first year have been the immense support and guidence I have recieved from my supervisors and the community I have created for myself.

I am a part of Manchester Urban Institute at the university and along with my collegue we formed a PGR network for urban PhD researchers. We have conducted several activities towards networking and skill development and have managed to secure a small funding to support activities for the next academic year.

You can read more about research in the Manchester School of Architecture