Adapting to change - Valeria Filippou

The final year of my PhD is approaching!

The final year of my PhD is approaching! This makes me have mixed feelings: On the one hand, I feel excited about the new opportunities that I will face in my future career; on the other, I feel hesitant as a rewarding chapter in my life will end.

Patient-specific algorithms

My project is about developing patient-specific algorithms that classify everyday activities and counts the number of steps people with Rheumatoid Arthritis take. Commercial wearables are much less accurate for people who might walk slower or differently to the “healthy” population, hence my project came into life.

Things always change

Throughout my PhD experience, I have learnt that things always change and you have to adapt to these changes as they are part and parcel of research. These changes can come in the form of technical developments in a fast moving field, or unexpected challenges in working at the interface with the UK health system. I’ve learned that I need to use my natural problem solving skills as an engineer and adapt to new circumstances for the benefit of my project. I have learnt a lot from this experience, as now I try to find the positives in any situation and adapt to the change as quickly as possible.

The conferences

Another aspect of the PhD is the conferences that students attend. At the end of June I will present work from my PhD at a conference in the Netherlands and meet other people working in the same field. I’m really looking forward to this and I am sure that I will find new things to apply to my research as well.