There is an excellent article on The Thesis Whisperer, which is not new but still explores a fascinating topic. Five years ago, in 2013, Kylie Budge wrote about how she plans to make New York her thesis writing retreat. At the time, Kylie was a PhD student at the University of Melbourne and shared several good reasons why she thinks her one-month sojourn at Manhattan in New York will be a perfect time for her to write the ideal dissertation.

It led me to think of what makes PhD students turn into a recluse – and how can they incorporate travelling into their dissertation writing schedule.

What’s Your Excuse to Travel as a Research Scholar?

Kylie chose New York as her thesis-writing retreat. She had her reasons:

• Travelling out of her usual environment could help her to escape the usual distractions, and enable her to finish a big chunk of the research writing process. A 2009 research by Shapira and Liberman proved that travelling to faraway places and communicating with different people can indeed boost our creativity.
• The noisy densely-packed New York suited Kylie’s taste more than a small country town in Australia with gum trees all around. She promised herself to write her thesis daily until she meets her word target and then, reward herself by checking out the art museums, going for shopping, or walking along the Hudson River. In crux, she intricately took a vacation in disguise during her research.
• Kylie anticipated that the high-energy environment of Manhattan would invigorate her and help her finish her thesis quickly.

Other researchers also have great academic reasons for travelling abroad. In 2012, Dr Eva Alisic, Research Fellow at Monash University, shared some excellent reasons to go abroad to complete your research paper. She writes in her guest post,

“An extended visit abroad is a great move for the success in your PhD as well as the success in your future career. Your visit to an overseas research group for a few weeks or months can be an excellent dissertation help to you. It will:

• inspire you,
• give you a new perspective to look at certain things,
• help you to learn better, and
• expand your network.”

Challenges a Research Scholar (and How to Get Over Them)

Travelling across your state, your country, and your world can indeed be daunting for an unorganised, messy, chaotic undergrad who is still trying to find his or her limits. There are no obstacles that can stop a real explorer or a researcher at heart.

Still, a few roadblocks that you might come across are:

Where to go?

When you set out to write a dissertation or a research paper, your first step is to review the literature related to your topic and design your project. By the time, you attend a few international conferences and start your writing process; you’ll realise that you are citing specific research groups or researchers more often. These are the people you might want to work with during your trip.

Your supervisor might also help you find some excellent contacts abroad. Researchers in other countries often welcome pro-active international students. Email them your CV with customised cover letters, and see how it works out.

If you are like Kylie, you may have a destination in mind already. You can choose to holiday on your expenses – and use the time to finish your thesis in your way.

Funding Problems

Many PhD students face a tough time managing their finances. You may look at the funding options your university has on offer, and research grants available in your field outside your university. Your PhD mentor may be able to organise some funds for you, or your host research group may have some funding provisions for bright international doctoral students.

Explore all your options.

You may also:

• Plan a visit abroad (or to another place in your country) in synchronisation with your visit to the international conference you have to attend – and save on travel costs.
• If you are planning an extended vacation, house swapping is a good idea to reduce your living costs. Sabbatical Homes is a reputed house swapping tool for academics. STA Travel (based in Australia) and IAN Allan (based in the UK) are some of the great websites that cater to university academic travellers. They offer you corporate rates for travelling, airfare deals, and reduced accommodation rates to academicians.

Issues with the Supervisor

Any good PhD guide will encourage you to explore your overseas options as part of your learning process. However, there are some who might not be as open to the ideas as you want them to be.

A well-thought-out plan about how you will meet your dissertation deadlines as well as your teaching requirements (if any) can help you convince your supervisor to give you the required permission. You might also want to prepare a few persuasive arguments to counter the possible objections that your supervisor may make.

In case your supervisor still refuses to cooperate with you, you might consider:

• changing your guide, or
• pursue your program independently without their approval (which might be a riskier move to make.)

Visa Problems

Consulate and embassy work can be quite frustrating and bureaucratic at times. You’ll need to present several papers and documents – and get them corrected if required – to get your visa to the country of your choice on an academic or study visa. It may take months at a time.

Still, all the wait and stress is worth the rewards you get once you get your visa. You will not only enjoy your research writing process but also be the envy of your colleagues for a long time to come.

Where is the Time?

There’s no such thing as being too busy.

If you really want something, you’ll make time for it.

Travelling abroad may mean that completing your PhD will take a little more time. You might have to split your dissertation trip into two or more parts – to complete your university requirements or fulfil your family commitments. Or you may have to sacrifice a few leaves for your travel plans. It takes some time-management skills, and a little help from the latest technology to accomplish the dissertation writing tasks while you are on the go.

Author Bio: Aditya Singhal is the co-founder of GoDissertationHelp, a leading international online dissertation help portal. Imparting education, apart from being a business, is also a passion for Aditya. He is avidly indulged in helping students develop their skills and counsels them for their career aspirations. He is devoted to the social cause of making education available to the underprivileged by contributing a part of his revenue from GoDissertationHelp towards their education.