This last week has been exceptionally busy and positively so; the Woodhill Park Research Retreat has been busy hive of scholastic and research activity with all sorts of positive outputs emerging.

We've had around a dozen writers/researchers from the School of Population Science at the University of Auckland stay at the Woodhill Park Research Retreat.  They were variously there for three days (Sunday - Wednesday) with noses down, derrieres firmly placed in a chair and fingers glued to combinations of keys on the laptop keyboard. 

For one person, there was a book in the making; for others, a series of research papers were drafted and/or refined; some had a report to assemble and everyone did lots of reading, thinking, eating and beach walking.  All in the name of scholarship you understand...

We also had a person who is preparing to undertake his PhD thesis working quietly in the background for a few days.  This academic is determined to get some critical thinking sorted prior to submitting a formal enrollment.  I endorse this as a thoroughly good approach for budding candidates to use because it saves the (contemplating) candidate both time and money.  

Much to our delight, Philip Harkness popped out to show me the very minor final tweaks that have to be completed very soon so that he can be capped as "Dr." in the next graduation round. 

Two other academics also worked on their doctorates and each is moving closer and closer to completion.  But it takes time because theses are seldom, if ever, constucted in a day, let alone a month or even a year. 

On Friday, we facilitated a course for six beginning postgraduate candidates.  We wanted them to learn a little about what is involved in undertaking and successfully completing postgraduate studies and the day was an outstanding success.  We invited participants to bring their supervisor but that just didn't happen - supervisors were conspicuously absent. 

A highlight of this workshop was the attendance at the end of the day, of three candidates who have very recently succeeded in earning their doctorates.  They, became a trio of success stories and they formed a panel together with two academics who are due to complete this year.  In all, their commentary made the day utterly riveting.  

The panel shared their accounts of hardships, challenges and sweet successes in candid and moving ways.  The consensus is that we should now repeat this workshop.  So we will - relatively soon...

Finally, tomorrow  Monday morning (this is a Sunday night blog) some twenty folk are coming to the retreat in order to learn how best to grow their research capacity.  It all promises to be a continuation of the wonderfully busy times we have just experienced; it also promises to promote the ongoing sensation of enjoyment that emerges from seeing students/candidates achieve to a very high standard.  Roll on further success.