Lois Hurst

Profile

In 2015, Lois launched into an ambitious ‘Deep Retrofit’ DIY house conversion project to make her home as energy efficient and environmentally sustainable as possible. To find answers on the best materials to use for the project, and the environmental impact, Lois took her research idea to Heriot-Watt, where she found funding to complete a PhD.

Working remotely from her home in Lancaster and just three months before her formal completion date, Lois became a mum. One year later, Lois got stuck back into her PhD, whilst juggling parenting and the ongoing house renovation.

Can you tell us why you choose to complete a PhD and more about your research?

I had always wanted to complete a PhD, but it wasn't until I began my house renovation and deep retrofit that I realised that I had some big questions that needed proper research. I wanted to upskill in the area of housing energy use and construction, and I saw a PhD as an opportunity to develop my own ideas, acquire a much deeper level of knowledge and address questions I had about my house renovation.

How have you found balancing your studies with motherhood?

My daughter was born just one month before my original PhD end-date and the last instalment of my stipend. I found that it was difficult to give my research the focus it needed whilst pregnant and slipped a bit behind with my work. I took a full 12 months of leave from my PhD once she was born and resumed afterwards part-time. That next year was also very difficult, balancing parenting, whilst carving off large chunks of time to get my head into my work. The time pressures meant that there was very little time to spend together as a family, but also time windows were too short to make meaningful progress with my research, so it felt like nobody was winning.

However, as my daughter got a bit older, and she was able to access a bit of childcare, I finally had those longer durations of time needed to get back into my PhD. It was a bit of a marathon last summer to get it all finished off; I think there were several weeks of consecutive, very long days, broken for just a few hours to eat and put my daughter to bed, then back to the thesis!

Can you tell us about the support you received during your time at University?

I really couldn't have finished my PhD without all the help I've been given! My husband has been brilliant, compressing his own working week to free up a day for me to work, and all the other times he has stepped in to let me get to a supervisor meeting or similar, or taking an extra turn (or few) at doing bedtime. Both my mum and my mother-in-law have been legendary in helping out regularly with childcare, which again, has freed up time for me up to focus on my research.

My PhD supervisor, Tadhg O'Donovan, whose youngest child is just a few years older than my daughter, has been brilliant, cutting me plenty of slack when I needed it, and being supportive, recognising my needs and sharing his own experiences of parenting with me; he's been empathetic, and I felt like he always had my back.

What advice would you give to a mature student considering Heriot-Watt?

Whilst leaving the security of employment and jumping into a PhD is not a decision to take lightly, I've found it has been a really rewarding experience. It has felt like an indulgence to have so much time to focus on one thing and the space to develop my own thoughts and ideas.

The advice I would give is take every opportunity which comes your way - the University is an incredible resource and can offer so much scope for learning, meeting new people, and even travel. But also, own your project; of course you should listen to your supervisors' advice, but draw on your previous experiences, hold on to your convictions about where you want to take your research, after all you know best the reasons that you're embarking on this and what you want to get out of it.

What’s your favourite / most memorable moment from your time as a Heriot-Watt student?

It's hard to pinpoint a specific moment, as most of my time was working remotely, so I did miss out on the daily comradery of sharing an office with my peers. However, I did have two opportunities to spend some time at the Dubai campus. Visiting the first certified Passive House in Dubai, an office building at their government space agency campus, was quite something!

What are you planning to do after you graduate?

I have some unfinished business with the findings from my PhD so I'm developing a fellowship application to research that further and realise the impact of my work and transfer it into industry and practice. Whilst that application is ongoing, I've still got responsibilities as a trustee with two organisations, parenting, a few finishing touches on my retrofit, and I've a paper to finish. Plenty to keep me busy!