Five postgraduate research students from the Faculty of Health and Life Sciences recently travelled to China to present their research at the second XJTU-XJTLU-University of Liverpool Doctoral Wisdom Convergence Camp. Pictured left to right: Nusiba Taufik, Lonnie MacDonald, Manreen Grewal, Mushfique Alam and Hashir Mehmood.
There is a Chinese idiom - 学如登山 - meaning that learning is like climbing a mountain.
For anyone who has undertaken a PhD, this feels less like a metaphor and more like a fairly accurate job description. Our fellow doctoral researchers will probably recognise the feeling: climbing steadily upwards, carrying a laptop, several unanswered research questions, and the quiet suspicion that everyone else has been given a better map!
It was perhaps fitting then for us to take another step towards the PhD summit with a journey to China for the XJTU, XJTLU and University of Liverpool Doctoral Wisdom Convergence Camp. The camp was hosted at the iHarbour campus of Xi'an Jiaotong University, west of the ancient city of Xi'an - home to the Terracotta Warriors and perhaps some of the best food we have tasted.
The timing was significant. In 2026, Xi'an Jiaotong University marks its 130th anniversary, while Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University celebrates 20 years since it was founded through the partnership between the two institutions. Like Xi'an itself, this gave the Camp a real sense of occasion. It felt part of a wider story about institutions, students and researchers building links across countries and disciplines.
As PhD students in Health and Life Sciences, our usual academic work is often highly focused: one project, one research question, one set of methods, and an ever-growing number of versions of the same Word document! The Convergence Camp offered the opposite experience with breadth, perspective and connection. It brought together doctoral researchers, academics and early career researchers from Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University and the University of Liverpool to share research, discuss ideas and consider what doctoral training can look like across institutions and cultures.
What struck us the most was that this was not simply a conference. It felt like a living example of partnership. It is one thing to read about international collaboration on a university webpage but quite another to see doctoral researchers from different countries and disciplines presenting work, asking questions, exchanging ideas and building networks in real time.
The academic breadth was refreshing. We met people working in fields far removed from our own, yet the same themes kept appearing: how to ask a good question, explain complex work clearly, cope when plans change, and keep going when the PhD mountain becomes steeper than advertised. Whether your research involves cancer organoids, engineering systems, digital technologies, policy or design, the doctoral journey seems to involve the same mixture of curiosity, uncertainty, resilience and mild existential admin.
We came away from Xi'an grateful for the opportunity, encouraged by the researchers we met, and with a stronger appreciation of Liverpool's international partnerships. Our postcard from the Camp would be this: say yes to opportunities that take you beyond your own project and usual environment. The climb may still be steep, but the view is much better when you realise you are not climbing alone.
