问题：Hi, I would like to know if a research interest needs immediately relevant academic or professional experiences to back it up. Thank you!

回答：

Hi there! It depends what you mean by immediately relevant and it depends on the nature of the program you’re applying to. 

Some programs will involve you operating quite independently and will immediately expect you to have various skills that will enable you to proceed without too much burden on your supervisor and at a reasonable pace. In terms of immediately relevant, I don’t think you need to do this in granular detail.

For example, you don’t need experiences that show you know how to use every piece of equipment your research might necessitate. This sort of rigidity would be antithetical to the learning process anyway: Naturally you’ve got to show a certain level of know-how, especially if you’re proposing an area of research that is highly technical; this, ideally, needs to be demonstrated in terms of experiences that took place in settings related to those you’ll face on the program; the settings should place demands on you that suggest you’ll be able to face the demands of the program. 

Conversely, some programs that involve research will involve a more confined research project later on in the program, which obviously enables you (with the program’s support) to get prepared.