Training Requirements for PhD students
The Research Councils play an important role in setting standards and identifying best practice in research training. They set out a joint statement of the skills (put in link to JSS) that doctoral research students funded by the Research Councils would be expected to develop during their research training.
These skills may be present on commencement of the students’ PhD, may be gained through participation in formally taught courses, or developed during the course of their research. It is expected that different mechanisms will be used to support learning as appropriate, including self-direction, supervisor support and mentoring, departmental support, workshops, conferences, elective training courses, formally assessed courses and informal opportunities.
The JSS sets out an expected norm of 10 days’ training for every PhD student per year. From October 2008, PhD students in the Faculty of Science and Technology will be required to receive skills training over the course of each year of study that satisfies this norm.
Training Credits
To make it easier to quantify training received we define training credits as:
1 credit = approximately half a day of training
Each PhD student should therefore acquire at least 20 training credits during each year of study.
All Research Development Programme (RDP) courses will have a credit score that are detailed on the course webpage. Any external course which is a half day or less would be counted as one credit.
It is important that students do not undertake training courses merely to gain enough credits. There are a number of different ways in which students may achieve 20 credits per year which include conferences, workshops, training courses, seminars etc. On arrival and at intervals subsequently, each PhD student should perform a Development Needs Analysis (DNA) with their supervisor(s) in order to identify their specific training needs and the best way to satisfy them. The DNA tool can be found in MyPGR.
Types of Training
The Joint Statement of Skills (JSS) broadly divides into six categories – Research Environment (RE), Research Management (RM), Personal Effectiveness (PE), Communication Skills (CS), Networking and Teamworking (N&T) and Career Management (CM).
We expect all students to undertake some training from each of the six categories. The RDP courses are split into these categories. If the student wants to take external courses then they should determine the appropriate JSS category with their supervisor.
Conferences
Participation in conferences, symposia and workshops can count towards the training activity that an individual may undertake. However, to ensure a balanced programme of training, a maximum of 5 credits per year can be obtained in this way.
Other activity
Student’s participation in external courses or other training activities such as departmental seminars, workshops etc is encouraged. The student and supervisor should decide the category the training falls into and determine the credit weighting. The credit score can include preparatory work for the event, such as reading before a seminar and networking with colleagues afterwards.
Documenting training
Training received should be formally reviewed as part of each student’s annual appraisal and the quantity and quality of training received may be used by panels to inform their decisions on student progression. The annual appraisal may also be an appropriate point at which to identify subsequent training needs and opportunities.
It is expected that the student will keep their own record of all training undertaken. They are encouraged to use MyPGR for this.
The Faculty of Science and Technology will keep a record of attendance of all RDP courses and this list will be issued to departments at the end of each year. The supervisor will sign to verify that any external courses and conferences have been attended by the student.