Research Student Development Programme and the ePortfolio Dr. Richy Hetherington

Training and Development - history

National Changes Number of research students has increased Full time academic positions have not Data from & Vitae HEI full time Academic staff 99/00 113,790 11/12 117, % Doctoral Graduates work in HE research 6 months after graduation, 19% after 3.5 years

A changing employer environment  Competency Frameworks  Appraisal and feedback  Performance Management  Self Assessment

Roberts Report 2002 “Many employers do not initially pay those with PhDs any more than they would a new graduate, viewing the training (particularly in transferable skills) that PhD students receive as inadequate preparation for careers in business R&D.” “Institutions are not adapting quickly enough to the needs of industry”

Research council Joint Skills statement (A)Research Skills and Techniques: validate problems, critical thinking, a knowledge of recent advances (B) Research Environment: broad understanding of context,. confidentiality, ethics commercial exploitation of research (C) Research Management: effective project management (D) Personal Effectiveness: self-discipline, motivation, and thoroughness (E) Communication Skills: promoting the public understanding (F) Networking and Teamworking: In the institution and the wider research community (G) Career Management: Commitment to continued professional development

Researcher Development Framework RDF Headings A1 Knowledge base A2 Cognitive abilities A3 Creativity B1 Personal qualities B2 Self management B3 Professional & career development C1 Professional conduct C2 Research management C3 Finance, funding & resources D1 Working with others D2 Communication & dissemination D3 Engagement & impact

Now a Requirement  Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) requirement for all UK research degrees  Funders expectations BBSRC, MRC have skills requirements  National and International competition to provide good quality training (part of the prospectus)

Development Programme Goals  Helping researchers be more effective  Aiding timely progression and thesis completion  Improving research outcomes & therefore academic career prospects  Develop researchers’ broad range of skills so options outside of research are available  Improve confidence in skills gained and their use in a variety of roles

Research Student Development Programme

Electronic booking system  Appropriate staffing  Monitoring  Evaluation  Accommodate Changes  Additions

Development Programme Timetable  In total over 100 hours of training development offered each year  Excluding safety training first year Phd has 5 compulsory sessions totalling 7.5 hours  There is one compulsory sessions per year, a professional approach is expected  RCUK expects students to undertake 2 weeks (80 hours) a year on skills development

Selection of Evaluation Results WorkshopFacilitator %good/ very good %poor Average Score Attendees 2012/13 Grant Writing: Travel Grants Dr Gwen Averley Mrs Alicia Cresswell 80%0%4.810 (5) Writing Your First Year Report Prof John Kirby 96%4%4.581 (25) Careers Outside of Research Dr Lorna Dargan 74%0%4.423 (11) Systematic reviews - approaching the literature Erika Gavillet 100%0%4.87 (2) Writing a Literature Review Mrs Alicia Cresswell 100%0%4.951 (20) Personal Development Plan (PDP) Preparing for your Progress Review Panel Prof. Dianne Ford Dr. Lorna Dargan 100%0%4.681 (65) The Research Environment Dr Gwen Averley 57%0%411 (7) Presentation Skills using PowerPoint Mrs Sue Vescey 100%0%4.412 (7) Achieving Career Success Dr Lorna Dargan Prof. Deborah Henderson 100%0%4.86 (4) Academic Integrity & Plagiarism Dr Richy Hetherington Ms Erika Gavillet 85%0%4.421 (13) Introduction to IT Databases (Lecture) Mrs Rebecca McCready 100%0%4.66 (3)

Wider View Postgraduate conference FameLab 3 Minute Thesis Demonstrating and leading seminars Biotechnology YES Research Seminars Institute training Internships (PIPS)

The ePortfolio

eProgression instructions

Blog integrated with “My Skills”

Record meetings Students add attendees

Self Assessment/PDP

2011 PRES Results for FMS students  How important are opportunities available for me to further develop my research skills 1% not important, 94% important  How important are opportunities to develop a range of transferable skills 3% not important, 82% important

Development programme Impacts  Timely progression and degree completion  Good research outcomes (fewer thesis corrections, more publications)  More public engagement and publicity for the research  Building confidence: 97% said ‘Recording your Research’ session improved their awareness in project & time management

Good News

More Good News

Summary  Supervisors have a responsibility to support researcher student’s development  Development programme and ePortfolio are there to help with this and to support student’s research activity  Benefits supervisors and the institution as well as the research students