Skills Development Dr. Jo Cordy Centre for Academic & Professional Development

A bit of background… RCUK JSS PP Skills Dev. Research Skills Dev. 2001

A bit of background… Roberts Review > PhD £ 2 wks skills training > 3.5 y 2002 Investing in Innovation £150M 2002

A bit of background… Vitae formed Personal, professional & career dev. Research Councils £15M 2008

A bit of background… 2010 Researcher Development Statement Update of JSS Skills to become a professional researcher

A bit of background… 2011 “Roberts” money ends Researcher development still highly valued at QM

A “professional researcher” Carries out research! Attends conferences Networks and is part of the community Presents their work Writes papers/articles/books Engages with the public These are all important parts of the PhD process Your PhD should help you develop the skills required

What skills are we talking about? Research skills Skills to make you an effective researcher Skills to help you get your PhD Skills to help in a future research career Skills to help in any other career Skills for life in general!

What skills are we talking about?

Discussion Look at the Researcher Development Statement  What do you think about it?  Is there anything you disagree with?  Is there anything missing?  Which bits are most important to you?  Now?  In the future?

Skills development – How? Research & related activities Research training in your School or Institute Teaching opportunities CAPD workshops Internal/Doctoral College events Other QM departments External events & courses Other??

PhD – Research Activities Ideas Critiquing Literature Searches Argument Experiments Simulations Field Work Thinking Analysis Writing

PhD – Other Activities Teaching Demonstrating Mentoring Presenting Conferences Public Engagement Getting funding

Examples of CAPD courses Managing your research project Critical Thinking Presenting your Research Endnote Managing your time Maintaining momentum …..and many more. Should have received a list & booking details

Internal events

Other QM departments IT services Language Centre Library Thinking Writing Careers Advice & counselling

External events & courses Professional bodies Other institutions

Also… Research training in your School or Institute Teaching opportunities On-line resources

Skills development – What’s expected? 2 weeks (70 hours) per year  Research Council & QM guidelines Keep a record of training & development  Needs to be included with reports  Points-based system to help with this Be responsible for your own development  But talk to your supervisor about it

The points-based system Web-based database Use college ID to log in Some things uploaded automatically Other activities you can claim Currently in pilot phase Target is 70 points in year 1, 210 by submission

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