NBI Postgraduate Researcher Development Programme 2015/16
Welcome to the Norwich Bioscience Institutes Researcher Development Programme for PhD Students Welcome to the Norwich Bioscience Institutes (NBI) Postgraduate Researcher (PGR) Development Programme Brochure 2015-16. As a new postgraduate researcher, you will be starting a research project that forms an important part of the ongoing research programme of your institute or laboratory. At the same time, over the next few years, you will also be engaging in training for research that will nurture your long-term development as a scientist. It is important that you consider your training and development at the John Innes Centre, the Institute of Food Research, The Genome Analysis Centre or The Sainsbury Laboratory as the start of a continuing process of professional development. No matter what career you ultimately choose after completing your PhD training, you will need to develop your range of skills and expertise to be well equipped for an ever changing and increasingly competitive job market. This brochure describes the personal and professional development opportunities and support that are available to you. It will enable you to analyse your own approach to scientific research and to develop your skills as a research scientist. During the next few years, we hope that you will make the most of the excellent opportunities for research and development at the Norwich Bioscience Institutes and at UEA, bringing success to your own career and to the Research Institute where you are working.
Contents Welcome to the Norwich Bioscience Institutes (NBI)
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Personal and Professional Development (PPD)
4
The Researcher Development Framework
5
Structure of the PPD Programme
6
PPD Requirements and Training Credits
7
Personal Development Plans (PDP)
8
The NBI Mandatory Training Programme for 2015/16
9 - 16
Overview of Training Courses
12 - 13
Exemptions
17
Enrolment
18
Training Recording System
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Welcome to the Norwich Biosciences Institutes based at the Norwich Research Park. Welcome to the Norwich Bioscience Institutes (NBI). Whether you are a student based at the John Innes Centre, the Institute of Food Research, The Genome Analysis Centre or The Sainsbury Laboratory, you are about to start an exciting period of your studies and this document is designed to give you an initial understanding of the training support available to you as a postgraduate student. We aim to provide a stimulating and challenging environment where students can explore and develop their full potential in both the field of scientific research and transferable skills. It is becoming widely recognised that future employers in a range of sectors expect staff to possess a range of generic and transferable skills. The Learning and Development Team aim to work closely with postgraduate students, their supervisors, the DTP Director and the Graduate Studies Committees to plan and deliver training and development support.
Personal and Professional Development (PPD) The NBI postgraduate researcher Personal and Professional Development (PPD) programme is designed to enable you to develop your knowledge and skills to take charge of your own personal development, supporting your career aspirations. The Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) for Higher Education states that “Doctoral candidates learn to research primarily through undertaking research under the expert guidance of supervisors, and are supported through training in research skills and methods, which is usually provided by the institution”. The UK Research Councils and BBSRC support QAA in their own joint statement of training requirements for research students.
Doctoral candidates are expected to develop as professional researchers in the duration of their doctoral programme and institutional support is provided for the development of a wide range of professional transferable skills such as public engagement and communication of research, enterprise and entrepreneurship, teaching, project management, leadership and teamwork skills. Without minimising the importance of the results of your research, you should bear in mind that prospective employers may take for granted the research you have done, once you have written the thesis and successfully gained the award. However, they will expect you to be able to demonstrate a high level of additional skills such as networking and team working, research management, personal effectiveness and communication skills.
“Students should recognise their responsibility for developing personal career goals during their doctoral training and consider their possible career options, recognising that these may be outside academia. They should ensure that they are aware of the range of advice available and reflect on their training and development needs to assist in their future employability.” www.rcuk.ac.uk/documents/ researchcareers/statementofexpectation.pdf
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The PPD programmes at NBI and the UEA Science Graduate Schools You are either registered as a postgraduate student within the Faculty of Science (SCI) or the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences (FMH), of the University of East Anglia and as such are enrolled in the Science Graduate School. The School has a related PPD programme for its research postgraduates to which you also have access to, which can be found on the NBI Intranet Training pages.
Accountability
The Science Graduate School and NBI programmes follow the same principles of operation and have worked closely together in developing PPD to ensure that it reflects the core objectives of both the UK Research Councils (RCUK) and the Quality Assurance Agency’s (QAA) vision for postgraduate development.
Participative
Principles of Operation The guiding principles behind both the NBI and UEA PPD programmes are:
Diversity The training programme will provide a diverse range of training opportunities both in taught, experiential and outreach settings. The programme will take account of the disparate backgrounds, levels of experience and research interests of postgraduate students and will provide a training environment that caters for all.
Flexibility The programme will allow students, wherever possible, to choose the most appropriate time to pursue particular skills training.
Responsiveness The system has been organised such that students’ training needs are routinely reviewed and new training delivered where gaps in provision are identified.
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Student feedback on course quality will be routinely collected via supervisory teams, the GSO, the NRP DTP Director and the NBI L&D Team. Feedback will be made available to the NBI Graduate Studies Executive and will also be fed back to students, to guide them in their choice of training and development.
The input of ‘key stakeholders’ will be actively sought in shaping the training and development programmes and identifying any gaps in provision.
The Researcher Development Framework (RDF) The NBI Postgraduate PPD Programme was developed based on the requirements set out in the Vitae Researcher Development Framework (RDF). The RDF is the key reference for the development for researchers’ skills attributes. The framework is divided into four domains that encompass.... 1. the knowledge needed to do research 2. the qualities needed to be an effective researcher 3. the professionalism required 4. the skills needed to work with others and contribute to the wider environment. Vitae is an international programme led and managed by CRAC, a not-for-profit registered UK charity that works to meet society’s need for highlevel skills and innovation. It is dedicated to realising the potential of researchers through transforming their professional and career development.
RDF Domains The courses within the NBI Postgraduate PPD Programme are each identified by the RDF domain that they are designed to address. The Researcher Development Framework ‘articulates the knowledge, behaviours and attributes’ of successful researchers and encourages them to realise their potential.
For more information about the Researcher Development Statement and the associated Researcher Development Framework please refer to the relevant section of the Vitae website. www.vitae.ac.uk/rdf.
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Structure of the PPD Programme There are many skills required to be an effective researcher. These skills will be developed through your research and further enhanced by your PPD programme, as well as supplementary development needs you identify throughout your studies. Emphasis of the PPD programme is on designing a training programme that suits your needs, both in terms of your research and your future. At NBI, each area of the Vitae Researchers Development Framework is considered to be a key component of a research career. Therefore the PPD programme courses and workshops are mapped against the four domains. It is anticipated that you will develop your skills and knowledge in each of these areas throughout the course of your PhD. Courses from the PPD programme are categorised as either Scientific & Technical, Personal & Professional, Postgraduate, Computing, Leadership & Management or Health & Safety. They also aim to identify the recommended point in your research career at which we think the training may be of most benefit, but this should be used as a guide only. It is recommended by the Research Councils that postgraduate students take part in the equivalent of 10 days of transferable skills training each year. However, this does not mean that you have to attend 10 days’ worth of formal courses. At UEA and NBI this equates to 30 credits achieved in the duration of study. (This is explained further in the PPD Requirements section). A wide range of activities can count towards your skills training and examples of such opportunities are listed within the brochure. You should discuss with your supervisor which RDF skills domain these fit into.
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Experiential Learning During your studies you will become involved with activities that enable you to put into practise many of the skills developed in PPD training sessions and that contribute to your personal and professional development. This is often referred to as ‘experiential learning’, i.e. learning by doing. Such activities are considered part of your personal and professional development and are recognised in terms of training credit. There are many opportunities for you to gain recognition for your personal and professional development by undertaking activities such as presenting papers at conferences, or engaging with communities beyond your professional domain. Example ways to attain credits is identified in a separate attachment insert at the back of the brochure.
PPD Requirements Training Credits All PhD students must achieve a minimum 30 training credits of transferable personal and professional development over their period of study. There is also a prorata requirement for part-time students. It is felt that 10 training credits per year are easily achievable and should be attained through the pursuit of a mixture of different activities that develop transferable skills and allow students to reflect the experiences they gain through the attendance of conferences and a range of external activities. However, students can take more than the normal requirement in a given year if it meets their study plan, and training credits earned can then be carried forward to subsequent years. It is important that students do not undertake training courses merely to gain credits but look for relevant opportunities offered. If training credits are difficult to gain in a meaningful way then the Learning & Development Team are always happy to try to help students find innovative ways to achieve an average of 10 training credits per year. Further information on the credit system can be found on the UEA website. Each training course on the NBI PPD programme carries a training credit rating that is included with the descriptor. One training credit is approximately equivalent to 1 day’s training (6-7 hours), with 0.5 credit for half day sessions (1.5-3 hours training). Thus the 10 training credits per year equates to 10 days of Personal and
Professional Development. This derives from the 2002 report of Sir Gareth Roberts (carried out on behalf of the UK Government) which recommends “at least 2 weeks dedicated training a year, principally in transferable skills” for postgraduate researchers. (Taken from UEA website). Beyond a single day, the relationship between the length of a training course and the credit rating applied is not directly linear. Hence a 5-day workshop is not given 5 days’ training credit. This relates to the philosophy of equipping its postgraduate researchers with a breadth of knowledge, skills and attributes for their research and future careers in line with the expectation of the UK Research Councils. By undertaking a range of activities contributing to your Personal and Professional Development, you are more likely to acquire a wide range of skills and breadth of knowledge. The use of the term ‘training credit’ is purely for the purposes of recording the training that you have undertaken. Training credits are not transferable units and cannot be applied to other courses at other institutions. You will be able to view your training record and the credits accrued at any time at the bottom of your Intranet site directory page.
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Personal Development Plans Students are encouraged to take ownership and responsibility for their own learning, during and after their programme of study, and to recognise the value of developing transferable skills. At the start of your postgraduate studies you should discuss with your supervisor what skills you will need to develop during the first year and beyond. Through these discussions, it is recommended you create a Personal Development Plan that identifies the skills to be acquired during the period of research training, including a list of the courses and other training activities that will help you to gain these skills. We would encourage you to consult the PPD programme in this brochure, the Intranet and the UEA website regularly to ensure you take advantage of the range of training opportunities that are on offer. Additional training opportunities may be added over the forthcoming year and you should receive email alerts in advance of these.
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Postgraduate students are advised to discuss their skills acquisition and future training needs with their supervisor on a regular basis and to amend and update their Personal Development Plan. The PDP involves an ongoing cycle of self-evaluation, reflection, target setting and action planning. Just as you plan the research project itself, you should have a plan for your personal and professional development. By doing so, you will be able to make more informed choices at key points during your career. A personal development plan template can be found within the inserts at the back of this brochure. The recording system for updating your training and learning activities can be accessed online through the institute intranet, and is held on each individual’s homepage.
Mandatory Training at NBI To ensure that postgraduate researchers are well equipped for the demands of both PhD and their future career needs, the Institutes require students to undertake certain key development workshops in their first year of study.
Institute Induction Days
These mandatory workshops are designed to establish a firm foundation from which to build their work at the Institutes and you will be automatically registered for these workshops unless you have an exemption (see Exemptions section).
Thursday 1 October 2015 Morning: Registration and Administrative Induction (all PGR students)
The following courses are mandatory and are highlighted as being NBI-only mandatory training.
Venue: JIC Conference Centre
Within their first year of study, all students must attend the following:
Training Credit Value: 2
Wednesday 30 September 2015: Welcome to Norwich Bioscience Institutes (NBI students) Venue: JIC Conference Centre
Venue: UEA Friday 2 October 2015 Afternoon: NBI Induction (NBI students) Session Leader: Various Gained by: Attendance Register (Students joining at other times of year will have an individual induction) These events provide new students with information on their studies with the research Institutes and include a welcome from the Institute Directors, registration, finance issues and computer orientation. The event also includes ‘the PhD from start to finish’, student and supervisor roles, Supervisory Committees and the Graduate School Executive, reporting and monitoring, managing the work life balance, site tour and an introduction to UEA and its facilities. Researcher Development Statement: ABC
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Regulations, Ethics & Purchasing, Health & Safety Induction Monday 5 October 2015 Morning: Health & Safety – Everyone’s Responsibility
DTP Student Workshop (for DTP & Industrial CASE Studentship holders only) Friday 9th October 2015 Afternoon
Venue: JIC Conference Centre G34/35
Venue: JIC Conference Centre G34/35
Monday 5 October 2015 Afternoon: Regulations, Ethics and Purchasing
Session Leader: Lynne Mayne, NRP DTP Director
Venue: JIC Conference Centre G34/35 Session Leader: Various Training Credit Value: 1.0
Training Credit Value: 0.5 GGained by: Attendance Register Researcher Development Statement: ABC
Gained by: Attendance Register Introduction to H&S processes within NBI including QA and Occupational Health procedures.
Biological Safety
Researcher Development Statement: ABC
Venue: JIC Conference Centre G37
Computer Orientation
Session Leader: Sam Bean (NBI H&S) Training Credit Value: 0.5
Thursday 8th October 2015 Morning
Gained by: Attendance Register
Venue: Chris Lamb Training Lounge
This mandatory training course is a short course for staff who work with biological agents that are genetically modified or pathogens of plants or humans.
Session Leader: Kingsley Avenell Training Credit Value: 0.5 Gained by: Attendance Register Researcher Development Statement: ABC
Introduction to NBI Learning and Development Friday 9th October 2015 Morning: Your development starts here Venue: Chris Lamb Training Lounge Session Leader: Vanda Morgan, NBI Learning & Development Manager, Lauren Hunt-Savin, NBI Learning and Development Advisor Training Credit Value: 1 Gained by: Attendance Register An introduction to the Research Institutes’ PPD Programme Researcher Development Statement: ABC
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Monday 12th October 2015: 09:30 – 10:30
Researcher Development Statement: AC
Endnote Training Monday 19th October 2015: 09:30 (Option A) or Wednesday 21st October 2015: 09:30 (Option B) Venue: Chris Lamb Training Theatre Session Leader: Chris Groom Training Credit Value: 0.5 Gained by: Attendance Register This short course introduces the practicalities of using Endnote which allows users to conveniently store and manipulate bibliographic records, and via Word incorporate references in your document in any of a wide range of styles. Researcher Development Statement: ABC
Chemical Safety for Scientists (PhD and MSc Students) Wednesday 28th October 2015: 13:45 – 16:30 Venue: IFR Lecture Theatre Session Leader: Richard Harrison
Basic Statistics and Design Principles with ‘R’ Tuesday 8th / Wednesday 9th December 2015: 09:00 – 17:00 (Option A) or Tuesday 26th / Wednesday 27th January 2016: 09:00 – 17:00 (Option B) Venue: JIC Chris Lamb Training Theatre Session Leader: Reading University Statistical Services Centre Training Credit Value: 2 Prerequisite: Attendance on ‘Introduction to ‘R’’ (or equivalent) – Please see Highly Recommended list for details Gained by: Attendance Register The course is designed to teach a basic set of skills which will help you understand the presentation of statistics in scientific papers, to do a basic analysis of your own data and provide a useful transferable skill for future employment. Researcher Development Statement: A
Training Credit Value: 0.5 Gained by: Attendance Register Attendance on a Chemical Safety Induction Course is mandatory for all new members of scientific staff, visiting workers and students starting work at IFR, JIC and TSL. Researcher Development Statement: AC
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Overview of training courses This is an overview of the mandatory, highly recommended and optional training courses that are available. Some courses have multiple dates available, please just choose the date option per course that is best for you.
Workshop
Time
UEA DTP
NBI iCase
UEA iCase
Recommended Year of Study
O = OPTIONAL
NBI DTP
HR = HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
NBI PHD
M = MANDATORY
Institute Induction Days Computer Orientation (AM) Health and Safety (H&S) Introduction Regulations, Ethics and Purchasing Starting your Development (L&D Induction) DTP Induction Workshop (PM) H&S: Biological Safety (Option A) Endnote Option A (AM) Grant Writing Workshop Endnote Option B (AM) An Introduction to Scientific Computing (SC) H&S: Chemical Safety Introducing Ethics in Publishing
10:00 - 12:30 14:00 - 17:00 09:30-10:30 09:30-12:30 09:30-17:00 09:30-12:30 10:00-12:00 13:45-16:30 14:30-15:30
Chris Lamb Training Lounge Chris Lamb Training Lounge Conf Centre G37 Chris Lamb Training Theatre Chris Lamb Training Lounge Chris Lamb Training Theatre Chris Lamb Training Theatre IFR Lecture Theatre Conf Centre G34/35
M M M M M n/a M M O M HR M HR
M M M M M M M M O M HR M HR
* * * * * M * * * * * * *
M M M M M n/a M M O M HR M HR
* * * * * n/a * * * * * * *
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 4 1 1 1 All
2/3rd 3rd 9th 16th 20th 23rd 20th 30th & 2nd TBC
SC: Introduction to Linux (Two days) H&S: Biological Safety (Option B) SC: Introduction to High Performance Computing (HPC) PIPs: Skills-based CV and Covering letter Workshop How to project manage your research PIPs: Networking and pre-Employer Forum Workshop NBI Platforms Showcase SC: Introduction to ‘R’ (Two days) Part 1 Supervising (under-grad) project students
09:30 -13:00 09:30-10:30
Chris Lamb Training Theatre Conf Centre G37
HR
HR
*
HR
*
1+2 1
09:30 -13:00 09:30-12:30 09.30-11.30
Chris Lamb Training Theatre Conf Centre G34/35 Zicer 2.03 (UEA)
HR n/a HR
HR M HR
* M HR
HR M HR
* M HR
1+2 1 1+2
09:30-12:30 09:30-17:00
Conf Centre G34/35 Conf Centre G34/35 Chris Lamb Training Theatre TBC UEA
n/a HR HR O
M HR HR O
M HR * O
M HR HR O
M HR * O
1 All 1+2 3+4
DECEMBER
1st 2nd 4th 4th 8/9th 14th 15th
PIPs: Employer Forum SC: Introduction to ‘R’ (Two days) Part 2 DTP Winter Cohort Meeting AM DTP Masterclass PM (Public Engagement) Basic Statistics and Design with ‘R’ (Option A) Vector NTI Quantitative Genetics (MSc Workshop)
12:00-17:00 09:30-17:00 09:00-13:00 14:00-16:30 09:00-17:00 09:00-17:00 09:30-17:00
Conference Centre Chris Lamb Training Theatre Chris Lamb Training Lounge Genome Seminar Room Chris Lamb Training Theatre Chris Lamb Training Theatre Conf Centre G37
n/a HR n/a n/a M O O
M HR M M M O O
M * M M * * *
HR HR n/a n/a M O O
JANUARY
7th 11th 21/22nd 26/27 25th
Science and Government talk Scientific Writing: Academic Papers (Option A) SC: Introduction to Python (Two mornings) Basic Statistics and Design with ‘R’ - (Option B) Word Processing for PhD thesis
11:00-12:00 13:00-17:30 09:30-13:00 09:00-17:00 09:00-12:30
Conf Centre G34/35 Chris Lamb Training Lounge Chris Lamb Training Theatre Chris Lamb Training Theatre Chris Lamb Training Theatre
HR HR O M HR
HR HR O M HR
HR * * * *
HR HR O M HR
Date
Room
OCTOBER Sept 30th + 1st 8th 5th 5th 9th 9th 12th 19th 19th 21st 22nd 28th 30th NOVEMBER
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HR 1 * 1+2 n/a 1 n/a 1,2,3+4 * 1 * All * 1
HR * * * *
2+3 1+2 1+2 1 3+4
Recommended Year of Study
UEA iCase
NBI iCase
Room
UEA DTP
Time
NBI DTP
Workshop
NBI PHD
Date
FEBRUARY 2nd 11th AM 11th PM 11th 12th AM 12th PM 16th 19th 23/26th 25th
SC: Introduction to Galaxy How to Plan your PhD Presenting your Research with Confidence Writing the Thesis Turbo Charge your Writing Communicating the Impact of your Research Poster Presentations Workshop DTP Spring Cohort Meeting Bioinformatics: De novo Assembly (Book through TGAC) The Basic Principles of Light Microscopy (LM) (Workshop Level 1)
10:00-16:30 09:00-12:30 13:30-16:30 14.00-17.00 09:00-12:30 13:30-16:30 14.00-17.00 14:00-16:30
Chris Lamb Training Theatre Chris Lamb Training Lounge Chris Lamb Training Lounge Zicer 2.03 (UEA) Genome Seminar Room (TGAC) Genome Seminar Room (TGAC) Darwin Room, TGAC, Chris Lamb Training Lounge
O HR HR O HR HR HR n/a
O HR HR O HR HR HR M
* * * O * * * M
O HR HR O HR HR HR n/a
TBC 09:00-17:00
* Any * 1 * All O 3+4 * Any * Any * 2+3. n/a 1
TGAC
O
O
*
O
*
2
Chris Lamb Theatre and Lab
HR
HR
*
HR
*
Any
MARCH 8/9th 8/9th 14th 15th TBC 23rd 24th 31st
Experimental Design & Analysis 09:00-17:00 Bioinformatics: Software Carpentry Bootcamp (TGAC) 09:00-17:00 SC: A Hands-on Introduction to ChIP-Seq Analysis 10:00-13:00 DTP Cohort Meeting for Year 3 1.5 Hrs Presentation Skills for Scientists Writing the Thesis Workshop 14:00-15:00 Biotechnology YES information session 10:00-11:00 SC: Introduction to RNA-Seq 10:00-13:00
Chris Lamb Training Theatre TGAC Chris Lamb Training Theatre Chris Lamb Training Lounge Chris Lamb Training Lounge Chris Lamb Training Lounge Chris Lamb Training Lounge Chris Lamb Training Theatre
HR O O n/a HR M HR O
HR O O M HR M HR O
* * * M * * HR *
HR O O n/a HR M HR O
* 1 * 3+4 * Any n/a 3 * All * 4 (+3) HR 1+2 * Any
APRIL TBC 5/6th 12th 12/13th 14th 18+25 22nd
Summer Conference Working Group (3rd Year DTPs) SC: Introduction to Linux (Option B) 09:30-13:00 Chris Lamb Training Theatre SC: Introduction to High Performance Computing (Option B) 09:30 -13:00 Chris Lamb Training Theatre Bioinformatics: Ensembl Browser Workshop (Book via TGAC) 09:00-17:00 TGAC Scientific Writing: Academic Papers (Option B) 13:00-17:30 Chris Lamb Training Lounge DTP Computational Systems Biology (CSB) (Day 1+2) 09:00-17:00 Chris Lamb Training Theatre DTP Late Spring Cohort Meeting 14:00-16:30 Chris Lamb Training Lounge
n/a HR
HR HR
HR *
n/a HR
n/a *
3 1
HR
HR
*
HR
*
1
O HR n/a n/a
O HR M M
* * M M
O HR n/a n/a
* * n/a n/a
1+2 1+2 1 1
MAY 9th 12th 16+23 25th TBC TBC
NRP Careers Day TBC Thesis writing for research students whose first language is not English 10:00-13:00 DTP Computational Systems Biology (Day 3+4) 09:00-17:00 SC+LM: Computational Bioimaging TBC Careers and Research: Applying for Fellowships 13:30 - 16:30 Presentation Skills for Scientists
Conference Centre
HR
HR
HR
HR
HR
All
Zicer 2.03 (UEA) Chris Lamb Training Theatre Chris Lamb Training Theatre Chris Lamb Training Lounge Chris Lamb Training Lounge
O n/a O HR HR
O M O HR HR
O M * * *
O n/a O HR HR
O n/a * * *
3+4 1 1+2 4 All
Summer DTP Cohort meeting An Introduction to Phylogenetics (Two half days) Critical thinking DTP Summer Conference
14:00-16:30 09:30-13:00 10.00-12.00 TBC
Chris Lamb Training Lounge Chris Lamb Training Theatre Zicer 2.03 (UEA) TBC
n/a O HR n/a
M O HR M
M * HR M
n/a O HR n/a
n/a * HR n/a
1 All 3+4 All
Grant Writing Workshop Science and International Relations TGAC Summer School on Bioinformatics
09:30-17:30 14:00-15:00 09:00-17:30
Chris Lamb Training Lounge Conf Centre G34/35 TGAC
HR HR O
HR HR O
* HR *
HR HR O
* * *
4 2+3 1
JUNE 3rd 6/7th 9th TBC JULY TBC 4th 11/15th
* UEA (DTP+iCase) Students - See your faculty training coordinator for equivalent course(s)
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Whilst not mandatory, the following courses are highly recommended during the first year of study An Introduction to Scientific Computing
Vector NTI
Thursday 22nd October 2015: 10:00-12.00
Venue: JIC Chris Lamb Training Theatre
Venue: JIC Chris Lamb Training Theatre
Session Leader: Eliot Randle – e-science Solutions
Session Leader: Matthew Hartley
Training Credit Value: 1
Training Credit Value: 0.5
Gained by: Attendance Register
Gained by: Attendance Register
Researcher Development Statement: A
Open to all at NBI. An introduction to the scientific computing at the JIC, covering the facilities and training available and the support we can offer available to all. Researcher Development Statement: A
Introducing Ethics in Publishing Friday 30th October 2015: 14:30 - 15:30/16:00 Venue: JIC Conference Centre G34/35 Session Leader: Cathie Martin and Graham Moore
Monday 14th December 2015: 09:00-17:00
Experimental Design & Analysis Tuesday 8th - Wednesday 9th March 2016: 09:00-17:00 Venue: JIC Chris Lamb Training Theatre Session Leader: University of Reading Statistical Services Centre Training Credit Value: 2 Gained by: Attendance Register
Researcher Development Statement: ACD
The Experimental Design and Analysis course is essential for most PhD students. You should attend the course if you are likely to be doing moderately complicated experiments, e.g. experiments involving two or more environmental factors.
Introduction to ‘R’
You must have attended the Basic Statistics programme before attending this workshop.
Monday 30th November + Wednesday 2nd December: 09:30-17:00 (2 days)
Researcher Development Statement: A
Training Credit Value: 0.5 Gained by: Attendance Register
Venue: JIC Chris Lamb Training Theatre Session Leader: Govind Chandra
Paper Writing Workshop
Training Credit Value: 2
Monday 11th January 2016: 13:00-17:00 (Option A)
Gained by: Attendance Register
Or
R is a free software environment for statistical computing and graphics. It is widely used in scientific data analysis including biological data analysis.
Thursday 14th April 2016: 13:00-17:00 (Option B)
Prerequisite: It will help if you have already attended the Introduction to the HPC and the Introduction to Linux courses. These are however, not essential requirements but you are encouraged to attend these in the future if you have not done so because they provide complementary skills resulting in independent data analysis capability. Researcher Development Statement: A
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Venue: Chris Lamb Training Lounge Session Leader: Sophien Kamoun Training Credit Value: 1 Gained by: Attendance Register Researcher Development Statement: AD
Presenting your Research with Confidence Thursday 11th February 2016: 13:30-16:30 Venue: Chris Lamb Training Lounge Session Leader: Hugh Kearns (Think Well) Training Credit Value: 1 Gained by: Attendance Register Many of us dread the prospect of speaking about our work in public. The Presentation Skills course helps participants improve their performance and enables them to approach their next talk – whether it is at a major conference or just an informal lab meeting – with far more confidence. The course provides opportunities to practice giving presentations to a small, friendly (but honest) audience. Researcher Development Statement: BD The following courses/events are also strongly recommended during the second or third years of study.
BioTechnology YES The Biotechnology YES (Young Entrepreneurs Scheme) is an innovative competition developed to raise awareness of the commercialisation of bioscience ideas among postgraduate students/ postdoctoral scientists. For further information: http://www.biotechnologyyes.co.uk/
Additional sessions and programmes will be added throughout the year which may also be of interest. You will be notified of these by email and as an event on the intranet. Programmes that will be coming soon are: Working effectively with (and as ) a mentor – key tips and techniques Unconscious Bias – building effective, diverse research environments
Effective Team Working – understanding self and others
Further information for guidance and support on starting your PhD can be found at the following sites: The researcher development organisation Vitae (www.vitae.ac.uk/researchers) has a wealth of resources covering the process of completing a doctorate (www.vitae.ac.uk/pgr) including relationships with supervisors and professional development of early career researchers. Within the Vitae portfolio you will also find the publication series ‘What do researchers do?’ (www.vitae.ac.uk/wdrd) which provides information about the career opportunities for and destinations of doctoral graduates. The full document explaining what is expected of research degrees in the UK can be found at: www.qaa.ac.uk/publications Informationandguidance/documents/doctorate_ guide.pdf
Training Credit Value: 2.5 Gained by: Attendance Register Researcher Development Statement: BCD
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Training Exemption and Concessions Criteria In order to gain exemption from training courses:
Postgraduate students must be able to demonstrate how the previous training relates to the areas outlined in the Researcher Development Statement.
Relevant training can include training undertaken as part of employment (current or previous), or membership of professional bodies, but cannot be part of the entry requirements of the PhD.
Please note that exemptions cannot be granted purely on the basis of postgraduate students holding a master’s degree.
In general, exemptions are only considered if the training/experience was at a postgraduate or equivalent level and obtained recently.
Credit allocation considerations: 1.
Students may attend as many MSc taught courses as recommended by their supervisory team. However, students will receive training credits for such attendance once per year of study – up to a maximum of 7.5 training credits over their full period of study. Where the supervisory team wants these to be taken early in the research degree, training credits can be carried forward into subsequent years such that 2.5 training credits are awarded each year.
2. Training credits for some elements, e.g. specialist skills, are not equivalent to chronological days. Other lengthy periods of training will also receive only limited training credits – thus a six week workshop does not earn 30 training credits. 3. Some courses may also not earn any credits, i.e. zero rated but may be recommended or catalogued to allow them to appear on the student’s training record. 4. No single element should accrue such a large amount of training credit that it undermines the breadth of transferable skills. This is currently embodied in maintaining the maximum as 2.5 training credits. 5. 60% of the training credits should derive from modules or activities from Parts 1-3 of the PPD Programme. The sum of courses, conferences, workshops and other learning activities, should not exceed 40%. 6. If a specific workshop or learning intervention suggests that additional credit may be due, the extra training credit may be added via a concession or exemption. 7.
Concessions and exemptions which allow prior training to be credited must be agreed both by the Supervisory Team and Chair of Graduate Studies. This will only be allowed for transferable skills and not for taught masters courses prior to matriculation on to the research degree.
Adjudication/appeal over the award of training credits should be via the L&D Team.
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Enrolment You should initially discuss your choice of courses with your supervisor or supervisory team. You may wish to use the training calendar to inform your discussion with your supervisor to identify the best dates for you. There is not a deadline by which you must enrol on courses – you can sign up for courses at any time. You will however have a greater chance of getting a space on your chosen course the sooner you sign up.
1st year students: Registrations for the Institutes mandatory courses open on the Monday 12th October. These courses will be discussed in detail with you at the initial training induction meeting. In most cases there will be a choice of dates for each course.
For all other courses you can register via the NBI Intranet site when registrations open or contact the L&D Team for advice on enrolment or attendance. If you wish to attend a UEA run PPD course please register via your UEA account and advise the L&D Team. Please ensure that you have discussed your plans to attend with your supervisor prior to registering for any course.
All Institute based courses will be entered into your training record on completion, in accordance with the attendance record.
When attending courses it is essential that you sign the register provided. If not, we will not be aware that you were present and the credit for that course will not be recorded for your transcript.
If it is a multi-day course, you must be available to attend all days.
All UEA course enrolments will be entered on the Student Information System (SITS) and your institute record also amended accordingly.
If you attend any conferences/meetings or participate in any training or development activity that you feel needs to appear on your training record, please use the ‘update training record’ button on your intranet page (guidance given as an attachment at the back of brochure booklet) and your record will be amended once approved by the L&D Team.
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You will be able to view your training record and the credits accrued at any time at the bottom of your Intranet page. Before booking a course with NBI or UEA, please check that you have no other commitments that would prevent you from attending the whole session. We would ask that you treat your training in a professional manner. By booking on a session you are committing yourself to attending the whole session. An attendance register will be taken at all sessions. If you need to cancel your place, please give as much notice as possible so we can ensure your place is allocated to another student. Except in the case of illness or emergency, we require (at minimum) 48hrs notice. Failure to provide this will result in your records showing non-attendance and your institute supervisor will be informed. You can cancel your place up to 48 hours ahead by clicking ‘my bookings’ on the left hand section of the events calendar page on the intranet and then delete next to the event. Non-attendance will be noted in your training record, which will be available to your supervisor and may incur a charge being made to your supervisor’s funding. It is your responsibility to keep a note of your enrolment including the date, time and venue of the course. A reminder may be sent but is not guaranteed. It is therefore your responsibility to turn up on time. You should aim to arrive on time (at least 5 minutes before the start of the course). Some students have complained about delayed starts due to the lateness of other student – don’t be one of them. You are also expected to stay for the full duration of the course – a check on attendance will be made at regular intervals during the course. Popular sessions are usually repeated through the academic year; please check the brochure for further information. Updates will also be sent to students advising them of course changes, additions and cancellations.
Your Learning Record
Individual Records
Introduction
Training records are displayed on the individual’s intranet page but are visible only to the individual, their Supervisor and the L&D Team.
This guide sets out to explain how to update your individual training records as well as how to monitor and request training via the intranet. By keeping your training records up to date in this way you are keeping track of your credits, which will be beneficial for your supervisory team meetings as well as making it easier when you come to hand in your Thesis at the end of your PhD. You are also creating a permanent electronic training record which will be a useful aide memoire throughout your time with the Institute.
Courses with link capability are ‘standard’ courses. These appear on the events calendar pages and when attended, attendance is automatically updated to the training record. Any training and development activities undertaken should be recorded . It can be added manually by the individual if attended off site or was selfdirected learning.
The System The system has been built using the existing NBI Intranet pages linked into the Training Database which is held by the L&D team and is capable of capturing all development completed by individuals against their records. There are two key component parts in the system, namely the planning tool which is driven by the development needs of the individual (requesting) and the recording tool (updating) which is administered by the L&D Team and records individual training records for use by the individual and their supervisor.
Planning and Recording Based on their learning needs, students have the opportunity to develop their own individual Personal Development Plans with their supervisor. By using this brochure as a guide to available courses and workshops, along with the intranet for additional opportunities, students can create their plan. It is important to recognise and outline at this point the skills and techniques that students will need to develop in the lab and which can be learnt ‘on-the-job’ by doing, including who with. As students’ progress through their research project, they will often find the need to develop individual skills or techniques relevant to them and/or their project that will need to be harnessed off-site by an external provider. In addition, individuals have the ability to request ‘non-standard’ training or support and advice direct with training, by using the system. Training requests for ‘non-standard’ courses should be made via your institute specific training request form (found on the intranet training pages)
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To Request Non-Standard Training Step 1 – Locate the L&D Training pages by clicking ‘Support Services’ tab on the intranet. Scroll down to list to ‘Human Resources ‘and ‘Click’ the ‘Training & Development’ icon.
Step 2 – Click’ the ‘Training & Development’ icon to take you to the Training pages. Select the ‘Students Training Request Form’ on the right hand side of the page.
Step 3 – Complete your form and return to the Learning & Development Advisor, signed by you and your Supervisor.
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To Request ‘Standard’ Courses: Step 1 – Use your intranet page (or register directly via the calendar)
Step 2 – Select your training request from the standard course list by choosing the course category and type of training:
Step 3 – If there is already a course planned please select your preferred date or set your priority rating for when you will need to complete the training, so that the training team can analyse the requests and put in place an action plan or agenda.
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To Update your Training Record To update your own training record with Non-Standard training completed
Step 1 – Click on ‘Update Training Record’ on your Intranet page. You will then be taken to the below page:
Step 2 – Complete the sections required to give adequate detail on the training. The award of the credit can only be authorised if all boxes are completed with sufficient detail. Examples are given to help guide you with the level of information we are after. Step 3 – Click submit when you have completed the entry. This will then update on your page to show that authorisation is currently sitting with the Training Officer and/or your Supervisor.
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The Norwich Bioscience Institutes Norwich Research Park, Norwich, UK Email: vanda.morgan@nbi.ac.uk or lauren.hunt-savin@nbi.ac.uk
Further information: www.jic.ac.uk/students & www.ifr.ac.uk/students
Aug
July
June
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Intro to ‘R’
PIPs Training
End Note Ethics in Publishing
Intro to Python
Intro to Galaxy
TGAC Summer School on Bioinformatics
Computational Bioimaging
Intro to Phylogenetics
Placement
3 Month PIPs
Grant Writing
YEAR 4
NBI Writing the Thesis Workshop
Grant Writing
Fellowship Application Workshop
Thesis Writing for those whose first language is not English (UEA)
NRP Careers Day
Scientific Writing: Peer Review Process
Summer Conference Planning Group
Communicating the Impact of Your Research
Writing the Thesis (UEA)
Word Processing for PhD Thesis
Signalling Networks: from Data to Modelling Cohort Masterclass
Mentoring Skills
Turbo Charge your Writing Presenting your Research with Confidence
Science & Government Workshop with Chris Darby
Critical Thinking (UEA) DTP Summer Conference Science & International Relations workshop with Chris Darby
Proteomic & Mass Spec
Presentation Skills for Scientists
Intro to CHIP-Seq Intro to RNA-Seq Scientific Writing: Academic Papers
Cohort Computational Systems Biology (Level 1)
Experimental Design & Analysis
Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop
YEAR 3
Microscopy Programme De novo Assembly Scientific Writing: Academic Papers Cohort Masterclass Cohort Masterclass
NBI Platforms Showcase
Cohort Computational Systems Biology (Level 2)
YEAR 2
Presenting your Research with Confidence Poster Presentations Spring Cohort Meeting
How to Plan your PhD
Basic Statistics & Design Principles wit ‘R’ (b)
Public engagement (2015 , 2018) Knowledge Exchange and Commercialisation (2016) Exploiting New Ways of Working (2017)
Winter Cohort Meeting (AM) (PM) DTP Cohort Masterclass
Basic Statistics & Design Principles wit ‘R’ (a)
Intro to Linux. Intro to HPC
Intro to Scientific Computing
Induction Days
YEAR 1
Example training available over four years
Why do I want to achieve this?
What will I do to achieve this?
What resources and support will I need?
TO:
SUPERVISOR:
What skills do I want/need to develop?
PERIOD COVERED:
NAME
How will I know when I’ve succeeded? Target date for review or completion
Personal Development Plan Template
Example way to attain credits
Training
Researcher Development Skill (RDF) Domain
Credit
Co-ordinating / Convening a Seminar Series, Workshop or Conference Co-ordinating / Convening a Conference or Workshop D1.2, C3.1 – 3.3, B3.1 – 3.5 Co-ordinating / Convening a Seminar series
1 1
Conferences Conference – attendance B3.4 1 (or 2 if 2 days or more) Conference – oral presentation B3.4, D2.1, D2.2 1 Conference – poster presentation B3.4, D2.1, D2.2 0.5 Conference – preparation of paper for inclusion D2.1 - 3 0.5 in conference publication
Institute/School Seminar Giving Institute/School Seminar – per presentation
B3.4, D2.1, D2.2
0.5
B3.4, D2.1, D2.2
0.5
B3.2, B3.3, D3.6
1 (or 2 if 2 days or more)
C1.6, D2.1 – 3 D2.1 – 3, D3.2
1 1
A2.3, D2.1 - 3
0.5
B3.4, D1.6, D2.1
1
D3.1
1
D3.1
1
External Seminar Presentation at an External Seminar – per presentation
International Training Workshops Attendance at international training workshop
Journals Writing a paper for submission to a Journal – per paper Writing an article for a non-scientific publication
Research Group Journal Club Journal club presentation
Staff / Student Committees Being a postgraduate representative on University committee
Teaching / Demonstrating Laboratory demonstrating (1 credit allocation per year) Facilitating PBL sessions (1 credit allocation per year)