Norwich Biosciences Institutes Personal & Professional Development Programme 2014/15
Welcome to the Norwich Biosciences Institutes Personal and Professional Development Programme Welcome to the Norwich Bioscience Institutes. As a new postgraduate researcher, you will be starting a research project that forms an important part of the on-going research programme of your institute or laboratory. At the same time, over the next few years, you will also be receiving training in research and other areas that will nurture your long-term development as a scientist.
Contents Introduction and Objectives
03
Researcher Development Framework
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Personal Development Plans (PDP)
06
You should see your period of training 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.
Structure of the PPD Programme
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Exemptions
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This manual 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.
Enrolment
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Training Recording System
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During the next few years, we hope that you will make the most of the excellent opportunities for research and training at the Norwich Bioscience Institutes and at the UEA, bringing success to your own career and to the Research Institute where you are working.
PPD Requirements and Training Credits 07 The NBI Mandatory Training Programme for 2014/15 Overview of Training Courses
08 12 & 13
Welcome to the Norwich Biosciences Institutes based at the Norwich Research Park. 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 appreciation as to what training and development support is 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. The Training and Development Team aim to work closely with Postgraduate Students, their supervisors and the Graduate Studies Committees to plan and deliver training and development support.
The Personal and Professional Development Programme This is designed to be a major help for you to develop knowledge and skills and enables you to take charge of your own personal development, supporting your career aspirations. The Quality Assurance Agency 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. Doctoral candidates are expected to develop as professional researchers in the course 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.
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 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 The UK Research Councils and BBSRC support the QAA’s view and have produced their own joint statement of training requirements for research students. These are skills and competencies that all research students are expected to have developed during the course of their research degree. “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 academe. 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 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.
The researcher development organisation Vitae (www.vitae.ac.uk/researchers) has a wealth of resources about the process of doing a doctorate (www.vitae.ac.uk/pgr) including relationships with supervisors, professional development of early career researchers.
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The PPD programmes, both at the Institutes and the UEA Science Graduate School, directly address these skills. You are of course registered as a postgraduate student within the Faculty of Science (SCI), 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 these programmes, which can be found on the NBI Training pages in the students section. The Science Graduate School programme follows the same principles as the Norwich Bioscience Institutes. We have worked closely together in developing our PPD programmes to ensure that they reflect the core principles and objectives of both the UK Research Councils and the Quality Assurance Agency’s vision for postgraduate development
Principles of Operation
In developing our training programme for the institutes, we have followed the same guiding principles as our colleagues at the UEA, namely:
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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Accountability Student feedback on course quality will be routinely collected via supervisory teams and the NBI Training and Development Manager. That feedback will be made available to the NBI Graduate Studies Committee. It will also be fed back to students, to guide them in their choice of training.
Participative The input of ‘key stakeholders’ will be actively sought in shaping the training programme and identifying gaps in training provision.
The Researcher Development Framework The UK is committed to enhancing the higherlevel capabilities of the UK workforce including the development of world-class researchers. Researchers are critical to economic success, addressing major global challenges, and building a leading knowledge economy. These objectives are guided by the Researcher Development Framework (RDF) which sets out the knowledge, behaviours and attributes of effective and highly skilled researchers appropriate for a wide range of careers. In developing this PPD programme we have taken account of the RDF and the four domains within it. These domains encompass the knowledge needed to do research, the qualities needed to be an effective researcher, the professionalism required, and the skills needed to work with others and contribute to the wider environment.
The Researcher Development Framework RDF Domains Collegiality Team working People management Supervision Mentoring Influence and leadership Collaboration Equality and diversity
thers
ith o ing w Work (D1) C an om d m di un ss em ica (D in tio 2) at n io n
The knowledge, intellectual abilities and techniques to do research
Domain B
The personal qualities and approach to be an effective researcher
Enthusiasm Perseverance Integrity Self confidence Self reflection Responsibility
Se
lf
m an (B age 2) m e
ch t ar en se m Re age ) an (C2 m
nt
The knowledge of the standards, requirements and professionalism to do research
Personal effectiveness
al qu alitie s (B1)
Domain C Research governance and organisation
Inquiring mind Intellectual insight Innovation Argument construction Intellectual risk
Domain A
Perso n
Enga gem and im ent pact (D3)
The knowledge and skills to work with others and ensure the wider impact of research
ivity Creat (A3)
Knowledge and intellectual abilities
l
Research strategy Project planning and delivery Risk management
Analysing Synthesing Critical thinking Evaluating Problem solving
es
Engagement, influence and impact
Domain D a ssion Profe ct u cond (C1)
Health and safety Ethics, principles and sustainability Legal requirements IPR and copyright Respect and confidentiality Attribution and co-authorship Appropriate practice
ledge base (A1) ti ili ab e tiv 2) ni (A
Teaching Public engagement Enterprise Policy Society and culture Global citizenship
Know
g Co
Communication methods Communication media Publication
Subject knowledge Research methods: theoretical knowledge Research methods: practical application Information seeking Information literacy and management Languages Academic literacy and numeracy
Finan ce and r funding esou rcing (C3)
Income and funding generation Financial management Infrastructure and resource
You will find that the courses within the PPD 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.
d al an t ssion Profe velopmen r de caree (B3)
Preparation and prioritisation Commitment to research Time management Responsiveness to change Work-life balance
Career management Continuing professional development Responsiveness to opportunities Networking Reputation and esteem
For more information and on the Researcher Development Statement and the associated Researcher Development Framework go to the relevant section of the Vitae website
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Personal Development Plans As a postgraduate student, you will be expected to create and maintain a personal development plan and will be provided with opportunities for Personal Development Planning sessions with both the Training Manager or Officer and your supervisory team. This Personal Development Plan will be maintained by each student supported by his or her supervisor, the Training Team and the Chair of Graduate Studies. The recording system for training can be accessed online through the institute intranet. This document will provide a basis to record training, development and learning experiences, planned, received and reviewed. It will be a structured and supported process undertaken by the individual to reflect upon their own learning, performance and/or achievement and to plan for their personal, educational and career development. On an annual basis, post-graduates will: Discuss their training needs with their supervisor and the Training & Development Manager and update their PDP.
Structure of the PPD Programme Many skills are required to be an effective researcher. These skills will be developed through your research and further enhanced by your Personal and Professional Development (PPD) training. In terms of PPD training, the emphasis is on designing a training programme that suits your needs, both in terms of your research and your future. At NBI training is categorised either Scientific & Technical, Personal & Professional, Leadership & Management or Health & Safety. All postgraduate research students are required to take PPD training during the course of their study. PhD students must gain at least 30 training credits from PPD activities over the research degree. The Norwich Biosciences Institutes PPD Programme works closely with programme of the UEA Science Graduate School (SCI) PPD programme. The SCI PPD activities are grouped within the following broad topic areas:
Every six months each student will have the opportunity for a review session with the Training Officer or Manager, at which time progress against the plan can be discussed along with new ideas and areas for further development.
Part 1
Supporting your PhD
Part 2
Academic writing
Part 3
Communication skills
Part 4
Learning through Practice
It is the responsibility of the student to keep their Personal Development Plans up to date online so that a record can be kept in their personal file.
Part 5
Research methods
Part 6
Research ethics/governance
Part 7
Information skills
Part 8
Statistics
Part 9
Expanding your knowledge
Part 10 Impact and engagement Part 11 Career planning
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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 pro-rata 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 students so often 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 such training credits earned can be carried forward to subsequent years. It is important that students do not undertake training courses merely to gain credits but look at the possibilities offered. If training credits are difficult to gain in a meaningful way then the Training and Development Manager is 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 training), 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 the SCI Graduate School that aims to equip 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.
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 as part of your personal and professional development and are recognised in terms of training credit. Examples of ways to attain credits include: Oral Presentation - 1 training credit Language courses - 1 training credit
SVC Committee Membership (senior positions) - 1 training credit Outreach Presentation - 1 training credit Poster Presentation - 0.5 training credit
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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).
(Students joining at other times of year will have an individual induction)
Therefore the following courses are mandatory and are highlighted in the Science Graduate School programme as being Institute-only mandatory training. Within their first year of study, all students will attend the following:
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Venue: JIC Conference Centre 30th September, 1st October 2014
Session Leader: Various Training Credit: Value: 2 Gained by: Attendance Register 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 Studies Committee, reporting and monitoring, managing the work life balance, site tour and an introduction to the UEA and its facilities. Researcher Development Statement: ABC
Computer Orientation
Introduction to Training at NBI
Venue: JIC – Chris Lamb Training Lounge 2nd October 2014
Venue: JIC – Chris Lamb Training Lounge 9th October 2014
Session Leader: Kingsley Avenell
Session Leader: Dr Sue Hewitt, NBI Training & Development Manager and Lauren Hunt-Savin, NBI Training and Development Officer
Training Credit Value: 0.5 Gained by: Attendance Register Researcher Development Statement: ABC
Regulations, Ethics & Purchasing, Health & Safety Induction Venue: JIC – Biffen Annexe Seminar Room 3rd October 2014 Session Leader: Various Training Credit Value: 1.0 Gained by: Attendance Register Introduction to H&S processes within NBI including QA and Occupational Health procedures. Researcher Development Statement: ABC
Training Credit Value: 1 Gained by: Attendance Register An introduction to the Research Institutes’ PPD Programme Researcher Development Statement: ABC
Endnote Training Venue: JIC - Chris Lamb Training Theatre 14 October & 27 October 2014 – 09:30 am start 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: A
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Technical Writing Venue: JIC - Chris Lamb Training Lounge 30th Oct 2014 (repeated 31st Oct 2014, 27 Nov 2014, 28th Nov 2014, 23th Jan 2015 and 16th March 2015) Session Leader: Liz Tucker, Verve Training Training Credit Value: 1 Gained by: Attendance Register This event enables students to prepare accurate, well-written papers or theses in a form that will be acceptable to journal editors or PhD examiners. Researcher Development Statement: AD
Presentation Skills Venue: JIC Chris Lamb Training Lounge 27th Oct 2014 (Repeated 28th Oct 2014, 2nd Dec 2014, 3rd Dec 2014, 15th Jan 2015 and 10th March 2015) Session Leader: Simon Marshall, Elite Training 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
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Basic Statistics and Design Principles Venue: JIC Chris Lamb Training Theatre 11/12 November 2014 (Repeated 29/30 January 2015) Session Leader: Reading University- Statistical Services Centre Training Credit Value: 2 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
Whilst not mandatory, the following courses are strongly recommended during the first year of study
Microsoft PowerPoint
Vector NTI
Training Credit Value: 1
Venue: JIC Chris Lamb Training Theatre 15 December 2014 Session Leader: Eliot Randle – e-science Solutions Credit Value: 1 Gained by: Attendance Register
Experimental Design & Analysis Venue: JIC Chris Lamb Training Theatre 23/24 February 2015
Venue: JIC Chris Lamb Training Theatre 27 January 2015 (Repeated 10th March 2015) Session Leader: QA Training
Gained by: Attendance Register 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/
Session Leader: University of Reading Statistical Services Centre
Training Credit Value: 2.5
Training Credit Value: 2
Gained by: Attendance Register
Gained by: Attendance Register
Researcher Development Statement: BCD
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 You must have attended the Basic Statistics programme before attending this workshop. Researcher Development Statement: A
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Overview of training courses This is an overview of the mandatory, highly recommended and optional training courses that are available. For some mandatory courses such as Technical Writing and Presentation Skills, there are multiple dates available, please choose one date option for each course. There are further workshops for PhD students available at Careers Central, please see the PPD handbook for further details.
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DURATION TIME
HR = HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
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YEAR 1 SEPTEMBER 2014 30th Tuesday
1 day 1 day
09.20 - 17.00 Welcome to Norwich Bioscience Institutes and Registration 09.30 - 17.00 Rotation Induction (see induction pack)
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Welcome to your Faculty (SCI,FMH), University of East Anglia NBI/School Induction Visit to the Molecular Microbiology Department (see induction pack) NBI Computer Orientation (JIC student at 14.00. IFR, TGAC, TSL students at 11.30) BBSRC NRP DTP cohort Welcome Friday Seminar (see induction pack) Metabolic Biology Health & Safety – Everyone’s Responsibility How to build your career whilst studying for a PhD and Making the most of PPD (UEA SCI3RD5Y) Working with Humans and Other Animals (for relevant students) RS Progress review TSL NBI Training Induction Deadline for submitting Project preference form Start of Rotation 1 Endnote (please choose one option for this training course) Biological Safety & GM Regs Endnote (please choose one option for this training course) Chemical Safety Induction An Introduction to Linux Presentation Skills (please choose one option) Presentation Skills (please choose one option Biological Safety & GM Regs Technical Writing Skills (please choose one option An Introduction to Linux (UEA) Deadline for Initial Report Year 1 (NBI) Deadline for Initial Report Year 1 (UEA) Technical Writing Skills (please choose one option)
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CVs & Covering Letters Workshop (PIPS) Marketing yourself for a job beyond academia (UEA) Basic Statistics and Design Principles (please choose one option) Managing your bibliographies with Endnote (UEA - SCI2RA2Y) Basic Introduction to Ethics (UEA - SCI2RA4Y) Effective Networking Workshop High Performance Computing (UEA - SCI2RF7Y) PIPS Employer Forum
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Half day Half day 2 days Half day Half day Half day Half day Half day
10.00 - 12.00 09.30-11.30 09:00 - 17:00 14.00-16.00 14.00 - 16.00 10.00 - 12.00 14.00-17.00 13.30 - 16.00
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15.00 - 16.00 Employer Forum 09:15 - 16:45 Technical Writing Skills (please choose one option) 09:15 - 16:45 Technical Writing Skills (please choose one option)
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Technical Writing Skills (please choose one option) Computational and Systems Biology - Session 1 Computational and Systems Biology - Session 2 Computational and Systems Biology - Session 3 Computational and Systems Biology - Session 4
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PowerPoint (please choose one option for this training course) Managing your Bibliographies with Endnote (UEA - SCI2RA2Y) Computational and Systems Biology - Session 5 Presentation Skills (please choose one option) Computational and Systems Biology - Session 6 Effective Communication Skills to be changed to ‘How to be more effective in communicating your science – posters and oral presentations’ (UEA) Computational and Systems Biology - Session 7 Computational and Systems Biology - Session 8
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Cohort meeting - Spring Marketing Yourself for a Job Beyond Academia (UEA) Deadline for Annual Scientific Report Year 1 (NBI) An Introduction to Linux (UEA) Experimental Design and Analysis (must have completed Basic Statistics or similar) Rotation Annual Scientific report - High Performance Computing (UEA - SCI2RF7Y) Deadline for Annual Scientific Report Year 1 (UEA)
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DECEMBER 2014
2nd 3rd 10th 15th
Tuesday Wednesday Wednesday Monday
Presentation Skills (please choose one option) Presentation Skills (please choose one option) An Introduction to High Performance Computing (NBI) Vector NTI
JANUARY 2015 09th Friday Half day 14.00 - 16.30 Cohort meeting - Winter 14th Wednesday Half day 10.00-12.30 How to build your career whilst studying for a PhD and Making the most of PPD (UEA SCI3RD5Y) 15th Thursday Deadline - Deadline for Interim Progress Report Year 1 (NBI) 1 day 09:15 - 16:45 Presentation Skills (please choose one option) Half day 14.00 - 17.00 Experimental and Quasi-Experimental Research Methods (UEA - SCI2RB4Y) 23rd Friday 1 day 09:15 - 16:45 Technical Writing Skills (please choose one option) Deadline - Rotation Annual Scientific report 26th Monday 1 day 09.00 -17.00 Sprint 27th Tuesday 1 day 09:00 - 17:00 PowerPoint (please choose one option for this training course) 29th Thursday 2 days 09:00 - 17:00 Basic Statistics and Design Principles (please choose one option) 30th Friday Deadline - Deadline for Interim Progress Report Year 1 (UEA) FEBRUARY 2015
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1 day Half day Half day Half day Half day
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Training Exemption 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 matriculation 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. A single unit of training credit will often relate to a day of transferable skills training given within the PPD programme and a half a day relates to 0.5 credits. 1.
Students may attend as many MSc taught courses as recommended by their supervisory team. However, students will only be credited 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, will be 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.
There can be zero training credit courses. We might recommend or catalogue these. This is 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 keeping the maximum at 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 (Part 0), should not exceed 40%.
6.
If someone takes an approach to something like a workshop (currently 1 training credit) that suggests they deserve more, the extra training credit can be added via a concession or exemption.
7.
Concessions and exemptions which allow prior training to be credited must be agreed both by 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 Training Manager.
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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.
1st year students: Registrations for the Institute mandatory courses open on the Friday 10th October following the training Induction for all students. 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 that are not listed as mandatory, you can register via the NBI Intranet site or contact the Training Officer 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 Training Officer so that your training record can be updated.
Please ensure that you have discussed your plans to attend with your supervisor prior to registering for any course.
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All Institute based courses will be entered into your training record on completion, in accordance with the attendance record.
All SCI 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 in the appendix) and your record will be amended once approved by the training officer.
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 Non-attendance (unless you have cancelled your place) 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). Students have complained about delayed starts due to the lateness of other students. 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.
Training Recording System - A Guide Introduction This guide sets out to explain how to request training as well as how to monitor and update your individual training records via the intranet. By keeping your training records up to date in this way you are developing a permanent electronic training record which will be a useful aide memoire throughout your time with the institute.
The System The system has been built using the existing NBI Intranet pages linked into the Training Database which is capable of capturing all training completed by individuals against their staff records. There are two key component parts in the system, namely the planning tool which is driven by the development needs of the individual and the recording tool which is administered by the Training Manager which records individual training records for use by the individual and their supervisor.
Planning and Recording Students have the opportunity to develop their own individual Training Plans by requesting ‘Standard’ courses built into the system. Ad-hoc and training specific to individuals can also be captured and recorded on the system by the individual and authorisation by the Training Officer and in some circumstances, the Supervisor. For example if a student attends a meeting or delivers a presentation, this can be displayed on the training record by clicking ‘update training record’ on your Intranet page. All training requested will be automatically displayed on the individuals training record alongside completed training and builds a comprehensive record of learning activity during the period of study. 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) To request training and set up your training record, please follow the procedure overleaf.
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To Request Non-Standard Training Step 1 – Access the HR Homepage
Step 2 – Select Training from the options and select your Institute Request from the supporting documents list on the right of the page.
Step 3 – Complete your form and return to the Training and Development Officer, signed by you and your Supervisor.
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To Request ‘Standard’ Courses: Step 1 – Access your Training Record on your Intranet page
Click View/Request Standard Training courses
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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Individual Records Training records are displayed on the individual’s intranet page but are visible only to the individual, their Supervisor and the Training Manager. Courses with link capability are courses which are ‘standard’ courses which appear on the course available list on the training page. Those courses which are not highlighted have been added to the
individual’s training records by the Training Manager and can be viewed as non-standard. Any training undertaken should appear on the record and can be added manually by the Training team.
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The Norwich Bioscience Institutes
The Norwich Bioscience Institutes Norwich Research Park, Norwich, UK Email: Lauren.hunt-savin@nbi.ac.uk or Sue.hewitt@nbi.ac.uk Further information: www.jic.ac.uk/students & www.ifr.ac.uk/students