Frequently asked questions
1. What form does the programme take?
The programme comprises short courses and workshops lasting from one hour to half-days, whole days, up to three days. They are held in various locations on the Whiteknights campus, and supplement the training and support provided by your School, Department and Supervisor.
We also encourage you to take full advantage of any other training opportunities external to the University Reading, such as your professional body in the UK or overseas and UK GRAD courses.
2. Who can attend?
All postgraduate research students (MPhil/PhD) are eligible to attend the courses and workshops, irrespective of funding status or attendance pattern. Part-time and off campus research students are especially welcome. The programme is not available to taught Masters students. A separate programme is being developed for post-doctoral early career research staff.
3. What if I am studying away from the University?
All of our training events take place on the Whiteknights campus. During the 2008/09 year we will offer some courses by e-learning. We recommend that off-campus students endeavour to attend workshops and courses – an opportunity to meet other research students. This could be combined with a visit to your Supervisor and/or the Library.
4. What is the cost?
All events are free of charge. However, a fee may be charged to students who book courses, but do not turn up on the day.
5. Is the training compuIsory or voluntary?
The Faculties of Science and Life Sciences strongly encourage all research students and early career research staff to attend relevant workshops and training courses to enhance their skills and future employment prospects. Currently attendance is not compulsory, but may become so in the future.
However, some Schools make attendance compulsory, so please check with your Supervisor or School Director of Research.
6. Which courses shall I attend?
Apart from the Welcome/Induction meeting, there is no prescribed route through the Graduate Skills Development Programme. However, you are strongly advised to only take training that is relevant and timely. For guidance, the courses guide and schedule will identify the target audience. For example a new research student should not attend a course on 'Surviving the Viva', and a final year student would not be expected to attend a course on 'Effective Time Management and Recording'.
Other courses, such as 'Working under Pressure' and 'Ethics of Research' may be useful for all students.
7. Do I need to do any work before the course or workshop?
For most events there is no preparatory work. However, for some events, there are important pre-requisites and some preparatory work is essential. You may be turned away from a course if it becomes apparent that you have not undertaken the necessary work involved.
8. Do I need my supervisors support to attend?
The University requires all supervisors and students to discuss training and development as part of the ongoing supervisory process, and your supervisor should regularly help you to identify, acquire and review your skills. However, as part of your research training all research students are encouraged to take responsibility for their own professional and personal development.
9. How do I book a place on a course?
To book a place on a GSDP course or workshop, please complete the online booking form. Once booked onto a course or workshop you will received a confirmatory email and further information about times, location, what to bring and further information about the course. Email will be used for all correspondence to university email addresses.
10. What should I do if I am unable to attend after booking?
If you book on to a course, workshop or other event, you are expected to attend. If you are unable to attend you must inform the organisers at scigradskills@reading.ac.uk. You may be charged a fee for non-attendance. If a course is full there may be a waiting list, and another student will be able to take your place. We contact all students who book and do not attend, and reserve the right to remove persistent 'no-show' students from future participation in the GSDP.
11. What if a course that I would like to attend is fully booked?
If a course you wish to attend is fully booked, we will put you on a reserve list and email you if a place becomes available. For very popular events we will try to organise repeat courses throughout the year. So please check your email box regularly.
12. What if I need training in something not offered in the programme?
If there are particular generic skills courses that you would like offered, please get in touch. If there are enough other students interested, then we may be able to help. However, please note that we do not offer one-to-one training, nor do we offer training in specific research methods. Please speak to your School or Department about this.
13. I have accessibility and special requirements, whom should I inform?
Please contact us about any specific requirements – there is also a section on the booking form to inform us of your needs. Contact us at scigradskills@reading.ac.uk
14. Cancellation of a course
On occasion, we may need to cancel a course or workshop due to a presenter being ill, or a last minute room problem, or not enough people registered to make a course viable. This does not happen often and we apologise in advance should this situation occur. All participants will be advised by email, and where possible, we will automatically transfer you to a re-scheduled session.
15. Any other questions?
If you have any other questions, please contact us at scigradskills@reading.ac.uk.