Postgraduate Skills Record

What is the rationale for doing this?

How does it fit with institutional strategy?

What are the main features of the provision?

What are the aims and expected outcomes?

Introduced in order to embed personal and professional skills development recording and planning within the context of the more academic requirements of a research degree. The original concept was adapted with permission from the Royal Society of Chemistry's Postgraduate Skills Record and has been tailored to encompass pre-existing University requirements to help the various elements be viewed as an integrated whole rather than as separate components. Most of the elements are mandatory, ensuring that students and supervisors do indeed engage with the process of personal and professional skills development.

The University has introduced PDP for taught programmes and it is a natural progression to embrace postgraduate researchers within this wider framework. The tools used are not prescribed by the University and can therefore be designed to meet the specific needs and context of the programme and students concerned. The Postgraduate Skills Record sits within a broader framework of University and departmental training, including central and local research forums, a research and innovation week, attendance at taught courses and external conferences and the like. The aim is to help address Roberts' concerns with personal and professional skills development by bringing these issues firmly onto the agenda for research students and supervisors.

The Postgraduate Skills Record encompasses a range of mandatory activities including: project planning, postgraduate induction, the research student-supervisor agreement, submission of the research project for registration, the annual research progress report and action plan, transfer from MPhil to PhD. In addition, a voluntary 'skills audit' is included to enable more detailed consideration and planning of skills development if this is seen as desirable by the student.

The aim is to help address Roberts' concerns with personal and professional skills development by bringing these issues firmly onto the agenda for research students and supervisors.

Are there any pre-requisites for engagement, e.g. levels of skill, years of experience, essential pre-activities?

How many participate in each 'activity'?

None

The Postgraduate Skills Record is introduced to the University's 15 or so new research students each year and then used in consultation with supervisors throughout their programme. Students already on-programme at the time it was implemented have engaged with it from the start of the relevant year. The record forms an integral part of a student's annual research progress report and action plan.

How do you monitor effectiveness?

Who do you seek feedback from?

Do you have benchmarks?

The main benefit is that professional and personal skills development is brought more 'centre-stage' using a device which integrates skills development with the more academic requirements of a research degree. Also, because of the University's research student progress-monitoring requirements, students and supervisors are actually obliged to engage with the skills development agenda.

There was some resistance to the Record at the time of its introduction, largely from the more traditional supervisors. However by providing further explanation of the context and rationale alongside illustrative approaches to facilitating engagement with the tool, it is anticipated that resistance will lessen over time.

The Record is the core tool for encouraging and requiring students and supervisors to engage with the skills agenda. Outside of this, the University is developing more innovative practices relating to provision of opportunities for postgraduate and postdoctoral researchers to develop presentation, discussion, networking and business-related skills through an annual, University-wide research forum and a 'research and innovation' week.