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In April 2008, the HERDA-SW Research Management Group Research Training network submitted a proposal to run a pilot South West Universities GRADschool during 2008/9. The aim of the proposal was to demonstrate and pilot a mutually beneficial regional collaboration in the area of generic skills training for research students.

This Forum allows research staff the valuable opportunity to join discussions, hear developments, share practice and network.

This conference showcases presentations and posters from UoP research students. We offer research students a valuable opportunity to practice presenting, listen to presenters, test their posters, view the work of other research students and, participate in the overall experience of a cross-discipline researcher conference.

As a follow up to our ‘SmartStart’ PhD inductions (see practice 929) that we organise or the Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry (PCMD; in collaboration with the University of Plymouth) we hold an ‘Annual Researcher Event’. All doctoral students at PCMD are required to attend the two-day residential event, where they present on an aspect of their research to an audience consisting of their peers and academic staff from PDMC. Each year two students receive an award for their outstanding presentation and abstract. The event is also complimented by an annual dinner.

Information literacy workshops for the research student community at Cardiff University are embedded into the central Graduate Centre’s Research Students Skills Development Programme to ensure a one-stop shop for postgraduate training.

This one day session allows PGRs and research staff to participate in media training. Delivered by two accomplished ex-journalists, this session provides a practical approach to communicating research to the media and wider public through written, radio and TV interviews.

These two half day sessions are designed to develop key communication skills for the viva. The main focus for 'debating skills' is on developing practical skills that will be useful for students in both presenting an argument (in a thesis or an academic paper), and in defending those ideas in a viva or a seminar. The main focus for 'the thesis defence' is to provide a valuable opportunity for students to practice defending their thesis.

PhD students are given a budget to use to organise their own seminar series, both of their peers, who typically are not invited to Departmental seminars and 'big' names who are often monopolised by staff.

We have strived to improve our PGR induction provision by developing a more interactive and timely session entitled ‘SmartStart’. The session brings together academic and professional development staff with current PhD researchers to deliver a high quality, dynamic start to their research studies.

This is a collaborative project in which the Universities of Exeter, Bath and Bristol are producing online e-learning skills recourses to part-time or distance based PhD researchers at the three institutes.