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This analysis summarises responses to RCUK’s 2011 survey of research organisations (ROs) regarding the impact of Roberts funding to date, responses to changes in funding and strategies to 2013.

The 2011 survey was voluntary and consisted of open-ended questions. 

 

The data have a number of limitations as a result. Response rate was 50% of all ROs in receipt of Roberts funding in 2010/11, but this includes 92% of the Russell Group and 1994 Group research-intensive universities where much of the Roberts funding was concentrated.

Research staff and students have access to specialist careers guidance, information and training services provided by the Centre for Career Development in collaboration with the Graduate School and Professional Development.

These sessions allow PGRs to deliver an upcoming presentation to an internal audience in order that their presentation skills and style of slides can be critiqued before they go off and deliver it "for real" Each participant is recorded to DVD and is given verbal and written feedback. Primarily about their presentation skills and style, but also about the style of their slides and, if the appropriate academics are in attendance - about the academic content of the presentation.

Our Loughborough Local GRADschool is now well established and ready to increase in size. We run a three day, non-residential model. This gives us a good balance between sustainability and impact. It is held open primarily for third year research students and has a real empahsis on what happens next after the PhD.

Online induction package for First Year Doctoral Researchers. DR Essentials is a stand-alone online course placed on the self-registration area of WebCT . Doctoral Researchers can access it by adding it to their university online profiles. The course contains five separate modules covering key stages of the incipient doctoral research career. Each module combines content with a number of embedded talking heads that capture the views of Doctoral Researchers and Supervisors across the institution. At the end of each module there is a check list of tasks that should be completed. DR Essentials in its original version was developed at the University of Melbourne in Australia. The version used at the University of Birmingham has been developed by a team of experts from the Centre for Learning and Academic Development (CLAD) and the University Graduate School to meet the needs of researchers at Birmingham. The course is self-paced and users can dip into or work through in its entirety as they may need.

The Short Introduction to Project Management is aimed at postgraduate researchers in the early stages of their research degree. It forms part of a portfolio of Project Management programmes of different lengths and levels of depth that postgraduate researchers can use to tailor their own development. Resources required are fairly basic - a training room with projection equipment and pen and paper for the interactive sections. The session is delivered by a single trainer.

Real Creativity is a highly experiential, developmental creativity course which allows participants to work in real time on real problems over a two day programme. It was developed by Skyward coaching and development.

The Graduate School Great Debate runs twice a year. Two teams of PGRs come together to debate a PGR generated topic with an open audience which normally attracts other PGRs and academic staff

An ePortfolio is an external facing website owned and maintained by a research student.