Case studies

Here are some thoughts from current students on the training they have undertaken; these could give you some useful ideas for your own training!

Jessica Wiegand (General Training):
"Initially, the thought of doing eight days worth of training a year is daunting. However, exactly what training you choose to undertake is very flexible, which makes it a really useful addition to your PhD. While I have done training that is directly related to aiding my research such as computer software courses and participation in relevant workshops, I have done a variety of other things as well. I took up a foundation French language course, did an accredited navigation course (National Navigation Award Scheme) which had me tramping round the Peak District in the snow for a weekend, volunteered teaching GCSE students at a local school about sustainability and carbon footprinting through the 'Researchers in Residence' scheme, took a week-long residential course offered by my funding body (ESRC) on business opportunity, another single day one on 'dealing with the media', and have also demonstrated to undergraduates both in the field and in the classroom. The ability to take up this training not only looks good on the CV, but is also a welcome break from your desk! I took the chance to tailor the training that I did to my interests, and now rather than struggling to make up the hours I'm struggling to keep them down. It's a great opportunity to meet new people and increase skills and I would recommend to anyone to take it."

Helen Laycock (Training on campus):
"Post-graduate training on campus comes in two forms – the courses provided by the Graduate Training Unit (GTU), and those provided by Computing Services. The GTU courses cover everything from getting started with your PhD, maintaining your motivation during it, giving presentations, and getting your work published at the end. I've found these courses to be a bit hit and miss. They are good if you have a spare afternoon and fancy a natter with fellow PhD students, but can seem to drag if you have lots of work that you could be getting on with. Basically, if you like group discussions and flip charts, you'll be in heaven! Even so, I would recommend the courses about the procedures involved in doing a PhD, such as 'Preparing for upgrade', 'Completing your PhD' and 'Preparing for your viva', because these do give you some really essential facts, like what you need to have done in order to upgrade and what forms you have to fill in before you can submit your thesis. When it comes to the courses offered by Computing Services, I can unreservedly recommend these. You can learn how to use Access and referencing software, and how to create such a large document as your PhD thesis. For most of the courses, you can actually download the work booklet from the Computing Services web pages and work through them in your own time, so you don’t have to set aside entire days. Although, if you do go along to one of the timetabled courses, there will be staff on hand to help you with any problems. Either way, you will probably learn something that will save you valuable time as you go through your PhD, and will have the work booklet for future reference in case you forget anything."

Emily Goodman (GRAD training, now vitae):
"If you are in your second year or above of your PhD I highly recommend attending a GRAD course. GRAD courses are designed for postgraduate researchers to assess and develop their personal effectiveness, networking and teamworking, communication and career management skills. They allow you to identify ways to develop yourself, to see the relevance of your skills in different environments and to feel more able to promote yourself and your abilities. They also give you the opportunity to meet lots of other people in similar situation to you and most importantly they are lots of fun!

If you are funded by a UK research council you can attend for free, otherwise other sources of funding are available, check out the website for further details. Courses are either local (non-residential and only 1-2 days long), or national (residential and 4-5 days long). I went on a national grad school that was held near Lake Windermere in the Lake District that was 5 days long. This course included half a day of outdoor activities, which meant lots of fun playing on ropes course etc.! The course was held in a big old hotel, as much food as you could eat was provided and there was even a swimming pool (not that there was time to use it ever!).

You are put into groups of about 10, and each group is assigned two mentors, these are people from all walks of life, but who all seemed to have very interesting careers and were very willing to talk about how they got there and any other areas they knew about. During the course there were lots of activities but the one that was really useful was the CV workshop, job application and mock job interview sessions. Of particular interest is the Environment Grad school that is run once a year. This is a 3 day residential course held in London. It covers much of the same areas as the normal courses, but most of the mentors are from the environmental sector, and it is tailored to PhD students trying to find work in the environmental sector. It gets booked up very quickly each year though so get in there fast!

If you get the opportunity to go on one of these courses I highly recommend it - it may seem like taking a week out of your PhD is not possible, but the rewards you will get from going on one of these courses, in terms of future employability, confidence, meeting new friends etc greatly outweigh the loss of one week out from work, and you will probably go back with a lot more motivation and enthusiasm towards your work than when you left."