PhD education

Training Schedule Fall Semester 2023/2024 online now

Getting your PhD is more than just conducting a research project. It is also a time during which you are expected to develop, improve, and refine your academic and transferable skills. A guideline for this is the PhD Competence Model, in essence a self-assessment tool, that outlines a set of core competencies every PhD candidate should develop during their PhD.

Your individual training programme has to include the compulsory* training in Responsible Conduct of Research as well as in teaching (if you have teaching tasks) but further strongly depends on your individual training needs. Training in discipline-relevant research skills or knowledge is generally offered within the research institutes or (inter-)national research schools. Discipline-overarching training is offered by the GSNS (see below) or UU-wide through the Development guide. You may also find suitable training elsewhere.

Please be aware that courses may involve a registration fee - talk to your supervisors about the available budget.

Training and Supervision Agreement (TSA), training registration & progress monitoring

It is important to regularly discuss your educational needs with your supervisors.

At the start of your PhD trajectory you fill in the Training and Supervision Agreement (TSA) together with your supervisors and subsequently upload it to MyPhD under the TSA-tab.
After you have completed a training or course register them - together with the certificates - under the Portfolio-tab in MyPhD.
Discuss your progress during your annual Assessment and Development interviews (employees) or PhD progress meetings (non-employees) with your supervisor(s) and in meetings with your mentor. You may utilize the PhD Competence Model for these discussions as well.

Cancellation & No-show policy

Most courses offered by GSNS are free of charge, which does not mean free of responsibility: Once you have signed up for a course or training, you are expected to attend. We are handling the following cancellation and no-show policy:

Cancellation of the course registration is possible up to the registration deadline (usually 2 weeks before the course; 3 weeks for COSKA & ARTESC courses). After this date you can only cancel if you have a GSNS PhD candidate to replace you in the course. Send the name and contact information of your replacement to science.phd@uu.nl, at least 2 working days before the start of the course.
We expect you to actively attend the full course.
Not meeting the requirements above means that you will be charged a no-show fee: €50 for every course <1 day; €200 for courses >1 day. An invoice will be sent to you after the course has ended.
Exceptions to this policy will only be made for valid reasons (i.e., illness or death in the family 1^st/2^nd degree or partner), communicated by e-mail to science.phd@uu.nl

Download this policy as PDF here.

GSNS Training certificate & requirements

Toward the end of the PhD, you can request a GSNS Training Certificate if your training portfolio registered in MyPhD meets the requirements outlined below.

In addition to your PhD Diploma, the Training Certificate demonstrates that you have actively participated in doctoral education and developed your personal competencies during your PhD. It also serves as transcript of the training that you have taken while pursuing your PhD.
To obtain a GSNS PhD Training Certificate, the PhD candidate should have done a minimum of 5 ECTS (European Credit Transfer System; 1 credit = 28 hours and 1.5 credits = 1 week) for each fulltime equivalent year of research appointment. A minimum of 20% of the total credits is spend on transferrable skill training.

Please request your Training Certificate at least 8 weeks before your PhD defence.

*compulsory for PhDs that started on or after Sep. 1st 2021.

GSNS PhD Courses

Starting your PhD is exciting, but it can also feel like a jump into the unknown.
You would probably like to meet other starting PhD-students from our faculty and share experiences! You would like to learn more about your rights and duties as a PhD-student and about the possibilities for PhD-students in the University itself. And you may have questions such as: How do I best benefit from my collaboration with my supervisor? How can I work as efficiently as possible? What are the do’s and don’ts for you as a PhD-student?

This free introductory course for GSNS PhD candidates in the first months of their trajectory offers you the best way to kickstart your PhD.

In two sessions, we will focus on the following issues, which are important for starting PhD candidates:

Communicating with your supervisors
Planning your project and finishing on time
Skills & Personal Development for your PhD and future career
Enlarging your network
Practical & administrative issues (e.g. Course possibilities, MyPhD)

Course fee

This course is free of charge.

Planning

As mentioned above, the training exists out of two sessions, one on a Monday and one on a Thursday. The Monday session will take place from 10 AM till 12:30 PM, the Thursday session will take place from 15:00 till 17:30. Drinks and bites included at the end of the second session (in-person training only).

Dates & location

Please note: details on locations coming soon.

	Session 1	Session 2		Registration
Training 1	Mon 11/09/2023 10h-13h	Thu 21/09/23 15h-18h	on site - location tba	Registration closed
Training 2	Mon 09/10/23 10h-13h	Thu 26/10/23 15h-18h	on site - location tba	Register here until Oct 1st
Training 3	Mon 20/11/23 10h-13h	Thu 30/11/23 15h-18h	online	Register here until Nov. 5th
Training 4	Mon 15/01/23 10h-13h	Thu 25/01/23 15h-18h	on site - location tba	Register here until Jan. 1st
Training 5	Mon 11/03/23 10h-13h	Thu 11/03/23 15h-18h	on site - location tba	Register here until Feb. 25th
Training 6	Mon 27/05/23 10h-13h	Thu 06/06/23 15h-18h	online	Register here until May 13th

Keep the GSNS cancellation & no-show policy in mind. With questions concerning the registration mail science.phd@uu.nl

Trainer 

Jet Haasbroek (m.e.c.haasbroek@uu.nl)

Compulsory training - Responsible Conduct of Research

Compulsory for all PhDs that started on or after September 1st 2021

The GSNS organizes the Responsible Conduct of Research training, which consists of multiple modules, spread across the full PhD trajectory and tailored to the different stages of a PhD.
The first session in year 1 is a half-day training whereas in year 2 and year 3 the training consists of two SPOCs (Online course module combined with one or two on-campus meetings). The training is completed in year 4 with another half-day group session. During all these modules you will discuss different aspects of responsible conduct of research and academic integrity, illustrated by a wide variety of cases, and share your experiences with fellow PhD candidates.

Please note that we currently only offer the training session of year 1 and one SPOC. Two other SPOCs (‘Data in responsible conduct of research’ & ‘Supervision, mentoring & working together’) as well as the year 4 training session will be launched in the academic year 2023/2024 & 2024/2025.

Should I agree with a colleague becoming co-author of a paper to which they have not made significant contribution?
My supervisor is asked to review a paper for a journal, and asks me to take a look at it as well, should I do this?
My co-authors and I disagree about the authorship order on a paper, what should we do?

During your PhD process, all kinds of questions arise surrounding authorship and peer review. In this training we will address several well-known cases that occur on a regular basis in publishing and reviewing practices and discuss how to recognize problematic situations and how to devise strategies for dealing with them.

As research integrity concerns everyone in the academic community, and since most of us have no intention of engaging in scientific misconduct, our course will not be focused on serious misbehaviour. Rather, we will zoom in on the so-called ‘grey zone’, where issues that occur in everyone’s daily life in the lab or workplace may raise questions about the best way to react, in accordance with the rules and norms of responsible conduct of research.

Outline

The training consists of a three-week online course combined with two face-to-face meetings. The online course takes place in small groups; participants will interact with each other frequently. Each week, new course materials will become available, and you are expected to log in yourself and start with the learning activities. Some of these activities involve interaction with other participants, while others can be done individually. Throughout the course, you will be invited to, if you want to, share your own experiences, and to think carefully about what you need to become better equipped to face and deal with integrity issues. In this way, we aim to make the course as relevant and practical as possible.

Training dates 2023/2023 coming soon

Two in-person session in the first and second week + online assignments (approximately 5h/week)

For the training you will be split in 4 groups.

Groups		date	time	location
Group 1	meeting 1	tba	tba	tba
Group 1	meeting 2	tba	tba	tba
Group 2	meeting 1	tba	tba	tba
Group 2	meeting 2	tba	tba	tba
Group 3	meeting 1	tba	tba	tba
Group 3	meeting 2	tba	tba	tba
Group 4	meeting 1	tba	tba	tba
Group 4	meeting 2	tba	tba	tba

Registration

Registration is opening soon

Please note that this course is limited to 25 participants. In case of high demand we will be working with a waiting list on a first come first serve basis.

Please keep the GSNS cancellation & no-show policy in mind.

Trainers

Hieke Huistra and Abigail Nieves-Delgado

Course fee

This training is mandatory and free.

Course certificate

Participants will receive a certificate of completion.

Training in Teaching

Training in teaching is compulsory for all PhD Candidates with teaching tasks that started on or after September 1st 2021

The GSNS, Faculty of Science and Utrecht University offer various types of training in teaching (see below). These range from training in supervising (master) students, to basic didactic training for starting lecturers (e.g. Start to Teach from CAT or Teacher Training for PhD Candidates from the Faculty of Science) and - for PhD Candidates with extended teaching tasks - to the training programme of our faculty for the University Teaching Qualification (UTQ training programme; basiskwalificatie onderwijs (BKO) leergang).

Depending on your teaching tasks, teaching load and ambition for university education you might need different (combinations of) training. Discuss the options with your supervisory team and plan accordingly.

Please note:
(1) If you have the possibility to obtain your UTQ during your PhD, keep in mind that other courses do not provide exemption for the UTQ training programme.
(2) All combinations of training in teaching are possible, though PhD Candidates that aim to obtain their UTQ are advised to follow Start to Teach instead of Teacher Training for PhD Candidates in combination with their UTQ training programme.

GSNS Electives

Course description

Academic writing is one of the more important skills any researcher should have. No matter how brilliant or innovate your research, it is of little value if you cannot communicate your insights clearly and convincingly in scientific articles, so that peer researchers can both verify and build on it. They say the best scientists are also the best writers! Fortunately, writing is a skill that you can learn, and the learning process can be a fun one if given the right tools.

In this 8-week course, you will learn how to improve your writing strategies, build up your text, structure your writing, and write in a clear and professional academic style. Learning takes place through e-learning modules on the ULearning platform, supplemented with several online meetings.

Learning objectives

This course is a thorough preparation for the writing task of the PhD student. We pay special attention to the problem of starting up the writing process: how to overcome writer’s block and other challenges. You will learn how to compose a coherent line of thought, and how to design, write, analyze, and edit a scientific paper with an eye for cohesion, clarity, and conciseness. By working on these issues, you will gain confidence in writing and eventually become a more successful scientist.

Prerequisites

You should either be working on a paper, or ready to write anything (a minimum of 600 words) about your PhD research, such as a literature overview or a short report of recent results. Usually, this requires that you have started your PhD at least three months ago.

This course teaches how to write an academic text in the natural or life sciences, but does not delve deeply into genre-specific details, such as how to write a Results or Method section. This makes this Academic Writing 1 course suitable for any type of paper, report, or proposal, and for any field within the natural or life sciences.

Those interested in learning more about writing a scientific paper in the IMRaD structure (Introduction – Methods – Results – Discussion) can proceed with following the course Academic Writing 2: Writing a Scientific Paper with Impact after completing this course (course 1 is a prerequisite to course 2; both courses are 1 EC). Academic Writing 2 will start in 2024.

Instructional method

You are trained through weekly e-learning modules on the ULearning platform consisting of theory, examples, short knowledge clips, and interactive exercises. Throughout the course, you will also engage in peer feedback, and receive feedback from your teacher. There will be 4 online meetings, each 1 hour long, in which you can get to know your teachers and peers, and engage in discussion.

The course consists of 8 modules, spread over 8 weeks:

The writing process and writing strategies
Structuring a text by composing a writing plan
Paragraphs: key sentences and internal structure
Sentence readability and tools for cohesion
Academic style and revision techniques
Energizing verbs (active/passive, nominalizations) and secrets to concise writing
Correct English (punctuation, spelling and grammar)
Solidifying and deepening knowledge and skills

This course is specially designed for PhD students in the natural and life sciences, and the provided examples will be from natural and life sciences writing. It will, therefore, feel different than general language courses that you may have followed before, and more applicable to your current needs as a scientist.

Teacher

You will be trained by one of the teachers of the Communication Skills Academy (see our Team page for short biographies). The course schedule below shows the teacher for each group.

Group Size

8 to 12 participants

Number of credits

1.5 EC

Course schedule

You can register for one of two groups in the spring of 2023, see data below. From the start date, learning units will become available each week for you to complete, for a total duration of 8 weeks. In week 2, 3, 6, and 7, there will be online meetings (see data below).

Meetings are from 11:00-12:00h.

	Group 1	Group 2
Teacher	Kim van Ommering	Patrick Moore
Start Date	Sep 25	Oct 23	online
Meeting week 2	Thursday Oct 5	Wednesday Nov 1	online
Meeting week 3	Thursday Oct 12	Wednesday Nov 8	online
Meeting week 6	Thursday Nov 2	Wednesday Nov 29	online
Meeting week 7	Thursday Nov 9	Wednesday Dec 6	online
Final deadline	Nov 19	Dec 17	online

The average amount of time you will need to spend on the course is 5 hours/week. Note that this does not include the time of doing the actual writing of your paper or writing task, but it includes the time needed to improve this writing or undertake specific assignments with it. If you do not have a writing task that you are already doing, this course may take you a little extra time.

Apart from the meetings and a few minor deadlines that may be mid-week (usually when interaction with peers is required in the second half of the week), you are free to plan your course work anywhere in the week as long as you complete the units of the week before the next ones are released on Monday.

Course registration

Please register here for Group 1 before Sep. 1st.
Please register here for Group 2 before Oct. 1st.

Each group is limited to 12 participants on a first come first serve basis. If a group is full we work with waiting lists.

Please keep the GSNS cancellation & no-show policy in mind.

Course certificate

You will receive a course certificate after completing all 8 learning units and being an active participant on the online platform.

When you present, you expect your audience to be attentive throughout your talk - after all, they love science. Sadly, this is rarely the case. We blame this on a short attention span, but why can the same audience watch movies for hours on end? Apparently, actors and playwrights have found a way to engage their audience better. So, why not use their tools to learn how to present better? In this three-day course you will learn to engage your audience with theatrical skills and shape your content with storytelling and style tools. Master your performance skills and let your content take centre stage!

Learning objectives

During this course you will learn the fifteen signals necessary for effective communication. You will learn how to get attention at the start of your presentations and how to keep the audience attentive by using style and transitions. You will learn to design a presentation using story tools and supportive slides that allow you to be the main act on the stage and you will learn how to respond to questions effectively.

Instructional method

You will discover the necessary tools and apply them to your presenting. Various methods will be applied, such as theatre exercises, individual presenting exercises, group discussion, peer review, story design exercises and interactive lecturing. The course will be taught on-site

Trainer

You will be trained by a trainer of Artesc.

Number of credits

1.0 EC

Course certificate

You will receive a course certificate if you attend and complete at least 2.5 course days. You cannot miss the first morning session.

Course fee

€750

Quotes

"This course offered me a broad set of tools that will make my future presentations more exciting and interesting for both me and my audience"
"I learned how to bring myself into a presentation, to speak in a way that makes people listen. I also learned to really make contact with my audience and not just deliver information"
"Even though I thought I could already present pretty well, this course taught me many useful tips and tricks that can get your audience to really listen to what you are saying. This will greatly increase the impression you make."

Course Schedule 2023

Please not that the groups are limited to 7 participants

	Session 1	Session 2	Session 3	Registration & deadline
APS - Fall '23	Tuesday 07/11/2023 09:30-17:30 location tba	Tuesday 21/11/2023 09:30-17:30 location tba	Tuesday 05/12/2023 09:30-17:30 location tba	Register here before 17/10/2023
APS - Spring '24	Monday 26/02/2024 09:30-17:30 location tba	Tuesday 11/03/2024 09:30-17:30 location tba	Tuesday 25/03/2024 09:30-17:30 location tba	Register here before 05/02/2024

Contact science.phd@uu.nl with any questions regarding the course and (late) registration. Please keep the GSNS cancellation & no-show policy in mind.

The data support teams of the Faculty of Science and the Faculty of Geosciences are co-hosting a series of workshops on research data management topics in October and November 2023. More information as well as a detailed description of the workshop content can be found website of RDM support.

Registration for the workshops is required. During registration you can choose the workshop(s) and date(s) you want to register to. Register here

Please note: Upon registration you will be notified on the location of the workshop (s) you have registered to.

Workshop	Dates	Location
Organizing your data for reproducible research	Oct.3rd 11h-12h OR Nov. 16th 11h-12h	on-site
Documenting Research Data in a README file	Oct.2nd 13h-14h OR Nov.13th 10h-11h	on-site
Managing Research Data in Office365	Oct.3rd 14-15h OR Nov.16th 13h-14h	on-site
Preparing Metadata in Practice	Oct.2nd 10-11h OR Nov.13th 13-14h	on-site
Sharing Data within UU and Outside	Oct.5th 11-12h OR Nov.14th 11-12h	on-site
Managing Research Data in YoDa	Oct. 9th 13-14h OR Nov. 20th 13-14h	on-site
Getting started with Jupyter Notebooks	Oct. 12th 11-12h OR Nov. 23rd 11-12h	on-site
Making your project privacy compliant - 2h	Oct. 10th 13-15h OR Nov. 21st 13-15h	on-site
Planning Data and Software Management	Oct. 12th 13-14h OR Nov. 23rd 13-14h	on-site
Getting Started with Programming	Oct. 9th 10-11h OR Nov. 14th 13-14h	on-site
ONLY for the Faculty of Science: Data publication: taking your research from the lab to the journal - 1.5h	Oct. 26th 13:30-15h	on-site

For questions please contact rdm-beta@uu.nl

UU-wide PhD training

Language courses

Other useful information

If you have any questions or remarks regarding PhD education, please contact the Graduate School of Natural Sciences.

Links

The PhD Competence Model & self assessment tool
The Netherlands Centre of Expertise for Doctoral Education

Books

How to get a PhD (Phillips and Pugh)
The art of Being a Scientist (Snieder and Larner)
Klaar in vier jaar (in Dutch) (De Bruin and Hertz)

	Group 1	Group 2
Session 1	Nov. 8th 2023	April 17th 2024
Session 2	Nov. 22nd 2023	May 8th 2024
Session 3	Dec. 6th 2023	May 22nd 2024
Session 4	Jan. 17th 2024	June 5th 2024
Back-up	tba	June 19th 2024

Graduate School of Natural Sciences

PhD education

GSNS PhD Courses

Course fee

Planning

Dates & location

Trainer

Compulsory training - Responsible Conduct of Research

Outline

Dates 2023/2024 coming soon

Course fee

Course Certificate

Outline

Training dates 2023/2023 coming soon

Training in Teaching

GSNS Electives

Course description

Learning objectives

Prerequisites

Instructional method

Teacher

Group Size

Number of credits

Course schedule

Course registration

Course certificate

Learning objectives

Instructional method

Trainer

Number of credits

Course certificate

Course fee

Quotes

Course Schedule 2023

UU-wide PhD training

Language courses

Other useful information

PhD education

GSNS PhD Courses

PhD Intro Course: Taking Charge of Your PhD

Course fee

Planning

Dates & location

Trainer

Compulsory training - Responsible Conduct of Research

Year 1 - Becoming a Scientist: Integrity Issues in Practice

Outline

Dates 2023/2024 coming soon

Course fee

Course Certificate

Year 2 - Integrity in academic publication: authorship and peer review

Outline

Training dates 2023/2023 coming soon

Training in Teaching

Start to Teach - CAT

Teacher Training for PhD candidates - Faculty of Science

UTQ/BKO training programme - Faculty of Science

GSNS Electives

Academic Writing 1: Composing an Excellent Academic text - COSKA

Course description

Learning objectives

Prerequisites

Instructional method

Teacher

Group Size

Number of credits

Course schedule

Course registration

Course certificate

Art of Presenting Science - Artesc

Learning objectives

Instructional method

Trainer

Number of credits

Course certificate

Course fee

Quotes

Course Schedule 2023

Research Data Management workshops

UU-wide PhD training

UU Development Guide

UU Development Guide - Training Active Bystander

Language courses

Dutch Language Courses & Babel

Other useful information

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