Postgraduate Research Students
Welcome to the Learning Institute pages for Postgraduate Research Students.
On these pages you can find information about training and development opportunities within the Learning Institute, in other departments within the college, and outside QM. There are also resources for students with teaching responsibilities, and information and documents to help you with Personal Development Planning. Please follow the links in the side-bar to find out about all these areas.
“The product that the PhD researcher creates is not the thesis – vital though that is to their subject area through the creation of original knowledge – no, the product of their study is the development of themselves”
- Sir Gareth Roberts
What skills can you expect to develop during your PhD?
During your research you will develop a high level of knowledge and expertise in your field, together with research specific skills including analytical techniques, technical skills and an understanding of the wider implications of your work. You will also develop a range of other skills which will be valuable to you during your PhD and throughout your career, whether you choose to stay in academia or move into a different field. These skills, including the ability to present information to different audiences, to build productive relationships, to manage your time effectively and to motivate yourself, are known as transferable skills.
Why are transferable skills important?
When the term “transferable skills” is mentioned, people often think it means “skills I don’t need for my research” or “skills I won’t ever need because I want an academic career”, but in reality if you think of the skills it takes to complete a PhD or become a successful academic it becomes obvious that many of the skills fall under the “transferable” label. During your PhD these may include the self-motivation and enthusiasm needed to work on your research project for three years, the ability to make contacts and collaborations with other researchers, the ability to present your work both verbally at meetings and in writing in the form of reports, papers and ultimately your thesis, and countless other skills such as time-management and negotiation. Those in more senior academic positions also require additional skills such as managing people, budgeting and bidding for funding.
After your PhD, whatever career area you choose to go into, these kinds of skills are what employers will be looking for. The ability to recognise these skills in yourself and demonstrate them on application forms is crucial for a successful career both inside and outside academia. PhD graduates are highly valued by many employers precisely for these kinds of transferable skills – their motivation, teamworking skills, ability to think critically etc.
How can you develop your transferable skills?
At the start of your PhD you will probably find that you have many transferable skills already. The skills you have will depend on your background and past experience, and will therefore be different for everyone. This is why it is important for each PhD student to think individually about what skills they already have, and what other skills they would like to develop. This can be aided through a process known as Personal Development Planning (PDP).
Once you have identified a set of skills you wish to improve, there are many ways to do this during your PhD, and all full-time PhD students at Queen Mary are expected to take part in two weeks of transferable skills training activities per academic year (part-time students should complete a pro-rata rate of training as appropriate). Suggested activities include attending and presenting at conferences, participating in or helping to organise journal clubs, writing groups and seminar series, and attending training courses or workshops. Selection of appropriate activities and courses should form part of your relationship with your supervisor.