Training for Researchers

Developing research, subject specific, personal and professional expertise is crucial to the success of your future career. The skills and experience that got you to where you are now will not necessarily be sufficient to get you to where you want to go next, and so it is important that you continue to develop both depth and breadth of your expertise. The importance of this has been recognised by stakeholders such as the Research Councils and RCUK, and is now supported by two documents - the Researcher Development Framework (RDF) and Researcher Development Statement (RDS).

The RDF describes the knowledge, behaviours and attributes that researchers might be expected to develop at different stages in their career. It has been designed to support the personal, professional and career development of individual researchers, helping them to plan their own professional pathways. Details of the RDF, including background information about its development, can be found here.

The RDS is a more concise document that has been derived from the RDF. The RDS is intended to be used by organisations that provide training for researchers. Further details of the RDS are here.

The following information provides details of the training available for researchers in the MPLS* Division and departments.

Graduate Academic Programme (GAP)

The GAP brings together all the training available in this and all other MPLS* departments, comprising an extensive range of courses for graduate research students and postdoctoral researchers. There are around 350 courses available throughout the academic year, including: For details of the courses available and to sign-up, please log into the Graduate Academic Programme (you will need your Oxford Single Sign-On).

*MPLS (Mathematical, Physical, and Life Sciences) is one of four academic divisions in the University. The departments that make up MPLS are: Chemistry, Computing Laboratory, Earth Sciences, Engineering, Materials, Mathematics, Physics, Plant Sciences, Statistics, Zoology, the Oxford eResearch Centre, and the Doctoral Training Centres in the Life Sciences Interface, Systems Biology, and Systems Approaches to Biomedical Science.

Skills Training

Departmental

Studying for a DPhil requires an aptitude for original, independent and critical thinking, as well as the ability to write reports, present data and manage projects. Additionally, working at the interface between the life and physical sciences requires a particularly high degree of flexibility as the presentation of research can differ greatly across disciplines.

The Research Skills programme, which runs throughout the four years at the Doctoral Training Centre, is designed not only to equip students with the necessary skillset to carry out their research at Oxford, but also provides an opportunity to develop personal transferable skills.

Through a series of lectures and seminars students will be able to improve their competence and confidence as researchers. These qualities are not only key in research but equally important in many careers.

Research Skills training covers bioethics, scientific methodology, public understanding of science, reading scientific literature across disciplines, scientific writing, poster production, publishing a research paper, presentation and communication skills, management skills, managing your DTP DPhil, interview techniques and career development.

Divisional

The Mathematical, Physical, and Life Sciences Division aims to provide a range of courses you will find useful at various stages during your research and will support you in your study and / or professional development and future career.

We hope these courses will help you hone your research and scientific skills, work with other people, communicate with the world around you about your research, and help you to manage your own work and career effectively. Courses from the following areas are available: You will also develop skills and expertise during your day to day work in your research group and department. It is therefore worth developing awareness of training and keeping records of your skills and professional development. An account of students' skills training must be presented at transfer and confirmation of status. For more information on the Division's courses, please see our courses page.

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