Training and research skills

Accessing training for your individual circumstances will help you to complete your research on time and achieve your personal and professional development goals. 

Accessing training resources and providers 

A variety of professional services contribute to your personal and professional development: 

Organisational Development and Professional Learning (OD&PL) are the University’s primary training and development provider.  They provide short courses, one-to-one advice, coaching, mentoring, personal development planning and online resources for PGRs and staff.  BOOST is OD&PL's programme to support the career development of researchers and offers workshops, resources and discussions to equip you with the skills and confidence to take control of your career.

Researcher@Library offers workshops and webinars for support with literature searching, open access, research data management, using EndNote, and increasing the visibility of your research.

LinkedIn Learning offers over 5,000 short courses across business, creative, technical specialties and research software and coding. All students, PGRs and staff can access LinkedIn Learning through our institutional subscription. You do not need a LinkedIn account to access the content, but if you do, you can connect your account which will allow you to publish your course completions to your profile. There is also the Doctoral College collection, bringing together our resources and recommended external courses. 

The Careers Centre offer guidance and support for issues which are specific to PGRs, including: 

  • Deciding what to do after your research degree
  • Destinations of PGRs; what have graduates in your area gone on to do?  
  • What the job market looks like for researchers 
  • Planning a career in academia, or the many alternative paths open to PGRs 

You can book a one-to-one appointment with a Career Consultant to talk through any questions you might have. 

You may also find it useful to look at the Researcher Development Framework (RDF), a reference point for researcher development widely used in the UK and internationally. The RDF was developed by Vitae, the UK’s national organisation for the development of researchers. The University of Leeds is a member of Vitae: you can set up an account using your university email address which will allow access to their full resources. 

Your school or faculty will also offer support, and you can also ask to meet with the Director of Postgraduate Research Studies for your school to review progress and any matters of concern.  

Getting started with your training 

Training and development plan 

Having an effective training plan will help you to make the most of the training opportunities available during your research degree. Please discuss your needs with your supervisor and make sure you record your training plan on GRAD within three months of starting your studies. You can find out more information about this on the Training Plan page of the For Students website.

Key training courses 

These are the key courses to help you understand the requirements and stages of your research degree. You should refer to these in your first few weeks and months of starting your research degree, but you can also come back to them at any time throughout your studies. 

Doctoral College induction programme 

This will help you to understand the requirements of the first stages of your research degree and the journey to transfer. You can access the programme via the Induction and Welcome page of the For Students website.

Developing good supervisor relationships

This course will help you to develop and maintain an effective working relationship with your supervisor, to make the most of your supervision meetings and develop strategies for dealing with challenges.  It is run by OD&PL and will be advertised on their site.  

Data Management training and support 

You should have a data management plan in place by no later than the transfer stage, and check your plan again during your annual progress reviews. You can find help and guidance on the Library Research Support website including courses to help you with research data management. 

Academic integrity, research integrity and research ethics training 

This compulsory training will develop your awareness of good academic practice, what that means during your research degree at Leeds, and how to apply these principles as you conduct your research.  You can read more about the training and access the resources via the Research practice training and tests page of the For Students website.

Developing your Academic Writing 

In partnership with the Language Centre, OD&PL currently offer three workshops to help PGRs with their academic writing. Each workshop is suitable for a different stage of your research degree:  

  • The Beginning Thesis Writer - for PGRs who are at the beginning of their studies (pre-transfer). 
  • The Developing Thesis Writer - for PGRs who are post-transfer or mid-way through their studies.  
  • The Finishing Thesis Writer - for PGRs who are in the process of drafting their thesis for submission. 

You can find dates for the next sessions by searching for the courses on the Training catalogue website. 

English Language 

During your first year of study (pre-transfer and ideally in the first six months), the Language Centre offers optional courses to help with your academic English language development. This includes core Language Skills courses and workshops, and one-to-one writing consultations. 

Key Travel 

The Purchasing team run a regular training webinar for PGRs on using the Key Travel online booking tool covering how to create an itinerary, how to book and the approvals process. Register online. 

Later on in your research degree 

Preparing for your upcoming year of study 

We know you receive lots of information during induction, which you might not remember through each year of study. Preparing for your upcoming year of study on Sharepoint is a resource for PGRs entering their second year and beyond to remind you of the key progression points and support (academic and pastoral) available to you, as well as more detailed information for PGRs who will be due to submit their thesis in the upcoming year. There are videos to add additional information and a PGR perspective.

Once you are through transfer, this course will help you think about the next stage in your research degree. As your research develops, you are likely to identify additional training needs. You should also actively look for professional development opportunities, such as conference presentations, teaching or outreach work.

There are two parts to the course: 

Checklist for your upcoming year

Thesis submission and the viva

 

Preparing for Your Viva 

Guidance on the viva is available on the Thesis submission and viva page of the For Students website and in the Viva collection section in LinkedIn Learning. 

OD&PL offer a “Your Viva” workshop, which includes a mock viva. Information about the workshop and how to book will be available via ODPL’s Postgraduate researcher development website. 

If you are unable to attend the workshop, or you particularly want to experience answering viva questions in a video streamed environment, you can request a mock viva by emailing researcherdev@leeds.ac.uk. You are also entitled to ask your supervisor to do a mock viva with you; support from OD&PL is offered in addition to any support from your supervisor.