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Review of Transferable Skills Training Provision for Postgraduate Researchers and Research Staff

at the University of Manchester

April 2009

Author: Claire Hughes, Skills Development Coordinator, Graduate Education Team

Project Sponsor:

Dr Catherine McCrohan, Associate Dean for Graduate Education Faculty of Life Sciences

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List of Appendices Appendix 1: Review of Transferable Skills Training Questionnaire Appendix 2: Faculty of EPS skills training provision for researchers

Appendix 3: Faculty of Humanities skills training provision for researchers Appendix 4: Faculty of FLS skills training provision for researchers Appendix 5: Faculty of MHS skills training provision for researchers

Appendix 6: Careers and Employability Division skills training provision for researchers Appendix 7: Johns Rylands University Library skills training provision for researchers

Appendix 8: Manchester Enterprise Centre (MEC) skills training provision for researchers

Appendix 9: Roberts Funded Positions 2009

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Executive Summary and Recommendations

At present a significant proportion of the postgraduate researchers and research staff skills training at the

University of Manchester is delivered at Faculty level, where each of the four faculties have developed uniquely

varying resources. It is recognised that different postgraduate programmes and research areas often have

diverse requirements; however the formation of the Manchester Doctoral College has provided the impetus for

this review as the University will need in the future to provide a “harmonised” framework for skills training

provision for postgraduate researchers, in particular to support cross-Faculty/School doctoral programmes.

Quantitative and qualitative data gathered through the course of the review highlights the breadth of training

currently available to postgraduate researchers and research staff across the University leading to the

conclusion that significant benefits could be derived from sharing a common skills training resource across the

University. Specifically, this could yield significant economy of scale and efficiency, both for development,

administration and delivery of training. In addition, it would help ensure that postgraduate research students

and research staff across the University have access to equivalent (though not the same) research and skills

training experiences during their time with the University. In realising this position, challenges and potential

barriers such as resources and funding, sustainability, variation of systems, training space and IP have been

identified as areas requiring full consideration.

In light of the observations obtained from undertaking a review of transferable skills training for postgraduate

researchers and research staff the following recommendations are proposed;

Recommendation 1:

Researcher development training teams should continue to be located at faculty level and play a key role in the

development and delivery of transferable skills training for postgraduate researchers and research staff.

It is recommended that faculty training teams, in close consultation with the Graduate Education Group (GEG),

identify the areas of skills training which can be delivered in a generic way irrespective of the discipline, areas

which ideally need to be contextualised to enhance engagement and learning outcomes, and areas which have

to be delivered within the discipline.

Recommendation 2:

The University should explore the degree to which it wishes to be prescriptive about minimum/compulsory

training requirements at an institutional level.

It is recommended that GEG discuss the matter of minimum/compulsory training requirements and whether the

University should formalise transferable skills training and provide a framework which results in a final award,

such as a PG Certificate or PG Diploma.

Recommendation 3:

The University should prioritise the need to build capacity in skills training, thus fostering internal expertise and

developing re-useable resources, and establishing mechanisms to guarantee sustainability post 2011.

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It is recommended that;

- Wherever possible transferable skills training resources are developed to be broadly applicable and

re-useable, for example e-learning programmes and workshop materials

- Faculties and central services should establish clear contingency plans which detail the level of

financial commitment to researchers training provision should Roberts funding cease

- Clear processes be established on how Roberts funding will be managed in the event that the current

‘ring-fencing’ is removed

- GEG should explore the feasibility of rolling out across the University the MHS model, of charging

HEI’s for their researchers to attend UoM skills training.

Recommendation 4:

Researchers should be provided with an explicit indication of the abilities and attributes expected from them at

various points throughout their postgraduate/research career.

It is recommended that in defining minimum researcher abilities and attributes the University considers the

findings of the ‘Academic Competencies’ project undertaken in the Faculty of Humanities and works in close

consultation with the national Vitae project, which has been tasked with developing an overarching competency

framework of professional learning for researchers.

Recommendation 5:

All faculties and schools should identify Academic Skills Training Champions for researcher transferable skills

training to promote and support the skills training agenda and offer academic input.

It is recommended that faculties and schools discuss the appointment of Academic Skills Training Champions

with their respective Associate Dean for Graduate Education, where such positions are not already in place.

Recommendation 6: The University should develop an institutional level database system of all researcher (PGR and research staff)

transferable skills and subject specific training provision which has the functionality to set parameters based

upon researcher profiles.

The database should also be searchable at participant level (e.g. PGR and Research Staff), provider level (e.g.

school, faculty, central, external), and skill area (e.g. presentation, networking). This will then enable students

and staff such as school and faculty trainers, supervisor teams and research staff line managers to view the full

breadth of training available and consider whether a researcher training need which cannot be addressed

locally can instead be met by an alternative provision.

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It is recommended that the eProg1 project team explore the possibility of incorporating the skills training

database within the eProg system.

Recommendation 7:

The University should adopt a standardised automated online booking system for researcher transferable skills

and subject specific training.

It is recommended that the eProg project team explore the functionality of existing faculty/central service

booking systems, including the Columba events booking system and determine whether a standardised

automated online booking system is possible within eProg.

Recommendation 8:

A University wide database of resources aimed at trainers and organisers of skills training should be developed

to facilitate the sharing of practices across schools, faculties and central services. This searchable database

should seek to include training session materials, video clips, tips on how the resource was used and up to date

contact details for further information.

It is recommended that the eProg project team explore the possibility of hosting a database of resources within

the eProg system and/or the Research Support website

Recommendation 9:

The University should develop a roll-out policy for existing online training programmes to enable local

customisation and compile a guidance document on the development of new online skills training programmes.

It is recommended that;

- The Central Skills Development Coordinator works in close consultation with the faculty training

teams and GEG on the compilation of a roll-out policy and guidance documentation

- An E-learning Developers Group, which focuses upon researcher skills training, be formed to

facilitate the sharing of best practice

Recommendation 10:

Dedicated training space should be provided for the delivering of researcher transferable skills training.

It is recommended that GEG undertake discussions on the provision of dedicated training space and explore the

feasibility of using space within the new Information Commons for this purpose.

Recommendation 11:

Mechanisms to evaluate the effectiveness and impact of researcher skills training should be established and

that these are consistent across the institution and align with external requirements.

1 The eProg project team have been tasked with developing a University-wide online progression monitoring system for postgraduate research students which allows progression to be recorded, monitored and reported on.

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It is recommended that;

- An Evaluation Working Group be established to define an institutional evaluation/impact framework

for researcher skills training

- Faculty and central service researcher training providers should submit an annual monitoring report

on researcher training provision to GEG and URG and that the template and guidance documentation

relating to this is compiled by the Central Skills Development Coordinator

Recommendation 12:

The University Skills Training Strategy and Policy should be revised in light of the findings and

recommendations of the institutional review of transferable skills training.

It is recommended that Central Skills Development Coordinator works in close consultation with the faculty

training teams and GEG on the revision of the current policy and strategy.

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Overview

At present a significant proportion of the postgraduate researchers and research staff skills training at the

University of Manchester is delivered at Faculty level, where each of the four faculties have developed uniquely

varying resources. It is recognised that different postgraduate programmes and research areas often have

diverse requirements; however the formation of the Manchester Doctoral College has provided the impetus for

this review as the University will need in the future to provide a “harmonised” framework for skills training

provision for postgraduate researchers, in particular to support cross-Faculty/School doctoral programmes.

There is a need to have processes in place to enable researchers to move across discipline boundaries and have

access to provision which meets their development needs. It is also recognised that access to some training is

currently dependent upon where researchers are based, often resulting in varying ‘Research Training

Experiences’ across the University.

Currently the University has in the region of 3520 registered postgraduate researchers and 1666 members of

research staff all of whom have access to their respective faculty training provision. Table 1 summarises the

numbers of postgraduate researchers and research staff within each of the four faculties as at 1st December

2008.

Table 1

Current no. of PG Researchers

% of overall University Total

Current no. of Research Staff

% of overall University Total

Faculty of EPS 1324 38% 549 33%

Faculty of Humanities 1139 32% 203 12%

Faculty of Life Science 338 10% 284 17%

Faculty of MHS 719 20% 630 38%

Overall University Tota 3520 100% 1666 100%

Aim of Report

This report aims to collate information on the current provision of transferable skills training available for

postgraduate researchers and research staff across the University, to identify areas of strength and perceived

gaps in existing practices and to consider the areas impacting upon the development of a “harmonised”

framework for skills training provision. The report’s findings and recommendations will help inform the

development of an institutional skills training strategy and policy, which in turn will facilitate the provision of a

coherent framework for skills training provision for postgraduate researchers and research staff.

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Background

Dating back to at least the Harris report of 1996 the government has been developing policy on how to provide

additional support to research students in order to address two emerging issues in the modern economy,

namely:

• Employers require maintenance of the quality of researchers but an enhancement in the breadth of

training

• Employees need to start work with a broader portfolio of learning.

In July 2003, the University received notification that the government had accepted the main recommendations

of Sir Gareth Roberts' SET for Success review which has become known as the ‘Roberts Report’. A primary

recommendation of this report was the provision of at least two weeks dedicated training a year, principally in

transferable skills, for all postgraduate research students.

As a result, the Government made funds available to support transferable skills training for postgraduate

research students and research staff, which is administered via the Research Councils. A commitment has

been made within the RCUK Delivery Plan 2008/2009 – 2010/11 to continued innovation in the range and

delivery of transferable skills, with this being supported by a single coordinated annual payment of £20M.2 The

RCUK Report ‘Career Development and Transferable Skills Training Payments: summary of 2007 reporting’ also

notes that ‘the Research Councils have a commitment to maintain earmarked funding for skills training

throughout the CSR2007 period (i.e. to 2010/2011)’.3 As highlighted at the 2009 Vitae Roberts Policy Forum,

the likely level of funding agreed in the next government spending review will be impacted by the economic

downturn and competing priorities, and it is crucial that institutions recognise the importance of planning for a

range of funding scenarios beyond 2010 – 2011.4 The University must therefore consider issues surrounding

the sustainability of training provision post 2011 and what mechanisms should be established to mitigate the

risk of a potential reduction in Roberts funding, a removal of the current ring fencing of funds and the

possibility of the funding stream ceasing altogether.

Since 2003/04 Roberts funding has been used to support a significant expansion and enhancement of the range

of personal, professional and career development opportunities offered to postgraduate researchers and

research staff within each of the four faculties. Whilst comprehensive training provision is available within each

of the four faculties, internal and external influences, such as the recent establishment of the Doctoral Training

Centres (DTCs), ESRC and EPSRC calls for new DTCs, and the launch of the Concordat to Support the Career

Development of Researchers, have all given rise to the need to establish a framework which allows researchers

to move across discipline boundaries and have access to provision which meets their development needs.

2 RCUK 2008-9 to 2010-11 Delivery Plan http://www.rcuk.ac.uk/cmsweb/downloads/rcuk/publications/2008deliveryplan.pdf 3 RCUK Research Careers and Diversity Unit ‘Career Development and Transferable Skills Training Payments: summary of 2007 reporting’ http://www.rcuk.ac.uk/cmsweb/downloads/rcuk/researchcareers/07repsum.pdf 4 Vitae Roberts Policy Forum 2009 http://www.vitae.ac.uk/CMS/files/upload/1.VRPF_Report_Feb09.pdf

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Methodology

Stage 1 – Questionnaire

The first stage of the project involved the distribution of a questionnaire (appendix one) to each of the four

faculties, Careers Service, John Rylands Library and Manchester Enterprise Centre to obtain quantitative data

on the current transferable skills training provision available to postgraduate researchers and research staff.

Stage 2 – Faculty face-to-face meetings

Data obtained from the questionnaires were used as the basis for discussion with each of the faculty training

teams with the following points also being explored;

• What do you consider to be your areas of strengths in your provision for postgraduate researchers and

research staff?

• Are there gaps in your current provision for postgraduate researchers and research staff?

• What do you consider to be the minimum skills researchers should have by the end of year 1, year 2 and

year 3?

• What do you consider to be the barriers in making particular training provisions available across the

University?

Mapping of Current Transferable Skills Training Provision

Quantitative and qualitative data gathered via the questionnaire and face-to-face meetings highlights the

breadth of training currently available to postgraduate researchers and research staff across the University.

Full details of the training provisions are provided in the respective faculty and central services appendices.

Whilst the mapping exercise is intended to be as comprehensive as possible, it is recognised that faculty and

central services training is evolving; therefore this analysis represents a picture as at 1st December 2008. In

presenting a breakdown of the training available at Faculty level, it is not the intention of this report to suggest

that faculties should be mirroring each others’ activities or that quantity is the measure of success. Rather, it is

intended to help facilitate the sharing of best practices and resources across the University.

Each of the four faculties’ and central service training provision will be discussed in turn to illustrate the array

of opportunities available to postgraduate researchers and research staff, with attention also being given to the

perceived strengths and gaps of the current provisions. It is important to note that whilst this review

demonstrates the scope of training opportunities available, it does not provide a full evaluation of either specific

or overall training, nor does it assess the impact on the employability of researchers. The review is not

therefore suggesting that should a specific training course be available in one faculty that this should then be

rolled out across the University. Factors such as quality, the current levels of engagement and feedback, and

how the training complements existing faculty training will need to be fully considered before provisions are

rolled out.

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1) Faculty of EPS Training Provision for PGRs & Research Staff

A team of five supports the GraDs and Researcher Development Programmes; all at present are funded through Roberts money;

• Graduate and Researcher Development Manager

• Researcher Development Officer

• Online Development Officer

• Communications Officer

• Researcher Development Administrator

i) PGR Provision

EPS have one of the longest standing researcher skills training programmes. This originated in UMIST and

offers postgraduates personal and professional development opportunities and skills training through the

Graduate Development Scheme (GraDs). The faculty programme, based around the Research Councils Joint

Statement of Skills (JSS) and targeted at key stages across the research degree, aims to help postgraduate

researchers successfully complete their degrees whilst ensuring maximum future employability (see appendix

two for full details).

The starting points for all skills training provision in EPS are the skills audit, termed the Development Needs

Analysis (DNA) and the Personal Development Plan (PDP). This is a combined system to allow EPS

postgraduate researchers to tailor their training to their specific needs. The DNA requires postgraduate

researchers to assess themselves against the 36 target competencies of the JSS, enhanced by original

behavioural descriptors developed by a working group of EPS academics in 20045. Areas of low competency

are identified as target areas for development and the PDP encourages planning of ways to improve that

competency. The selected method of development (e.g. self-taught, practical experience or attendance at a

training workshop) is left entirely up to the researcher in discussion with their supervisory team. Thus,

workshop attendance will be only one means of engagement with the skills development agenda.

Currently the GraDs programme focuses on delivering a relatively small number of well-developed, all-day

workshops repeated multiple times throughout the year in order to accommodate the large number of

postgraduate researchers in the Faculty. Training is exclusively in small, highly interactive groups with

opportunities to tailor the direction of individual sessions based on the objectives of participants. There are 18

face-to-face training workshops/events and three online training programmes (the DNA skills audit, Endnote

and Academic Writing available via Blackboard) which are targeted at specific points throughout the degree.

The EPS training team alone deliver seven of the face-to-face workshops and support all of the online training

programmes, with these in house workshops representing 79% of the total workshop hours and 72% of the

total workshop days. The remaining 11 workshops/events are delivered via central service providers (Careers,

STDU and ULC) and MEC, with the exception of the Pathways event which is a cross faculty collaboration.

5 Bromley A, Boran J & Myddelton W. 2007. Investigating the baseline skills of postgraduate researchers using a self-assessment-based competency model approach. Active Learning in Higher Education 8(2): 117-137.

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The ‘Developing the Postgraduate Manager’ workshop is the only accredited ‘GRADschool’ (formerly managed

by the RCUK-funded initiative, UK GRAD™ and currently by Vitae6) run at the University of Manchester. The

EPS training team has managed this workshop since 2004, and it is unique in that it has brought in over

£55,000.00 of additional RCUK funding: the attendance of every Research Council-funded researcher (whether

from Manchester or elsewhere) is supported by up to £300 of RCUK funding in addition to that provided by the

Roberts funds. In 2004, this became the first postgraduate training event open to researchers across all

faculties.

The only compulsory training sessions are the first year two day Speed PhD workshops. This is a unique

problem-based learning workshop originally designed by the EPS training team and since adapted by the

faculties of Humanities and Medical and Human Sciences as well as other Universities such as Leeds,

Nottingham and Sheffield. The workshop ran 16 times (32 days) during 07/08 with an attendance of 421

postgraduates, and the two day Speed EngD workshop ran once during 07/08 with an attendance figure of 14

postgraduates. For the remaining five workshops the EPS training team delivered a total of 40 sessions over

72 days in 07/08 with a total of 850 attendees (11 of these sessions were in Effective Presentations). All

sessions are tailored to the specific needs of the attendees with the EPS training team highlighting that all

workshops would be appropriate to students from other faculties.

Whilst the majority of transferable skills provision is delivered at faculty level there are pockets of activity

taking place within Schools with one notable example being the postgraduate research student modules offered

through the School of Computer Science. All research students are expected to take each of the three

modules, which are entitled ‘Transferable Skills’, ‘Seminar in Research Methods’ and ‘Seminar in Thesis Writing’

and have fifteen credits attached to them.7

ii) Research Staff Provision

To support research staff the Faculty have developed a Researcher Development Programme, which

encompasses a range of training initiatives and opportunities that promote personal development, active career

management, and researcher independence. The programme is organised around the four key themes of

career development, research skills, personal effectiveness and, leadership and management (see appendix

two for full details).

Current plans for 08/09 involve a significant expansion in both training and development for research staff. As

it stands, the Researcher Development Programme comprises 39 distinct face-to-face workshops of which 26

are led by the Faculty training team, six are delivered via central service providers (Careers and ULC) and MEC,

and seven via external specialist trainers. Participation figures for the 07/08 programme are estimated at 42%

with the Researcher Development Day gaining the highest participation figure with 81 research staff from

across the faculty. Other popular workshops include ‘Building a Research Funding Portfolio’ which had an

attendance figure of 62 and ‘Applying for Fellowships’ which was attended by 41 research staff. The EPS

training team have suggested that a large majority of this training would be relevant to research staff from

other faculties; however the examples provided within each session are currently tailored towards the local

context.

6 http://www.vitae.ac.uk/15672/GRADschools.html

7 Full details can be found at intranet.cs.man.ac.uk/researchs/modules.php

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Plans are also underway for the development of 17 new online resources, including Applying for Fellowships,

Giving Tutorials and Building a Research Funding Portfolio, all of which will be supported via the faculty training

team and will complement face-to-face provision.

iii) Faculty Training Calendar and Booking System

Comprehensive faculty web pages have been developed which promote researcher training opportunities

available at faculty, institutional and national level.8 Postgraduate researchers are able to view forthcoming

workshops/events via an online google calendar which provides details of when and where the workshop will

take place and a brief overview (screen shot one). However the calendar does not have the functionality to log

bookings; therefore researchers are asked to send an email to register their interest or reserve a place.

Research Staff workshops/events are highlighted in one overarching table which details the title, date, time and

venue (screen shot two). Additional details on each workshop/event can be obtained by clicking on the

workshop title with the user then being taken to a separate screen. To register their interest or reserve a place

research staff are asked to send an email.

Screen Shot 1

8 GraDS programme www.graduateeducation.eps.manchester.ac.uk/graddev/ Researcher Development programme www.graduateeducation.eps.manchester.ac.uk/resdev/

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Screen Shot 2

iv) Strengths in Current Skills Training Provision

The Researcher Development Team in EPS bring a sound understanding of local issues, perspectives and needs

which is reinforced through the faculty provision, design of events, choice and briefing of trainers and

presenters, publicity and marketing, communication and interaction with researchers. This understanding has

enabled the team to build researcher engagement with training and development, and develop a trust in the

quality of the provision and rapport between researchers.

The history of the postgraduate research programme has provided a strong baseline of tested, interactive

workshops which are repeated regularly throughout the academic year and provide highly-valued opportunities

for researchers to consider and discuss the relevant issues for their specific stage of the research degree

process and in looking forward to their future careers.

One of the key initiatives introduced by EPS for its Research Staff was the provision of Career Review Clinics.

These one to one highly focused sessions provide researchers with the opportunity to review their career

aspirations and obtain honest and meaningful guidance and encouragement from an experienced and objective

academic. The initiative has been adopted by six of the EPS schools and is rated highly by both research staff

and academics involved.

Through adopting a user driven approach in terms of focus and themes (e.g. current focus on teaching &

learning arose from needs expressed in focus groups, forums, discussions, feedback) the faculty are able to be

responsive to individuals and their suggestions. The development of a varied programme of training and

development, including softer skills using specialist external trainers and the tailoring of “generic” topics to

local experience, including experienced researchers sharing their personal perspectives with peers, has been

shown to be essential in the engagement of researchers and meeting individual needs.

The training team continually work with schools across the faculty and with existing initiatives including

Investors in People, NAP and CEEBL and actively seek out collaborative opportunities for larger initiatives (e.g.

Pathways, Research Staff Conference, EPSRC initiatives, N8 Enterprise agenda).

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2) Faculty of Humanities Training Provision for PGRs & Research Staff

A team of five support the Faculty PGR and Research Staff Training Programmes; all at present are funded via

Roberts;

• Head of Skills Training and Development

• PGR Training Development Officer

• Research Staff Training Development Officer

• Online Development Officer

• Researcher Development Administrative Assistant

i) PGR Provision

Following the merger in 2004 the Faculty of Humanities designed and developed a new training programme for

postgraduate researchers, which is based around the Research Councils Joint Statement of Skills (JSS) and has

evolved and expanded over the past four years. The programme is constructed to meet the changing needs of

researchers during the course of their degree, therefore offering training provision at introductory, improver

and advanced levels (see appendix three for full details).

To establish training needs and requirements all postgraduate researchers are expected to complete an online

skills audit9 which is a set of questions based on the JSS. Students are asked to consider their skills and

expertise in the areas of Bibliographic and Computer Skills, Communication Skills, Personal Effectiveness,

Research Design and Techniques, Research Environment Skills and Career Management Skills. Each area

contains a series of questions within which students are asked to rate themselves as either basic, competent,

skilled or expert. On completion of the audit students are provided with a summary of their skills to aid them

in the compilation of their individual training plan. Similarly to the Faculty of EPS, the selected method of

development (e.g. self-taught, practical experience or attendance at a training workshop) is left entirely up to

the researcher following consultation with their supervisory team.

Currently the PGR training programme comprises 64 distinct face-to-face training workshops/events, of which

25 are facilitated by the Faculty Training Team, 21 by faculty academics and staff, and five by central services

(JRUL and ULC) with the exception of the Pathways event and ‘Developing the Postgraduate Manager’ which

are cross faculty collaborations. The remaining 13 workshops, including basic IT specific skills and presentation

skills are delivered by Graduate Teaching Assistants (GTAs). The training team took the decision to recruit

GTAs to their pool of trainers for a number of reasons including the need to meet increasing demand for

courses and the ability to respond to student needs in a flexible and efficient manner. The overarching aim of

the pool of trainers was to establish a creative and beneficial use of existing resources and talent within the

faculty and to provide high quality training in a cost effective manner.

9 http://www.humanities.manchester.ac.uk/postgraduateskillsaudit/

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Face-to-face components vary from short three hour sessions, such as ‘Improve your Presentation Skills’ to

longer sessions running over three days, such as the ‘Part time Researchers Spring School’, with a number of

workshops being repeated throughout the year to offer flexibility to students. The only compulsory elements of

the faculty programme are the skills audit, September and January induction events, IT induction session and

PDP introductory session.

To complement face to face training the faculty have developed an online ‘Resources for Postgraduate

Researchers’ tool which is hosted in Blackboard. The resource contains training courses and materials including

Endnote, Managing Long Documents in Word, and Powerpoint, all of which are offered at Level one and Level

two, and communication tools such as discussion boards for PGR Representatives and Part time researchers.

In addition to the faculty-based skills training there are a number of comprehensive components within schools.

The SAGE (Skills Awareness for Graduate Education) programme is open to all postgraduates in the Schools of

Arts, Histories and Cultures (SAHC) and Languages, Linguistics and Cultures (LLC) on taught and research

programmes. As part of the programme researchers have access to a structured induction programme,

offering the opportunity to examine the PhD process in more detail; training weeks which include a variety of

events including postgraduate conferences, full day master classes and training workshops such as

Interviewing for Oral History, Working with Government Documents, Project Management, Opportunity

Recognition, Preparing for your Viva and Academic Publishing; a series of Conceptual Skills Seminars which

deal with key concepts in research within Humanities; and a two day Speed PhD which enables researchers to

consider the processes involved in undertaking a PhD.10

In 2007 the faculty launched their Skills Development Programme Guide (available on-line and in hard copy)

for Postgraduate Researchers which contains information on the faculty’s skills training provision and seeks to

assist students in identifying their training needs, monitoring their progress and reflecting on achievements11.

ii) Research Staff Provision

The past six months have witnessed a high staff turnover in the faculty training team (primarily due to staff

relocation) which has resulted in the need to recruit to four of the team’s positions (the exception being the

Researcher Development Administrative Assistant). Such flux within the training team has understandably led

to some provision being reduced or postponed until positions were filled, with one such area being the Research

Staff Development Programme.

Currently the programme falls into six main areas of ‘Getting to Grips with Funding’, ‘Developing Writing’,

‘Promoting your Research’, ‘The Professional Researcher’, ‘Managing Information for Research’, and ‘Public

Engagement’. Within these areas 31 face-to-face workshops/events are offered of which eight are provided via

the Humanities New Academics Programme (see appendix seven for list of workshops). The expertise of

University academics, administrators and central service providers (JRUL, UMIP, ULC) is currently drawn upon

in the delivery of the 23 remaining training workshops. Over the past year take up of workshops/events has

been very poor with several sessions having to be cancelled due to low levels of interest, while others such as

the Research Staff Residential ‘Innovation, Creativity and Collaboration’ have been opened up to other faculties

to ensure viability.

10 Full details can be found at www.arts.manchester.ac.uk/sage/phdprogramme/phdtraining/ 11 Full guide is available at www.humanities.manchester.ac.uk/humnet/acaserv/pgresearch/training/pgrtraining/skillsdev/fileuploadmax10mb,143153,en.pdf

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The recently appointed Research Staff Training Development Officer is currently reviewing the existing faculty

training provision for research staff with a view to launching a new programme in 09/10.

iii) Faculty Training Calendar and Booking System

The faculty’s training website12 has been developed to provide a starting point for researchers in identifying

their training needs. Postgraduate researchers and research staff are able to view forthcoming

workshops/events via two separate tables (screen shot 3 highlighting PGR table) and as with the EPS Research

Development table, users have the ability to click on workshop titles to obtain further information. To reserve a

place researchers are prompted to enter their username and password after which they are then asked to

confirm the School they are located (screen shot 4). If a workshop/event is full then researchers are

automatically made aware of this; otherwise a booking is made and email generated to confirm the reservation.

Should a workshop/event be cancelled due to reservations not meeting the predefined minimum sign-up figure,

researchers are then automatically notified.

Screen Shot 3

12 Humanities Skills Training Website www.humanities.manchester.ac.uk/humnet/acaserv/pgresearch/training/

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Screen Shot 4

iv) Strengths in Current Skills Training Provision

A notable strength of the faculty skills training provision is the strategic framework developed for postgraduate

researcher training. This framework facilitates the progression of training (basic, intermediate, advanced

level), provides a continuum of development through to research staff level and offers development

opportunities every month. The training team also work in close collaboration with Schools in identifying the

needs of researchers and ensuring the faculty training provision meets requirements and complements local

training.

The use of researchers themselves in the design, development and delivery of training is considered a strength

in the current provision with it being suggested that it helps make training relevant, current and ensures buy-in

from a number of stakeholders.

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3) Faculty of FLS Training Provision for PGRs & Research Staff

The Faculty training provision for postgraduate researchers and research staff is supported via the following

individuals/team;

• eGTP Project Officer

• Research Staff Training Development Officer

• Director of the GTP (academic member of staff)

• IKD team

At present a proportion of the faculty’s annual allocation of Roberts money is used to support the salary costs

of the eGTP Project Officer and Research Staff Training Development Officer, with a percentage also going to

the IKD team to support e-learning initiatives. Research Staff training provision is further supported by

dedicated Research Business Managers based in each research section who are able to offer research-related

support.

i) PGR Provision

FLS have the longest standing postgraduate researcher skills training programme, which has evolved over the

years to now include wide range of generic and research skills training, a progress monitoring system and

career development resources essential for postgraduate success. Postgraduates are provided with a bespoke

menu of courses and workshops via their personal Graduate Training Programme (GTP) timeline13 which

includes details of the compulsory and optional training courses. All postgraduates are pre-registered onto

compulsory training courses/workshops which are mandatory and currently include the following;

On-line Courses: Faculty Induction, Health & Safety Introduction, Plagiarism Module, Academic Literacy

Assessment, Academic Literacy Programme (if <90% is reached in the Assessment), Statistics & Data Handling

Attendance at: Faculty Research Symposium, Communication Skills Workshop, PhD/MPhil 1st Year Workshop

PhD 2nd Year workshop , PhD 3rd Year Workshop

Currently the GTP comprises 11 core research facility face to face workshops (all of which are facilitated by FLS

academics), eight distinct transferable skills training face to face workshops/events (which includes the cross

faculty Pathways event and ‘Developing the Postgraduate Manager’ workshop) and two research environment

skills training face to face workshops (see appendix four for full details). Face to face provision varies from one

day events, such as the Faculty Research Symposium, to two days, such as the second year workshop.

Over the past five years FLS have designed and developed a suite of online courses and resources (see

appendix four for full details) to complement face to face training and provide the flexibility needed within the

FLS research environment. The faculty currently offer seven online courses ranging from Bioinformatics and

Statistics to Plagiarism and Academic Literacy. All courses and resources are hosted via Blackboard with a

13 FLS GTP www.intranet.ls.manchester.ac.uk/pgr/gtp/default.aspx

19

‘profile’ page providing further details of the course including the aims and objectives. A number of online

courses have been structured and timed to fall in line with key progression milestones; for example the

Academic Literacy Programme is targeted at first year postgraduates. This consists of twelve learning modules

including academic style, summarising and critical reading, with a new module becoming available each week

over a 12 week period. At the end of the programme postgraduates are then expected to submit their

Literature Review on-line. FLS have found such a structured approach to the delivery of this course highly

beneficial; however it is acknowledged that a more flexible approach was required when rolling the course out

to the remaining three faculties, in order to meet local expectations and offer a course which researchers could

‘dip in and out of’ at the point of need.

In addition to the online courses eGTP also contains a ‘tool box’ which provides access to a range of

information, such as Personal Development Planning, Academic Literacy and Plagiarism (screen shot five)

Screen Shot 5

ii) Research Staff Provision

FLS Research Staff training is delivered through a dual approach. Firstly within an annual performance and

development review, research group leaders will agree development needs with each individual and then

subsequently monitor progress against specific targets. The Research Staff Training Development Officer

collates the training and development needs which are then fed into the annual training planning and review

cycle.

Secondly, support is available to research staff through the faculty-wide training programme which is grouped

around 3 themes: Skills for Researchers, Research Management and Career Planning and Development, with

workshops and supporting initiatives linked to these themes. The programme currently comprises 18 face to

face workshops/events of which 10 are delivered by FLS, six by MHS, one in collaboration with MHS and one in

collaboration with all faculties (Pathways event, see appendix four for full details). It is anticipated that a full

20

programme of support will be available in 2009 with the return of the Research Staff Training Development

Officer (previously on maternity leave).

Training is advertised and booked via the FLS Research Staff Development area on the FLS intranet14.

Research Staff are also given access to e-learning tools in bioinformatics, endnote and statistics, and links into

technical and non-faculty training from IT services, the library, STDU and the Careers Service.

The Research Staff Training Development Officer suggests that a significant majority of the training provision

would be appropriate to research staff from other faculties; however the examples provided within each

session are currently tailored towards the local context.

iii) Strengths in Current Skills Training Provision

Strengths of the faculty postgraduate researcher provision are that it offers bespoke training relevant to

individual researchers’ current activities and is mindful of internal and external influences. All resources are

designed and developed to complement researchers’ area of research and the development of their future

careers. A large proportion of skills training courses are delivered online to provide a flexible approach or they

incorporate blended learning approaches to offer researchers a choice to select the mode of delivery which best

suits their learning style. The flexible nature of the provision also results in training being delivered at the

point of need.

A key strength of the research staff training provision is that it supports self-directed learning and to this end

initiatives have been established to support this, for example teaching mentoring links research staff wishing to

gain teaching Research Staff Development Programme with supplementary training being provided via the

Research Staff Development Programme.

iv) Faculty Training Calendar and Booking System

The faculty’s online eGTP enables postgraduate researchers to view forthcoming compulsory

workshops/events via a bespoke timeline which is interactive and enables students to obtain further details

about particular workshops/events by clicking directly onto it (screen shot six).

Screen Shot 6

14 www.intranet.ls.manchester.ac.uk/research/staffdevelopment/default.aspx

21

Optional workshops/events can be viewed via the ‘My Skills Training Catalogue’ page (screen shot seven).

By clicking on the highlighted links students are able to access the online courses, or for face to face

training, find out further details or download information about the workshop. To reserve a place on the

optional workshops/events students are directed to complete the online GTP request form (screen shot

eight). This form is not currently linked to any automated response system and instead requires manual

intervention from the faculty training team.

Screen Shot 7

Screen Shot 8

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Research Staff workshops/events are listed via the RS Training Directory Calendar hosted on the FLS intranet

(screenshot nine). Additional details on each workshop/event can be obtained by clicking on the available

‘further details’ links. To reserve a place on the FLS workshops/events research staff are asked to complete the

online request form which takes the same format as the GTP request form (screen shot eight). For those

courses delivered by MHS the user is taken to the MHS training teams booking screen.

Screen Shot 9

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4) Faculty of MHS Training Provision for PGRs & Research Staff

A team of five support the Faculty PGR and Research Staff training programmes. The remit of the team also

extends to delivery of PGT training modules, supervisor training and the New Academics Programme to achieve

a continuum of development and support within the Faculty. The team also host the North West Hub of Vitae,

the national programme for researcher development. The Faculty Training Manager co-ordinates hub activities

across the region with the support of the Vitae North West Manager. The team, funded through Roberts with

additional funding provided by the faculty and Vitae, currently comprises;

• Faculty Training Manager (Vitae North West Hub Co-ordinator)

• Research Staff Trainer

• E-learning/Web Technologist

• Training Administrator x 2

• Vitae North West Hub Manager

The training programmes have been developed working closely with the senior academics and administrators to

ensure that they align to the faculty’s strategy and operational priorities and create an environment that will

allow students and staff to flourish, realise their research potential and be supported with their career

management.

Postgraduate researcher training provision within the faculty is further supported by individual School PGR

Trainers, all of whom are academic members of staff and are responsible for advising researchers on

appropriate training for varying specialities. The training team also draw upon senior academics and

administrative expertise to support the training programmes, tailoring workshops to the discipline specific

needs of participants as necessary.

The annual in-depth statistical report to assess the effectiveness of the PGR and Research Staff training

programmes demonstrated that participants rated the workshops extremely highly with programmes receiving

a rating of excellent and 94% of participants found a direct benefit from attending faculty delivered training.

i) PGR Provision

MHS have a well established postgraduate training programme designed and developed to encompass all areas

of the Research Councils Joint Statement of Skills (JSS) (see appendix five for full details.) The emphasis is on

a flexible programme of training that adapts to individual requirements as they progress through the duration

of their degree.

To establish training needs and requirements postgraduate researchers are expected to complete the faculty

research skills questionnaire15 which is split into seven main areas based on the JSS. Each area contains a

15 http://www.mhs.manchester.ac.uk/secure/graduateoffice/pdp/quest/

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series of questions within which students are asked to rate themselves from level one to level four (with one

being that students have never tried it and four being that they feel very confident and can work

independently). On completion of the questionnaire students are provided with an overview of their skills to aid

them in the compilation of their individual training plan. Similarly to the Faculties of EPS and Humanities, the

selected method of development (e.g. self-taught, practical experience or attendance at a training workshop) is

left entirely up to the researcher following consultation with their supervisory team.

The faculty PGR training programme consists of 44 distinct face to face training workshops which are repeated

throughout the year to offer flexibility to students and enable them to attend sessions around their professional

and clinical commitments. Workshops/events are also targeted at specific points throughout the research

programme (first year, mid programme and final year). This ensures that students access training at the most

appropriate time, dovetailing it with key progression milestones.

The MHS training team are responsible for the delivery of 31 of the face-to-face workshops/events, three are

supported via the MHS Biostatistics Group and 10 are delivered via central service providers (Careers, STDU,

ULC and MEC). The team also lead/facilitate large cross faculty activities including Developing the Postgraduate

Manager/Communicator (led by EPS) and ‘Pathways’ (led by MHS and Careers). Courses vary from short two

hour sessions, such as ‘Optimising your Scientific Poster’ to longer sessions running over two days, such as the

‘Introduction to Research – Speed PhD’.

Courses within the faculty training programme are optional with the exception of the ‘Introduction to Research’

– Speed PhD for which attendance is monitored. The Schools of Dentistry and Nursing also monitor attendance

for other workshops as part of their research methods programmes. Health and Safety training is also

compulsory for all students and staff if applicable to their research projects (e.g. Personal Safety First for Field

Researchers).

To complement face-to-face training and provide the flexibility needed within the MHS research environment

MHS also have a suite of online courses and resources available to postgraduate researchers including

Academic Writing Skills, Making a Scientific Presentation , MS Word for Research Experts , Using Endnote and

Using Reference Manager. The faculty offer seven online courses which are supported via the training team,

with the exception of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) training (FLS) and the online statistics course

(MHS Biostatistics Group). Online courses and resources are accessible through the ‘Research Skills Online’

portal via the MHS Training Team website16 (screen shot nine). Given that this is available both within and

outside of Blackboard it enables access through NHS firewalls, reduces maintenance costs and gives

researchers the ability to ‘dip in and out’ at the point of need.

16 www.mhs.manchester.ac.uk/trainingteam/EssentialResearchSkills

25

Screen Shot 9

In response to the diverse nature of the research being undertaken within the faculty a number of school

specific bespoke training packages have been developed which are tailored to meet the specific needs of

researchers. Examples of these include journal clubs, research methods courses, research master classes and

seminar series (including online seminars). The School of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Work also offer online

transferable skills training support for distance learning students which covers areas such as literature

management, research governance and ethics and writing for publication.17

ii) Research Staff Provision

In keeping with the University vision of creating an environment which values and recognises research staff

contribution, the faculty have developed a comprehensive training programme encompassing core research

skills alongside key personal and professional activities. The programme is divided into four main areas of

essential communication skills, building your research skills, careers planning and Research team leadership

and management (see appendix five for full details).

Currently the faculty programme consists of 26 distinct face-to-face optional workshops of which 18 are solely

delivered by the FMHS training team, three are delivered in collaborating with other faculties (EPS and FLS),

four with central providers (Careers and MEC) and one by an external expert. Of these workshops eight are

currently opened up to research staff within the Faculty of Life Sciences. Courses vary from short two hour

sessions, such as ‘Scientific Abstracts’ to longer sessions running over multiple sessions, such as

‘grantsmanship’. The faculty have also established an innovative leadership and management programme18

17 Nursing Online Support www.nursing.manchester.ac.uk/postgraduate/research/onlinesupport/ 18www.researchsupport.manchester.ac.uk/TrainingAndDevelopment/ResearchStaff/Mhs/Research%20Team%20Leadership%20cohort%202.pdf

26

which is now in its third year and is targeted at aspiring research group leaders. This flagship 15 month

programme is open to researchers from biomedical and health sciences and is delivered by the faculty training

team and key senior academics in partnership with the Staff Training and Development Unit. During the

course of the programme research staff attend one workshop a month covering such areas as performance

management, leading/managing change and managing finances, and learn how to build a research team,

motivate and support individual researchers and develop their role as a manager. The programme is also

underpinned by action learning peer support groups. Demand for the programme is extremely high and

exceeds the current capacity of 20 places per year.

Research Staff also have access to the suite of online resources available via the FMHS Research Skills Portal

which includes Academic Writing Skills, Making a Scientific Presentation, MS Word for Research Experts, Using

Endnote and Using Reference Manager.

iii) Strengths in Current Skills Training Provision

In addition to being designed to align with the Faculty strategy the training team have fully recognised the

variation of researcher profiles when designing the training programmes. For example programme participants

include basic and senior clinical researchers working full or part time at disparate sites across the North West,

and provisions which are flexible and delivered in a manner that meets the needs of a disparate audience are

provided.

A further strength of the programmes is their cost effectiveness and low reliance on external training providers

and experts. The faculty have recently opened up a number of their workshops/events to smaller HEI’s across

the North West, with participant costs being charged to the institutions which then contribute to the running

expenditure of training provisions. Adoption of such a model will be crucial in terms in terms of achieving long

term sustainability post Roberts funding.

Over the past four years the training team have fostered a strong rapport with researchers and academic

facilitators and provided a key pastoral role in the faculty, building highly supportive relationships with both

research students and staff. The team have also built robust links with the faculty administration dovetailing

training with monitoring and progression for students and induction and probation for research staff.

Given that the Vitae North West Hub is driven by the FMHS training team this enables the team to obtain an up

to date insight and understanding of the national training agenda and external drivers, to input into future

national policy developments and to fully consider these in the evolvement of University training provisions.

iv) Faculty Training Calendar and Booking System

In April 2009 the MHS training team launched a content managed website, online booking system and blog19 to

enable postgraduate researchers and research staff to explore training provision pertinent to them, book

workshops, manage and print course details, read about new developments and add comments (screen shot

10).

19 www.mhs.manchester.ac.uk/trainingteam

27

Supervisors and line managers have full access to the website giving them up to date information on training

provision. This in turn helps them to point students and staff to appropriate training arising from discussions

during PDP and P&DR sessions. The website is externally facing and allows prospective students and staff to

browse the additional support available when conducting research within the faculty. Additionally the

automatic booking system, extraction of course lists and certificate of attendance downloads alleviate the

administrative burden. The system also allows the compilation of catalogue data to facilitate evaluation of

training. Since its launch the team have taken 852 bookings for upcoming training provision.

Screen Shot 10

The ‘Upcoming Courses’ section (screen shot 11) provides a calendar of provision which can be sorted

according to the particular audience - therefore by postgraduate researchers, research staff, research team

leadership, new academics programme and academic staff.

Screen Shot 11

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Central Services Training Provision for PGRs & Research Staff

Transferable skills training opportunities are also available to postgraduate researchers and research staff via a

number of central service providers including the Careers and Employability Division, John Rylands University

Library, University Language Centre, Manchester Enterprise Centre, Research Office and the Staff Training

Development Unit.

Careers and Employability Division

The Careers and Employability Division currently provide an extensive service to postgraduate researchers

including individual one-to-one advice, feedback on applications and practice interviews; careers talks and

workshops which are offered through the Careers Service, Faculties and Schools; and a suite of online careers

resources which includes talks, guides and advice on careers, CV writing and interviews. Careers recently

launched the Manchester Postgraduate Careers Blog which has in the region of 30,000 hits a month and

features regularly updated careers news, comments and vacancy alerts for postgraduates.

Careers continually work in close consultation with the faculty training teams in providing bespoke talks,

workshops/events tailored to individual discipline areas (see appendix six for full details). These provisions are

predominantly delivered face-to-face and range from short two hour workshops, such as ‘Making the Most of

Your CV’ to two day events, such as the University’s flagship annual career options event for researchers,

Pathways. Research Staff also have access to a dedicated Careers Consultant who provides individual careers

advice, including applications, interviews, developing academic careers and alternative career options.

John Rylands University Library

Over the past two years JRUL has developed a programme of generic information skills training for

postgraduate researchers and research staff. In an effort to meet the diverse needs of all researchers the

programme delivers access to resource documentation in an electronic format, face-to-face training and the

option of one-to-one advice via discipline specialists (see appendix seven for full details).

JRUL have developed a website20 which features the details of the library information and skills programme,

gives access to the online resources and enables researchers to book onto workshops/events via the online

training calendar. This calendar takes a similar format to Humanities in that researchers are prompted to enter

their username and password after which they are then asked to confirm the School they are located. If a

workshop/event is full then researchers are automatically made aware of this; otherwise a booking is made and

email generated to confirm the reservation.

University Language Centre (ULC)

The ULC provide a number of training workshops in academic writing for researchers through each of the four

faculty training programmes. Areas covered include insights into the writing process, understanding academic

style and conventions and working towards the first year report. Researchers also have access to an online

20 http://www.library.manchester.ac.uk/usingthelibrary/researchers/

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Academic Writing Course which has been tailored according to discipline needs. Currently UCL are collaborating

with STDU to provide a range of workshops in writing for staff with areas including writing in a clearer style,

achieving flow in writing, organising the introductions to academic articles, and insights and techniques for

teaching international students.

UCL also offer a host of courses in modern foreign languages which are available to researchers across the

University and have also developed a number of special purpose courses including French for Scientists and

Engineers and Academic Reading in German for postgraduate researchers in Humanities.

Manchester Enterprise Centre (MEC) MEC provide a suite of workshops designed to provide researchers from across the University with the skills

they need to succeed in their chosen career and maximise their attractiveness to potential employers. The

current programme comprises 16 distinct face-to-face workshops which cover areas such as patent searching,

opportunity recognition, finance and marketing (see appendix eight for full details). Through the course of

semester one and two of 08/09 participant figures reached 712, with 131 researchers attending the

Introduction to Finance workshop.

In addition to the workshops MEC also hold an annual Research to Enterprise Summit which again is open to

researchers and seeks to raise the profile of enterprise and entrepreneurship across the University. A

mentoring scheme is also available to researchers who are interested in exploring the exploring the possibility

of commercialising their research and assisting them to gain skills such as exploring potential markets and

competitor analysis. To date 18 researchers have taken part in this scheme, four from MHS, eight from

Humanities, and six from EPS.

MEC are also involved in the Northern Enterprise Schools (a consortium of eight northern universities

Manchester, Liverpool, Lancaster, Durham, Newcastle, York, Sheffield and Leeds) and currently collaborating on

the development of residential enterprise schools for researchers of all disciplines.

Staff Training and Development Unit (STDU)

STDU run a suite of training workshops/events for staff across the University covering areas such management,

health and safety, IT, personal development and careers. In addition STDU work in close consultation with

faculties on provision specifically targeted to postgraduate researchers, such as GTA training, lone worker

training and health and safety training, and for research staff, such as the Research Team Leadership

Programme and the new Researchers into Management Programme.

Research Office

The Research Office organises a number annual of cross faculty workshops/events including the recent

Research Staff Conference and Arts Meets Science, Science Meets Arts summer seminar series, and coordinates

the University’s two skills training publications STEPS and Incite. The PGR Conference Travel Fund is also

managed via the Research Office which gives postgraduate researchers the opportunity to present at national

and international conferences, and aid them in enhancing their presentation and networking skills.

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Gaps in Current Skills Training Provision

It is recognised that shifts in internal and external agendas and priorities can impact upon the area of skills

training for postgraduate researchers and research staff, necessitating continuing reflection on current

provision to ensure requirements are being met. In October 2008, for example, RCUK identified several

priority areas for future use of Roberts funding which included business awareness, entrepreneurship and

intrapreneurship, outreach and public dialogues, use of research outputs in policy making, and evaluating the

impact of skills development. Whilst the University offers training in a number of these priority areas it is

evident from the mapping of practices that further work is required on evaluating the impact of skills and the

use of research outputs in policy making.

For the purpose of this review a gap is defined as a skills area identified by researchers, staff and external

bodies (such as the Research Councils and RCUK) that is either not currently being met by the existing internal

provision or requires further development. Whilst it is acknowledged that Faculties and Central Services

continually demonstrate their responsiveness to the needs of researchers it is clear that there are areas which

could be further advanced. In a number of instances this could be achieved through sharing training resources

and expertise, rather than reinventing the wheel. Table 2 highlights the gaps which faculties consider to exist

within their respective areas.

Table 2:

Faculty of EPS

• Additional online multi-media resources will soon be developed • Focus to date has concentrated upon discrete workshop sessions. A more

comprehensive programme approach will develop, using blended provision and ongoing groups

• New activities focusing on public engagement

Faculty of Humanities

• Lack of strategic focus, direction and framework for RS programme • Coherent performance management for RS • Research methods for PGRs and RS • Research governance and ethics for PGRs and RS • Opportunities to explore and share ideas beyond disciplinary boundaries • Employability – linking up to employability both within and outside of academia,

nationally and internationally • More personalised approach, including career plans • Training that has tangible outcomes – i.e takes people to the point of

publication, filling in the grant application forms

Faculty of FLS

• Technical/IT training • How to find funding – workshop gap

Faculty of MHS

• Face to face and continuous on line support in the areas of statistics and qualitative research methods

• Coaching training • Collaboration and consultancy training • Existing face to face training needs to be translated and adapted into online

resources to better cater for part time researchers • There is a need to widen participation further and increase training links with the

NHS • Blended approaches need to be adopted to enhance existing face to face

training. At present this is hampered by inadequate training facilities and a lack of IT hardware.

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Areas impacting upon the development a ‘harmonised’ framework for skills training

Huge benefit could be gained from sharing a common skills training resource across the University.

Specifically, it could yield significant economy of scale and efficiency, both for development, administration and

delivery of training. In addition, it would help ensure that PGR students and research staff across the University

have access to equivalent (though not the same) research and skills training experiences during their time with

the University. However, the following challenges/potential barriers/constraints have been identified in

realising this position;

i) Resources and Funding

Roberts’ money currently provides the predominant funding stream to support transferable skills training for

postgraduate researchers and research staff across the University. During 08/09 the University received just

over £1.2m from the Research Councils of which £150,000.00 was allocated to central services (Research

Office, Careers, Library). 85% (for 08/09 this figure amounted to £846,467.40) of the remaining balance was

allocated to faculties based on the total number of postgraduate researchers and research staff, and 15% used

to support collaborative projects across the University.

Current faculty expenditure on skills training provision is based upon supporting researchers registered or

employed within the respective areas and costs for individual workshops vary considerably across the faculties.

Should particular faculty workshops/events be opened up to researchers from all faculties this could then

impact greatly on local resources and funding. Questions over cost, potential re-charging, administrative

workload and maintaining a system which is transparent and easy for researchers to navigate need to be fully

explored.

ii) Sustainability

The University must consider issues surrounding the sustainability of training provision post 2011 and what

mechanisms should be established to mitigate the risk of a potential reduction in Roberts funding, a removal of

the current “ring fencing” of funds and the possibility of the funding stream ceasing altogether. At present

there are 20 skills training positions (see appendix nine) which are fully or partially funded via Roberts money,

with annual staff costs (including on-costs) totalling around £850k and annual training programme running

costs of around £150k. In order to support researcher training at its current level faculties and central

services will need to establish clear contingency plans which detail the level of financial commitment to this

area should the funding cease. Clear processes that are fully endorsed by the respective stakeholders, will also

need to be established, outlining how Roberts funding will be managed in the event that the ‘ring fencing’ is

removed.

iii) Manchester Doctoral College

The Manchester Doctoral College currently brings together seven DTCs offering distinctive four-year integrated

programmes which combine specialist taught courses and a doctoral research project in an interdisplinary and

collaborative environment. In order to enable researchers to move across discipline boundaries and have

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access to provision which meets their development needs there is a need to have robust mechanisms in place

to facilitate this. In working towards a ‘harmonised’ framework for skills training full consideration needs to be

given to the training practices at each of the collaborating institutions and how these align with the University

of Manchester’s practices and provisions. For example the University of Sheffield require all PhD students to

undertake 45 credits of transferable skills training as part of their research programme and are proposing to

introduce a PG Diploma in Research Management for all DTC students in Advanced Metallics. Given that this is

not the case at Manchester the institution should reflect on existing policies and practices, and discuss whether

transferable skills training should be formalised and a framework provided which results in a final award such

as a PG Certificate or PG Diploma.

iv) Location of training delivery

The existence of shared contexts should encourage running multidiscipline workshops. There are many cases

where skills training can serve to enhance inter-disciplinarity, for example, in getting researchers from one

discipline communicating their research clearly and concisely to those from another discipline. These

opportunities for working together across disciplines could lead to increased collaboration, an important remit

for the 21st century researcher.

Some faculties/schools have recognised that they do not possess the local expertise to develop appropriate

programmes in certain skill development areas; thus robust mechanisms for sharing resources and expertise

across discipline boundaries need to be established.

Consideration should be given to identifying the areas of skills training which can be delivered in a generic way

irrespective of the discipline, areas which ideally need to be contextualised to enhance engagement and

learning outcomes, and finally areas which have to be delivered within the discipline. Recognition should also

be given to the differing faculty strategies. For example Humanities have significant numbers of part time and

international postgraduate researchers; therefore training provision needs to be flexible and maintain a high

level of support to aid completion rates. Also milestones for PhD programmes currently differ between faculties

and would therefore need to be aligned to facilitate certain cross faculty workshops.

v) Systems

At present there is no standardised online database system which contains details of all researchers skills

training provision available across the University, enables researchers to sign up to workshops/events, has the

functionality to log participants or facilitates the sharing of online resources. Faculties and central services

have each adopted varying online booking systems which differ in terms of functionality and researcher access

rights. The absence of a standardised online database system could have significant implications in working

towards a ‘harmonised’ framework of skills training, particularly in supporting cross Faculty/School doctoral

programmes.

vi) Compulsory versus optional skills training

Transferable skills training is predominantly optional across the four faculties. However elements are made

compulsory for particular cohorts of researchers and the question arises as to the degree to which the

33

institution would wish to be prescriptive about minimum/compulsory training requirements at a University

level. This is especially relevant to cross-faculty/school programmes such as the new DTCs which have

prompted the question of whether the University should formalise transferable skills training and provide a

framework which results in a final award, such as a PG Certificate or PG Diploma.

The original University policy of a compulsory skills audit and optional training arose out of Project Unity and

the Skills Training Group (StaG). This provided a process of self-assessment and personal development

planning which took the diversity of the postgraduate researcher community into account. If postgraduates

already possessed the necessary skills from previous experiences, it was felt there was no need to require them

to partake in specific training workshops, as they can continue to develop using a bespoke model tailored to

individual needs. A broad definition of engaging in development activities includes personal activities such as

reflective portfolios, seeking and acting on feedback (e.g. on presentations at professional conferences), peer-

led groups (e.g. Action Learning Sets; journal clubs), special projects which develop skills in an applied context

(e.g. public engagement; intrapreneurship schemes) and personal study on transferable skills. Such activities

should be used to provide evidence of engagement with the two weeks / 10 days mentioned by the Roberts

report.

vii) Open access workshops/events/resources

If a workshop/event/resource is to be opened up across the four faculties there are a number of decisions

which need to be undertaken;

• If a particular faculty delivers a course should their researchers have access to priority booking?

• What happens in cases of oversubscription?

• What would the policy be for non-attendance, particularly with waiting lists?

• Should workshop/event/resource descriptions be tailored to engage the different faculty

audiences?

viii) Marketing and promotion of skills training

Details of skills training provision available across all four faculties and central services are not currently

circulated or targeted to researchers in a consistent manner. Signposting and web links to researcher

development opportunities from other University websites and publications also require further improvement.

The marketing and promotion of researcher skills training beyond individual faculties needs to be reviewed and

mechanisms established to ensure opportunities are clearly communicated across the University.

ix) IP Issues

If a resource is to be shared, it is likely that Faculties and Schools may wish to customise that resource to

make it more relevant to a specific researcher cohort. Whilst this is a good thing, it could have IP implications.

For example, some current courses were developed wholly or in part without Roberts funding. Their originators

(often academic staff) may wish to retain some intellectual control over the nature and quality of course

34

content. This would also apply to changes made to courses as their content is updated. In other words,

courses will evolve and this process must be mindful of IP.

x) Training Space

Faculties and central services often face problems when looking to secure appropriate rooms for training

workshops/events. Currently room bookings for skills training sessions can only be made once all teaching has

been timetabled after which point many remaining rooms are do not provide the space conducive to delivering

an effective training session. Preliminary investigation into other HEI training facilities shows that a number

have invested in dedicated training suites or rooms for the delivery of skills training e.g. University of Liverpool,

University of Dundee and University of Southampton. It is felt that the University should consider the provision

of a dedicated training suite or rooms to provide a professional space which is conducive to obtaining the

desired learning outcomes and demonstrates a visual commitment to the delivery of transferable skills training.

Recommendations

In light of the observations obtained from undertaking a review of transferable skills training for postgraduate

researchers and research staff the following recommendations are proposed;

Recommendation 1:

Researcher development training teams should continue to be located at faculty level and play a key role in the

development and delivery of transferable skills training for postgraduate researchers and research staff.

It is recommended that faculty training teams, in close consultation with the Graduate Education Group (GEG),

identify the areas of skills training which can be delivered in a generic way irrespective of the discipline, areas

which ideally need to be contextualised to enhance engagement and learning outcomes, and areas which have

to be delivered within the discipline.

Recommendation 2:

The University should explore the degree to which it wishes to be prescriptive about minimum/compulsory

training requirements at an institutional level.

It is recommended that GEG discuss the matter of minimum/compulsory training requirements and whether the

University should formalise transferable skills training and provide a framework which results in a final award,

such as a PG Certificate or PG Diploma.

Recommendation 3:

The University should prioritise the need to build capacity in skills training, thus fostering internal expertise and

developing re-useable resources, and establishing mechanisms to guarantee sustainability post 2011.

It is recommended that;

- Wherever possible transferable skills training resources are developed to be broadly applicable and

re-useable, for example e-learning programmes and workshop materials

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- Faculties and central services should establish clear contingency plans which detail the level of

financial commitment to researchers training provision should Roberts funding cease

- Clear processes be established on how Roberts funding will be managed in the event that the current

‘ring-fencing’ is removed

- GEG should explore the feasibility of rolling out across the University the MHS model, of charging

HEI’s for their researchers to attend UoM skills training.

Recommendation 4:

Researchers should be provided with an explicit indication of the abilities and attributes expected from them at

various points throughout their postgraduate/research career.

It is recommended that in defining minimum researcher abilities and attributes the University considers the

findings of the ‘Academic Competencies’ project undertaken in the Faculty of Humanities and works in close

consultation with the national Vitae project, which has been tasked with developing an overarching competency

framework of professional learning for researchers.

Recommendation 5:

All faculties and schools should identify Academic Skills Training Champions for researcher transferable skills

training to promote and support the skills training agenda and offer academic input.

It is recommended that faculties and schools discuss the appointment of Academic Skills Training Champions

with their respective Associate Dean for Graduate Education, where such positions are not already in place.

Recommendation 6: The University should develop an institutional level database system of all researcher (PGR and research staff)

transferable skills and subject specific training provision which has the functionality to set parameters based

upon researcher profiles.

The database should also be searchable at participant level (e.g. PGR and Research Staff), provider level (e.g.

school, faculty, central, external), and skill area (e.g. presentation, networking). This will then enable students

and staff such as school and faculty trainers, supervisor teams and research staff line managers to view the full

breadth of training available and consider whether a researcher training need which cannot be addressed

locally can instead be met by an alternative provision.

It is recommended that the eProg21 project team explore the possibility of incorporating the skills training

database within the eProg system.

21 The eProg project team have been tasked with developing a University-wide online progression monitoring system for postgraduate research students which allows progression to be recorded, monitored and reported on.

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Recommendation 7:

The University should adopt a standardised automated online booking system for researcher transferable skills

and subject specific training.

It is recommended that the eProg project team explore the functionality of existing faculty/central service

booking systems, including the Columba events booking system and determine whether a standardised

automated online booking system is possible within eProg.

Recommendation 8:

A University wide database of resources aimed at trainers and organisers of skills training should be developed

to facilitate the sharing of practices across schools, faculties and central services. This searchable database

should seek to include training session materials, video clips, tips on how the resource was used and up to date

contact details for further information.

It is recommended that the eProg project team explore the possibility of hosting a database of resources within

the eProg system and/or the Research Support website

Recommendation 9:

The University should develop a roll-out policy for existing online training programmes to enable local

customisation and compile a guidance document on the development of new online skills training programmes.

It is recommended that;

- The Central Skills Development Coordinator works in close consultation with the faculty training

teams and GEG on the compilation of a roll-out policy and guidance documentation

- An E-learning Developers Group, which focuses upon researcher skills training, be formed to

facilitate the sharing of best practice

Recommendation 10:

Dedicated training space should be provided for the delivering of researcher transferable skills training.

It is recommended that GEG undertake discussions on the provision of dedicated training space and explore the

feasibility of using space within the new Information Commons for this purpose.

Recommendation 11:

Mechanisms to evaluate the effectiveness and impact of researcher skills training should be established and

that these are consistent across the institution and align with external requirements.

It is recommended that;

- An Evaluation Working Group be established to define an institutional evaluation/impact framework

for researcher skills training

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- Faculty and central service researcher training providers should submit an annual monitoring report

on researcher training provision to GEG and URG and that the template and guidance documentation

relating to this is compiled by the Central Skills Development Coordinator

Recommendation 12:

The University Skills Training Strategy and Policy should be revised in light of the findings and

recommendations of the institutional review of transferable skills training.

It is recommended that Central Skills Development Coordinator works in close consultation with the faculty

training teams and GEG on the revision of the current policy and strategy.

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Appendix 1 - Review of Transferable Skills Training Questionnaire

In addition to providing an overview for each transferable skills training provision the following questions were asked;

Is it compulsory?

How is it delivered?

When is it available?

Where is it delivered?

Is it targeted at a particular time within a research degree e.g. 1st year?

Is it targeted at a specific group of researchers e.g. part-time?

Is the content Faculty or School specific?

Would the provision be appropriate for students from other faculties?

Who delivers the provision?

How many people can take part in each session?

What is the current uptake figure?

Does demand for the provision exceed the current capacity to deliver to such numbers?

Is the provision collaborative e.g. with Careers?

Is the provision offered at basic, intermediate and advanced level?

Do you have participant feedback for this provision?

If yes, what is the general feedback - adequate, good, very good or excellent?

Appendices 2 – 8 are attached as separate excel spreadsheets

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Appendix 9: Roberts Funded Positions April 2009

Faculty of EPS

• Graduate and Researcher Development Manager

• Research Development Officer

• Online Development Officer

• Communications Officer

• Researcher Development Administrator

Faculty of Humanities

• Head of Skills Training and Development

• PGR Training Development Officer

• Research Staff Training Development Officer

• Online Development Officer

• Researcher Development Administrative Assistant

Faculty of FLS

• eGTP Project Officer

• Research Staff Training Development Officer

Faculty of MHS

• Faculty Training Manager

• Research Staff Training Development Officer

• Online Development Officer

• Training Administrator x 2

Careers and Employability Division

• Research Staff Careers Consultant

John Rylands University Library

• Information and Research Skills Training Programme Administrator

Central Research Office

• Skills Development Coordinator