Researcher development
Developing your transferable skills is vital to help you excel in your current research and your future career
We strongly encourage our postgraduate researchers to take up to 80 hours of researcher development activities per year. View our Researcher Development Policy for details of the wide variety of activities this covers.
Researcher development training
Our Researcher Development Programme supports you in gaining the skills you need for success. Mapped to Vitae’s Researcher Development Framework, our workshops and resources cover a wide range of topics to help you in your personal and professional life, from writing a thesis to managing stress.
Individual Training Needs (ITN) assessment
You will review your training needs during your initial meeting with your supervisory team, and you and your supervisors should review and refresh your training needs record every six months. One way of keeping track of these training needs is to complete an Individual Training Needs (ITN) assessment form.
This will help you and your supervisors to highlight the skills you currently have, decide which skills you’ll need to learn or strengthen so you can successfully undertake your research, and create a plan for how to develop your skills through training or other researcher development activities.
Your supervisors will be able to help you to identify suitable training and development opportunities, both within the University of Dundee and with external groups where appropriate. Your programme or funding body may also require you to take a particular training course, or they may provide general guidance on expectations for skills development. The ITN process will help you and your supervisors to keep track of these requirements.
Research integrity
The University of Dundee runs a bespoke research integrity course called Responsible and Ethical Practice in Research and Publication. This is an online video-based training course designed to help you follow good research practice at all stages of your research career, and to know what standards of professional behaviour you should expect from your colleagues and collaborators. This will help you to avoid the potential problems and pitfalls which can damage both reputations and careers.
Current postgraduate researchers can access the research integrity course via MyDundee. The course is mandatory for all postgraduate researchers on doctoral level programmes; it is optional for postgraduate researchers on Masters level programmes.
Academic skills support
Our Academic Skills Centre provides one-to-one academic skills and writing advice through their drop-in service and appointments.
Library and Learning Centre
The Library and Learning Centre (LLC) provides a wide range of resources and services to support learning, teaching and research activities. These include:
- Access to both online and physical resources
- Digital literacy skills support e.g. literature searching and review, reference management
- Dedicated postgraduate space
- Survey Service
- Research Services
- Research Data Management
- Postgraduate researcher profiles on the Discovery portal
Find out more information on the LLC and Discovery portal websites:
IT training
Are you interested in improving your IT skills or learning more about a specific programme? Our IT team offers a range of in-person and online training for postgraduate students.
Careers support
Our Careers Service will help you to plan out your future career and find work. It offers:
- JobShop, a bank of part-time work, internships, volunteering opportunities and graduate jobs
- Free 30-minute appointments with a careers adviser
- Careers and employability events
- Mock interviews
- Online resources, such as career guides and advice on job applications.
Find out more on our CareersPortal, and on the Careers Services web pages:
External resources
With your University of Dundee email address, you can get free access to a variety of online professional development resources:
Vitae
Vitae is a global leader in the professional development of researchers, offering career support and professional development guides for researchers. The University of Dundee is an organisational member, and you can use your UoD email to register for full members' access at no cost.
LinkedIn Learning
LinkedIn Learning, formerly known as Lynda.com, is an online video library offering more than 16,000 courses. You can log in to this resource for free using your University of Dundee username and password.
Microsoft Virtual Academy
The Microsoft Virtual Academy offers free IT training to help you build your technical skills. You can access this resource for free using your University of Dundee email address.
Please get in touch if you have any questions