Transferable Skills - How to survive your PhD?

Code:

CT:SPhD

Acronym:

CT:SPhD

Keywords
Classification	Keyword
CNAEF	Personal development

Instance: 2024/2025 - SP (of 04-10-2024 to 25-11-2024)

Active?	Yes
Responsible unit:	Science Education Unit
Course/CS Responsible:	Transferable Skills - How to survive your PhD?

Cycles of Study/Courses

Acronym	No. of Students	Study Plan	Curricular Years	Credits UCN	Credits ECTS	Contact hours	Total Time
CT:CSPhD	19	PE_Transferable Skills - How to survive your PhD?	1	-	3	28	81

Teaching language

Portuguese

Objectives

• Improving the orientation of doctoral students in their academic path, making them more effective and efficient;


• Promote a more efficient and fruitful relationship;


• Enabling doctoral students to better deal with the stressors of the doctoral development process to better manage any conflicts and solve problems more efficiently;


• Create opportunities for individual self-reflection and group sharing about the expectations, needs and skills that doctoral students have and need in relation to their academic path in the 3rd cycle;


• Foster self-confidence in the academic-world of work transition process.

Learning outcomes and competences

• Guidance in the doctoral development process
• Interpersonal communication and collaboration in a guidance context
• Management of stressors arising from the doctoral development process
• Conflict management within the guidance process
• Problem solving in a doctoral context
• Self-reflection on expectations, needs and skills
• Management of the doctoral process as a career
• Self-confidence in the academic-world of work transition process

Skills under the 'RDF-Researcher Development Framework':
• Domain: B – Personal effectiveness
• Area: B3 – Professional and career development; B2 - Self-management; B1 - Personal Qualities
• Skill(s): Career management; Continuing professional development; Responsiveness to opportunities; Commitment to research; Preparation and prioritization; Perseverance; Self-confidence; self-reflection

Working method

Presencial

Program

1. What is a PhD, what should it be and what can it be
• Opening, Introductions and framing, Contextualization
• Motivations, expectations, needs
• What a PhD involves, what it is and what it can be
2. Advisor - doctoral student(s) relationship
• Types of guidance, advisor roles, characteristics and attributes
• The management of expectations and needs in the relationship
• Delimitation of responsibilities and areas of action
3. Problem solving during the PhD
• Detection, analysis of causes and solutions
• Management of emotions and motivations, blockages, role reconciliation
4. Transition planning and career paths
• What 'Career Development' is not, Types of career after PhD
• Career planning
• Transversal skills and proactivity (PhD as a career)

Mandatory literature

Churchill, H., & Sanders, T. (2007). ; Getting Your PhD: A Practical Insider's Guide.London:
Nathalie Mather-L’Huillier (2015) ; PhD problems: when things go wrong
Pedersen, L.T., & Wegener, C. (2016). ; A Survival Kit for Doctoral Students and Their Supervisors: Traveling the Landscape of Research.
Phillips, E., & Pugh, D.S. (2015). ; How To Get A Phd: A Handbook For Students And Their Supervisors
The unwritten rules of PhD research; Rugg, G. & Petre, M. (2010)

Teaching methods and learning activities

Training sessions will take place based on theoretical-practical interaction between trainers and trainees. The operationalization of concepts, the analysis of examples and the viewing of videos will be elements to be privileged during the sessions.
Good practices will be presented that will open space for discussion of how they will be implemented by trainees.
Cases that focus on everyday problems will also be presented, and the sharing of solutions to them will be encouraged.
The trainers will also provide support/guidance and feedback to individual and group exercises.

Evaluation Type

Distributed evaluation without final exam

Assessment Components

designation	Weight (%)
Trabalho escrito	100,00
Total:	100,00

Amount of time allocated to each course unit

designation	Time (hours)
Estudo autónomo	53,00
Frequência das aulas	28,00
Total:	81,00

Eligibility for exams

individual and group exercises performed in classes

Calculation formula of final grade

● Type of Assessment: Distributed assessment without final exam
● Attendance Conditions: Attendance with active participation in classes by carrying out the proposed exercises
● Evaluation components:

• Individual exercises


• Group exercises


• the report

Final classification calculation formula=R x 1.0

According to GR 02/11/2020, Cap II, art 13, point 1, the final classification will be expressed on a numerical scale from 0 to 20 values.