nireEHU Training Activities Programme
Training Plan
Activities of the Doctoral School
Character
Optional
Hours
12
Description
It is planned as a course with compulsory attendance, with a theoretical explanation of each of the modules, which will be accompanied by a series of practical exercises which the participants must perform throughout the sessions.
Results
The doctoral student will acquire the necessary tools to access, evaluate, use and disseminate information in an ethical manner.
Assessment systems
It is an on-site seminar, and therefore attendance is compulsory and will be monitored by means of signatures for each of the modules. At the end of the activity the tutor will be given a report allowing an assessment of the acquisition of the skills associated with this activity.
Character
Optional
Hours
40
Description
These are intensive residential seminars lasting a week. They are conducted in English in an inter-disciplinary and multicultural environment. Forty researchers from each university, in their second year of doctoral training, receive extensive training designed for their future vocational integration in a socio-labour environment not exclusively linked to research at universities and/or public and semi-public centres. All the activities are dynamised by personnel specializing in the organization of doctorials and the facilitation of teamwork. The scheduled activities include visits to companies, research centres and cultural entities selected from both sides of the border, the testimonies of executive doctors and entrepreneurs and teamwork for the joint preparation of an innovative project which will be submitted at the end of the encounter. Participation in the doctorials is optional and does not entail any enrolment fee. All the maintenance, accommodation and transport costs will be financed by the organizing universities, with the help of the funding obtained from the Ministry of Education and Culture and the Aquitaine-Euskadi cooperation fund of the Basque government.
Results
The doctoral students acquire practical training in communication, innovation, teamwork, leadership and entrepreneurship. Based on the testimonies and experiences of different professionals working in companies and associations in the field of culture and language, as well as visits to companies and associations, the students come into direct contact with professional experience. These seminars have an inter-disciplinary approach, grouping the students together in units which combine different universities of origin and areas of knowledge. The experience should provide a wealth of knowledge about how to articulate a future professional project both in and outside the University.
Assessment systems
The whole procedure for the doctorials is overseen by a pedagogical cabinet, with professional advisers who will provide continuous feedback on the group activity and monitor the work done every day by the doctoral students. Once the latter have enrolled for the doctorials, attendance and active participation in the sessions is compulsory.
Program activities
Character
Hours
120
Description
Attendance at congresses: a total of 120 hours are envisaged, distributed throughout the studies. As a guide, students might attend one national congress in the first year (1 week, 40 hours) and one international congress in each of the following two years (40 + 40 hours). Oral communication will be requested as the student becomes able to express him or herself with minimal fluency in English (the group seminars are useful for assessing this ability). For part-time students attendance at congresses will be spaced out in proportion to the increased length of the doctoral studies.
Results
By means of participation in scientific congresses, the student understands the reality of other groups and lines of research, learns to establish contacts of future scientific interest with other researchers and learns to communicate effectively with an audience with varied interests.
Assessment systems
After attending the congress, the student must make a brief presentation (a group seminar may be suitable) of the most significant aspects which have arisen. At least one member of the Academic Committee will participate in this meeting, who will evaluate the student's achievement.
Character
Hours
100
Description
Periodical research seminars at which the students will present details of the evolution of their work and answer questions from other students or researchers/professors. Distributed periodically throughout the studies on a fortnightly or monthly basis. The frequency will be proportionally higher in the case of part-time students.
Results
Ability to express oneself in front of an audience and synthesis. The ability to answer questions about the information presented. The ability to speak English.
Assessment systems
At least one member of the Academic Committee will participate in the seminar sessions. He or she will take note, in a brief report, of the weaknesses and strengths of the student who exhibits the work. He or she will be responsible for proposing ways of improving the presentation and checking the student's progress at future seminars throughout the training.
Character
Hours
300
Description
As often as possible, each student will perform a stay lasting one to three months (which can also be distributed over shorter stays) at a research centre (preferably abroad) at which research into a topic related to that of the student is being conducted. This stay will preferably be performed during the last year of the doctoral studies. For stays at other research centres, it will be agreed that the person responsible for the receiving centre will issue a confidential report to the president of the academic committee at the end of the stay, regarding the degree of fulfilment of the objectives and the student's use of the resources on offer.
Results
Students can learn at first hand about the daily work of recognized research centres, which helps to improve their appreciation of the quality of the work carried out in the centre or group, while it also promotes contact between different research groups. The student also learns to cope in a work environment different from the usual one, presumably in another language.
Assessment systems
The Academic Committee will seek to obtain information on the progress of the student's activities at the receiving centre, either by direct correspondence with the student (e-mail) or from the thesis director. After the stay, the student must submit a report to the Academic Committee (proportional in size to the length of the course) summarizing the work carried out. This report will be included on the student activity sheet.
Character
Hours
10
Description
Occasionally, short courses (4-10 hours) will be organized, consisting of the teaching of topics of specific interest to the lines of research. These courses will preferably be taught at the beginning of the studies (first year). They may be taught by professors from the research group or by guest speakers. It is also useful to attend courses organized by other bodies, for example, those regularly organized by the library of the UPV/EHU on bibliographical search techniques, among others.
Results
By means of this activity the student reinforces his or her training in basic scientific concepts and techniques which are useful for the doctoral thesis. The learning of bibliographical search techniques is essential when preparing research papers or the doctoral thesis report.
Assessment systems
The Academic Committee will monitor attendance at the course. Following the teaching of the course, each student must submit a brief report (proportional in size to the length of the course) summarizing the main ideas. This report must be submitted to the Academic Committee, which will evaluate it and include it on its worksheet.