Education

Outline

PhD candidates who do not have a research master degree (or equivalent), follow compulsory courses for 30 EC in the first year; a standard part of 5 EC and an individual, elective part of 25 EC. The compulsory courses are:

1. Academic Writing: Proposals & Papers (5 EC)
   

In addition the following workshops/activities are mandatory for all PhD students (a total of 5 ECs are granted for these professionalization activities: 4 ECs for the workshops, 1 EC in total for the conferences):

1. Publication workshop
2. Scientific integrity workshop
3. Presentation workshop
4. 4 elective workshops
5. Two presentations at the PhD conference

PhD candidates who do have a FEB Research Master (ReMa) degree do not have to follow compulsory courses, but the following workshops/activities are mandatory:

1. Publication workshop
2. Presentation workshop
3. Two presentations at the PhD conference

Course/workshop Information

Academic Writing: Proposals & Papers (5 EC)
The course is developed to support PhD Candidates in writing their research proposal. In four one-day sessions (November through April), the course focuses on the main elements of a research proposal such as writing an introduction, developing research questions, the use of literature, explaining the methodology and feasibility of the research.

This course is a compulsory part of the educational programme of PhD Candidates who did not complete the FEB Research Master program.
Part-time PhD Candidates are expected to take this course in the second year of the course-based phase. Students who have successfully finished this course should have:

• The skills and knowledge to write a high-quality scientific research

  proposal (introduction, positioning, theoretical framework, research approach, etc.);

• The skills and knowledge to present and defend their research proposal;

• An overview and understanding of alternative research approaches within economics and business;

• A basic understanding as to where to position their own research within the various research approaches in economics and business.

Presentation Workshop
The workshop is designed to enhance presentation skills, with a focus on structure, delivery and non-verbal communication. It includes ample opportunity for practice and feedback. In addition, differences in presenting in different settings and cultural contexts are addressed.
The workshop consists of two 2-hour seminars and one 4-hour session in small groups. For each seminar, a 1-hour preparation is recommended. After input and orientation activities (What makes a presentation effective?), all participants give practice presentations on their research. All participants are involved in question-and-answer sessions and in giving peer feedback. The workshop is designed by the Professional Skills team at FEB; this team provides education on academic and professional skills for the programmes of this faculty.
Full-time PhD Candidates need to complete this workshop during their first year.

Publication Workshop
The workshop aims at showing the way to get your work published in high-quality journals. This workshop is a half-day workshop (May) and uses the experience of senior researchers. Elements like article structure, choice of journals and referee processes will be discussed interactively. The Publishing Workshop is a compulsory element of the standard educational programme. Part-time PhD Candidates should follow this workshop as a part of their research-based phase. In this workshop you will analyse examples of referee processes based on cases provided by senior researchers. The topic of discussion will be the specific dos and don’ts for different fields. PhD Candidates should complete this workshop during their first year.

Integrity Workshop
Every student (both Research Master and PhD level, including part-time PhDs) who enters the graduate school has to follow a mandatory course on scientific and social integrity before they graduate. PhD Candidates within the graduate school have to take the course just once, i.e., PhD Candidates who took the course in their FEB Research Master programme, will be exempted for the course in the PhD programme. PhD Candidates need to complete the workshop during their first year.

The first half of the workshop consists of several presentations about general scientific ethics, faculty practices and policies, and data management by faculty staff members. After the presentation participants will be divided into groups and discuss several dilemmas related to integrity issues. Groups are subsequently invited to present the outcomes of certain dilemmas to a panel of senior faculty staff, with whom the dilemmas are further debated. The second half of the workshop employs the same format but in the context of social integrity.

PhD Conference
Every year, the graduate school organizes the PhD conference. This conference allows PhD Candidates to present their work in a friendly setting. PhD Candidates are required to submit a paper which is a work-in-progress but sufficiently developed for a reviewer to comment on.
Each presenter will be assigned a discussant who reads the paper in depth and provides feedback during the presentation. Each presentation time slot is 30 minutes, of which 15 minutes can be used for the presentation, the other 15 minutes are for discussion. It is mandatory for every PhD Candidate to present at least twice at the PhD conference. Part-time PhD Candidates are recommended to present during their research-based phase.

Project Management Workshop
The exact contents of the project management workshop can differ from year to year. Below is an example.

Part 1: Time management
To make more effective use of your time, the first thing you need to do is formulate clear goals, and translate them into concrete steps. The next crucial thing is to give strict priority to these steps in your daily/weekly/monthly/annual schedule and not allow yourself to be distracted by other, more fun, important or interesting activities.
In the Time management module, we show the distinction between time management of a day/week, of a long-term project, and for an entire PhD program. The participants learn to analyse the way they spend their time in a day and in a week in different ways. This gives them new insights into their strong points and also provides options for improving their working method. One of the homework assignments is to work on their dissertation for a week and compare the result with the ‘ideal planning’ they set up in the workshop. This homework is discussed at the beginning of the second module.

Part 2: Project management
In this second module, the PhD Candidates make their own schedule for the number of years that they will/can be involved in the PhD trajectory. This will be a longer period for some and a shorter period for others.
Such a planning seems difficult at first, because how to plan a project when the outcome of the research is not yet known and what is more, is dependent on so many uncertain factors? We show that a large part of the PhD trajectory can be planned very well and the participants will learn how to apply the rules of project planning to their PhD.
This involves, for example, planning back from an end point and thus gaining insight into what is possible within the limited time. Learning to plan is therefore based on a predetermined period; working with a deadline for the trajectory is part of learning to plan.

Teaching Workshop
Most PhD Candidates with an appointment have to spend 20% of their time on teaching. Many of them appreciate support and guidance in this task. However, the courses offered by the UG ask for a considerable time investment. Therefore, GSE&B offers a training on teaching intended for PhD Candidates who have not taken the CPS ‘Introduction to Teaching’ or the CPS ‘Start to Teach’ workshops.

The general purpose of this training is to enhance the quality of teaching and supervising. The workshop is hands-on and focused on practice. Learning will be done by observing (modelling), thinking (cognitive learning), doing (experiential learning), and reflecting.
Exchanging experiences with other teachers with various levels of experience is an effective and efficient way to reflect on your own performance and learn from others.

The workshop consists of two 3-hour seminars. For each seminar, a 1-hour preparation is recommended. After the two plenary meetings, the course is concluded with a one 2-hour peer consultancy meeting. The workshop is designed by the Professional Skills team at FEB; this team provides education on academic and professional skills for the programmes of this faculty.

Placement Workshops
The placement officers organize a workshop every spring for new PhD Candidates to help them think about their ambitions and career planning, and a workshop every year that explains the job market (both academic and non-academic). PhDs are divided into two groups: one for economics and one for business, organized for targeted advice.

Courses from the Research Master Programme

• Research Methods Courses
  The graduate school offers several research methods courses to both research master and PhD students (also for external students from other faculties/universities). Up-to-date information is available at the website of the graduate school.
• Electives
  PhD candidates can follow electives from the research master. An up-to-date overview of these electives can be found at the website of the graduate school.

Career Perspectives Track
PhD candidates may participate in career perspectives activities. A few examples of these workshops and activities are:

• Inside academia
• Outside academia
• Introduction programme RUG graduate schools
• A beginner’s guide to grant writing
• From idea to proposal
• Rubicon training

A full overview can be found here.