The University of Sheffield
The Medical School

Tasks to complete in Month 1 (3 Year PhD)


1. Register with Corporate Information and Computing Services (CiCS)

To use any of the network and email services provided by the University, you must first register with CiCS. To do this, you should attend one of the registration events held by CiCS during the registration period. Students commencing at other times should register at the Computing Centre located on Hounsfield Road or contact the CiCS Helpdesk on 0114 222 1111 or email ucards-reg@sheffield.ac.uk.

Please then ensure that either Jodie Burnham (PGR Programme Administrator, MPhil/PhD, LU116) or Carol Fidler (PGR Programme Administrator, MPhil/MD, LU116) knows your email address so that they can add it to the School´s circulation list.


2. Attend School Induction Session

Induction

Induction will take place early in the first semester, in early October. All newly arrived students are invited to attend, to be welcomed to the Medical School. Students will learn of the various administrative tasks they are required to complete on arrival and at different stages during the course of their studies. They will also be made aware of the School´s attitude to plagiarism and asked to sign a statement of probity confirming that they will abide by the University of Sheffield´s regulations on plagiarism and that all work produced will be their own and will not have been plagiarised from other sources. Students will also be informed of the progress monitoring schemes and the procedures involved in transferring registration from MPhil to MD or PhD. They will be introduced to the Faculty librarian who will explain what the library can offer them, and meet representatives from the Careers and Counselling Services. There are plenty of opportunities to ask questions at the session, which is attended by different members of the School Graduate Research Committee.

If you are a cross-sessional student you are invited to attend the next induction session. Alternatively you can download presentations from the last induction from the 'downloads' box on the right.

Cross-sessional students should meet with their Departmental PGR Lead (see Graduate Research Committee pages), who will provide a short induction.


3. Complete Training Needs Analysis and Develop Training Plan

You should complete the first draft of your Training Needs Analysis (TNA) prior to your first supervisory meeting. The TNA will then form the basis for discussion with your supervisors at the meeting. In this way, you will be able to formulate a training development plan from the modules/seminars that are on offer, as well as skills training provision available from professional services and other experiential activities as part of your research programme. A proforma for your DDP Development Plan can be downloaded from the right, however, you should complete an electronic copy in PebblePad. While your primary supervisor will be closely involved with the development of your training programme, your second supervisor will hold primary responsibility for monitoring its implementation. This meeting should take place before you register for the Doctoral Development Programme(DDP). You should complete the TNA at the start of each year, and keep reviewing it throughout your time at Sheffield.

Further information about the TNA and the DDP is available at the DDP portal. An elecronic copy of your TNA and development plan will be available in your e-portfolio which you can find by accessing your PebblePad account on your arrival (see the downloads section for PebblePad instructions). If you do not have access please contact Jodie Burnham (PGR Programme Administrator MPhil/PhD, LU116) or Carol Fidler (PGR Programme Administrator MPhil/MD, LU116).

Please pay attention to the requirements at a glance pages:

Requirements at a glance - full time students

Requirements at a glance - part time students


4. Register for the Doctoral Development Programme

To achieve training, students can select modules or skills training units available within the University, as well as accrue relevant experiences that are not formally taught or that are gained outside the University. Arrangement for attendance of any training module or skills unit will be the responsibility of the student even though their selection will be in consultation with the supervisory team. Students will need to ensure that they register for taught modules through Research and Innovation Services. The DDP modules/training information is outlined on the DDP portal. Students are expected to keep a record of their training in their e-portfolio using PebblePad.

You will automatically be registered on the following three research training modules in your first year:

Compulsory Faculty Module
FCM6100 Research Ethics & Integrity
Staff Contact: Ms Sara Watkinson

This unit is to encourage PGR students to critically analyse/reflect on their own actions and behaviours in conducting research and in their interactions with research participants, supervisors, and co-workers and to heighten PGR students' ethical sensitivity and reasoning, enabling them to plan and prepare for challenges they may face and to be able manage challenges in an ethical way.

Students will be required to attend or view online the module's introductory lecture. Following this throughout the first year there will be 7 sessions. After each session students will write a reflective statement, using the PebblePad software. At sessions 4-7 students will be expected to give a presentation on one of their reflective statements. Students will submit their reflective entries, presentation and feedback forms to the 'MDH-PGR-FCM6100' gateway.

Further information on the module can be found on the DDP webpages and PebblePad instructions are in the downloads section.

Compulsory Medical School Modules
MED6950 Research Training: Literature Review
Staff Contact: Dr Pat Eyers & Dr Peter Grabowski

This unit allows the student to conduct a comprehensive literature review specifically focussed in the area of their research project. This will be written in essay format of not more than 4,000 words, and should be submitted to Jodie Burnham (PGR Programme Administrator MPhil/PhD, LU116) or Carol Fidler (PGR Programme Administrator MPhil/MD, LU116) within three months of commencing registration. The essay will be assessed by the student´s supervisor and an independent examiner.

Downloads:


MED6960 Research Training: Techniques, Safety and Report
Staff Contact: Dr Pat Eyers & Dr Peter Grabowski

This unit is designed to allow the student to engage in a subject-based programme aimed at gaining an understanding of the general research skills appropriate to their research project. Students will master a number of basic laboratory skills, including those related to safe working in the laboratory. They will be expected to keep details of their laboratory work (laboratory notebooks) and a log of related activities (seminars attended, skills developed, training received, safety courses attended). They will also be required to give an oral presentation of their results to their peers, at a session which will be organised by the Graduate Research Student Committee. The presentation will be assessed by an academic panel.

Downloads:

Note for students who commenced registration prior to October 2010

The Doctoral Development Programme (DDP) is replacing the Research Training Programme (RTP) for students commencing registration in October 2010. Please note that all full-time students, who first registered prior to October 2010 wishing to progress to an MD or a PhD must take part in the RTP, which will continue to operate alongside the DDP, and achieve a minimum of 30 or 45 credits, depending on whether the target degree is an MD or a PhD, respectively. Students are advised to conduct a training needs analysis with their supervisors prior to registration each year. At least 20 credits must be obtained before transfer of registration from MPhil to MD or PhD. Further information relating to the Research Training Programme is available from the Research and Innovation Services web pages.


5. Meet with Personal Tutor

Your personal tutor will be appointed by your Departmental Postgraduate Research Lead and will be somebody who is not directly concerned with your research, but does have some understanding of the area. Their role is mainly to provide pastoral care and to be someone with whom you can discuss issues relating to your project or your supervision, or other personal problems that might arise. You may wish to discuss your training needs with your personal tutor. You must meet twice annually with your personal tutor, and a record of the meetings should be made using the personal tutoring meeting form, which should be returned to the PGR Secretary after the meeting. You are expected to contact your personal tutor to arrange these meetings. Some students may be assigned a personal tutoring team comprising an academic member of staff and a senior postdoctoral researcher. In such cases, students will be expected to meet twice annually with both members of their personal tutoring team. Students are free to meet with their personal tutors at other times when required.


6. Complete "Application to Read for a Research Degree"

You will need to download the 'Application to Read for a Research Degree form'. The title of the research project should be agreed with your supervisor and written in the appropriate box. Also required are your original degree certificate (copies are not acceptable) and, if invasive procedures are involved in the project (e.g. taking blood or handling unfixed human tissue), proof of Hep B virus e antigen tests, heaf tests for TB, and tests for measles, mumps and rubella. The Occupational Health Unit can arrange the necessary testing and will contact the student if documentation is not in place. The completed application should be returned to Jodie Burnham (PGR Programme Administrator MPhil/PhD, LU116) or Carol Fidler (PGR Programme Administrator MPhil/MD, LU116) who will arrange for it to be approved by the postgraduate tutor before submitting it to the Research Degree Support team in Research and Innovation Services.