ePortfolio and Personal
Development Planning
Richy Hetherington - Development Co-ordinator
Simon Cotterill - Senior Research Associate
Today’s session
• Why do you need this stuff? A very brief
history
• The Development Programme
• A quick demo of the systems
• Time for you to use your ePortfolio
• Identifying sources of help & support
• Ask questions at any time
Roberts’ Report 2002
• “Many employers do not initially pay those
with PhDs any more than they would a
new graduate, viewing the training
(particularly in transferable skills) that PhD
students receive as inadequate
preparation for careers in business R&D.”
• “Institutions are not adapting quickly
enough to the needs of industry”
http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/+/http:/www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/d/robertsreview_introch1.pdf
http://www.rcuk.ac.uk/RCUK-prod/assets/documents/skills/IndependentReviewHodge.pdf
Joint Skills Statement & Recording
UK research councils devised a list of
skills research students should gain
The Quality Assurance Agency (QAA)
adopted this list and made it a
requirement that research students
should be able to record these skills
www.vitae.ac.uk (UK Grad)
Researcher Development Framework
ePortfolio has been developed so
you can...
…record your research progress
…plan and monitor your professional
development (PDP)
…reflect upon the skills you have gained
Booking sessions and Evaluation
ePortfolio
(Research Training Portfolio - Online)
https://portfolio.ncl.ac.uk
About the Portfolio
Portfolio:
 Includes support for research skills
 Continue to use if you do a PhD.
Recording meetings with tutors/supervisors
Record and Reflect on Achievements
Portfolios
Awareness of transferable and specialist skills
Promoting your role in actively developing your research skills
-- be more effective during your Masters / PhD
-- broader research & transferable skills for your career
Express your skills and relate them to potential employers
Importance of skills and
competencies in gaining
employment
Generic/transferable skills
used in employment
“We spend more time planning our holidays
than we do planning our lives !”
Recording Meetings
Is it compulsory to
record meetings in
ePorfolio?
How many formal supervisory
meetings should I have?
• For full-time, a minimum of
10 per year.
• For part-time, a minimum of
5 per year.
Who should record the
meetings?
• All students are required to maintain and
record formal supervisions, training and
progress in ePortfolio.
• Your supervisor(s) can add their comments to
your meeting notes in ePortfolio and will be
asked to confirm that the meeting took place.
Why should I record the
meetings?
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
They are a record of agreed actions which are used to refer back
to.
They demonstrate regular engagement with your supervisor(s).
They provide a useful record of your progress.
It is good professional practice to do so.
It is normal practice to minute meetings in the workplace.
They confirm engagement and attendance.
If meetings are not recorded you may be contacted by the
Research Student Support Team (HaSS and SAgE) or the
Graduate School staff (FMS) to find out if there are any issues
preventing the recording of them.
Who can see the meeting
records?
• Only you and your supervisor can see
the content of the recorded meeting
notes.
Demonstration
Record your meetings with your
supervisor(s)
How to Record a Meeting
Blog integrated with “My Skills”
Prof Fred Smith
Please ensure that you record the attendees
Workshop Task #1
• If you didn’t already do so register for this workshop on
the training programme pages:
http://faculty-tools.ncl.ac.uk/training
• Log on to the portfolio:
https://portfolio.ncl.ac.uk
• Spend some time exploring each section. Add a few
records to your CV.
• Questions / Issues ?
Personal Development
Planning Cycle
During your research, it is important to ..
• Identify gaps in skills and knowledge
• Identify opportunities to develop experience
• Set goals and targets and get involved
• Record what you did, how you did it, skills and
knowledge used and the final result
• Review progress regularly and use progress
meetings to cover professional development
Self Assessment/PDP
Evidence can be drawn from…
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Research & Development Programme
Work experience
Interests
Conferences – posters, presentations
Committees and societies
Academic awards & funding success
Professional courses (Vitae, sponsors)
Publications – research articles
Sources of Support
• Supervisor(s) and tutors (Graduate School)
• Postgraduate Student Development
Programme
• Careers Advisers and information staff
• Professional bodies and networks
• Graduate Connections
• Employers/Sponsor
• Your own network - other students
Resources
•
•
•
•
•
•
Researchers’ Handbook
Professional bodies
Research Councils
Careers Service www.careers.ncl.ac.uk
Prospects www.prospects.ac.uk
Vitae (UK Grad) www.vitae.ac.uk
Careers Service
Level 1 Kings Gate
No appointment required – just call in!
Advice & Guidance available
Monday to Friday 11am – 4.30pm
Open from 10am term-time and vacation
www.careers.ncl.ac.uk