Skills Database FAQs
skills will be recorded and given points. This includes training
courses and workshops (whether run by your School/Institute,
the Centre for Academic and Professional Development or an
external organisation), taking part in School/Institute activities
such as Research student days or inductions, attending
conferences, giving presentations, attending research
seminars, teaching etc. Up-to-date lists of the activities can be
found on the Doctoral College website.
http://www.doctoralcollege.qmul.ac.uk/. This list may be
regularly updated.
There are some activities that will not be given points. This is
normally because it is either felt that they are not usually
appropriate for PhD students (e.g. a Centre for Academic and
Who is the scheme for? All PhD students and those who
Professional Development workshop about Planning for
have been registered on their PhD course since September
Retirement), or that they are such an integral part of the PhD
2011 to take part in the Skills Database.
process that they should not form part of the points system
(e.g. supervisory meetings, mandatory Health and Safety
training).
Why is this scheme being run? There are several
advantages to a scheme like this, for researchers. For PhD
How do activities get recorded on the database? There are
students one of the main advantages is that you will have a
three ways in which activities can be recorded on the database:
complete record of all the training and development activities
you have taken part in during your PhD, which will be useful for
o
CVs and job applications. The record will also show that your
Attendance at courses that are on the Centre for
Academic and Professional Development’s booking
PhD has helped you develop skills in all four domains of
system will be automatically uploaded onto the
the Researcher Development Framework (RDF), which again
database regularly. CAPD courses can be
will be of interest to employers, whether in or outside
foundhttps://www.esdcourses.org.uk/ . This will
academia. During your PhD your record will also be a useful
include all courses run by the CAPD and those run
way of determining in which areas you may still need to
by some other Professional Services departments.
develop your skills.
Some academic Schools/Institutes may also choose
to use this system for their activities.
What training and activities are recorded? Almost anything
that you do that helps develop your research or transferable
o
Administrators in Schools/Institutes can upload attendance lists
for activities and events they have run.
o
Students can log in to the database at
https://webapps2.is.qmul.ac.uk/sps/ and put in a
claim for points from a particular event or activity.
o
If this activity is already recorded on the database and has a
points’ allocation you will be able to select it from a drop-down
If it is a new event then you will be asked to enter some details
and suggest how many points you think you should be
awarded.
o
points. These points should be spread over the four domains of
the Researcher Development Framework, during the course of
their PhD course of study.
menu and enter the details.
o
However, it is recommended that all PhD students achieve 210
Who decides how many points an activity is worth? The
points’ allocations have been decided on by a committee
chaired by the, Director of the Doctoral College. There is a
In both these cases your claim will be forwarded to an
representative from each Faculty on the committee, along with
administrator or the database manager to approve or reject the
the Development Adviser for Research Students and the head
claim, or to edit the points’ allocation.
of the Careers Service. Schools and Institutes have also have
input into the decision-making process.
How many points are activities worth? Many activities,
including workshops and courses, are given 1 point per hour.
Who do I contact if I have a problem? If you are having
Some, such as giving a presentation or getting an article
problems accessing or using the database, please contact the
published, are given a pre-determined number of points. Up-to-
Research Development Advisor. If you have a query about your
date lists of the activities that are included so far can be found
training record or the way your points have been calculated,
on the http://www.doctoralcollege.qmul.ac.uk/. This may be
please contact resdev@qmul.ac.uk
updated during the year.
Why are the points I can gain for certain activities limited?
Is there a set number of points I need to get? The aspiration
One of the underlying aims of this scheme is to ensure that
is that all QMUL students should achieve the minimum targets
research students graduate with a wide variety of skills that will
be useful to them in an academic or non-academic
Domain D: Engagement,
Domain A – Knowledge and
environment. Therefore for certain activities that PhD students
Influence and Impact 30
Intellectual Abilities 60
might undertake on a regular basis (e.g. attending seminars,
points
Points
teaching) we have put a limit on the number of points that can
be gained in order to encourage researchers to do a wide
Domain C: Research
Domain B: Personal
Governance and
Effectiveness 20 points
Organisation 15 points
range of training and development activities.
I’ve taken part in an activity that is not already on the
database. What do I do? You can make a claim for events
that are not currently listed on the database by clicking on
“Create a New Claimable Activity” and filling in the form. You
will need to provide information about the activity and the skills
you developed from it, and you will be asked to estimate how
many points you think the activity is worth. This request will
then be sent to the database manager for approval.
What is the Researcher Development Framework? The
Researcher Development Framework articulates the
knowledge, behaviours and attributes of successful
researchers and encourages them to aspire to excellence
through achieving higher levels of development. It has been
developed by Vitae in consultation with academic and nonacademic employers.
Can I access the database from anywhere? Yes, it is a webbased application which can be accessed from anywhere using
your central college username and password.
https://webapps2.is.qmul.ac.uk/sps/
For Further Information
Contact: resdev@qmul.ac.uk