Course
A1 SENSE Introductory Course
A1 SENSE: building a personal vision for your PhD
There is a high diversity in ways of doing research; not only through the various disciplines with their different ways of working, but also in the amount of freedom you have as a researcher to influence the idea of what a researcher can be and should be able to do. In other words, doing a PhD trajectory is a great opportunity to develop your own vision of what kind of researcher you want to become and direct your own development, based on your personal purpose and reasons for deciding to go for the PhD degree.
This course brings together PhD candidates from different institutes that are part of SENSE, and that have the ambition to work on environmental issues. We will use the diversity of opinions to reflect on what it means to do research for you personally, create your own vision, and set learning goals to help determine which steps you want to take during the PhD trajectory. This with the end goal of becoming an independent researcher, while keeping in mind that as an individual you are dependent on others to reach those personal goals.
Aim
The overall aim of the course is to create a vision for your own development, accompanied by a set of personal learning goals. This so you can pro-actively discuss, reflect and plan the direction you want to take with your research, together with your supervision team. The 2.5 in-person days will also provide an opportunity to get to know other PhD students in the SENSE research school. You can learn about each other’s research activities and the problems that are being tackled and get the opportunity to build new disciplinary, multi- and interdisciplinary links within your network.
Set up and preparations
To a large degree, how useful this course will be for you depends on two key aspects: a) to what extent you use the assignments for your own benefit and b) on effective, positive minded feedback and reflective discussions during the in-person days between participants and course coordinators.
Thus, in order to make the most out of the course, and to be able to effectively support your fellow PhD colleagues during the in-person days, it is mandatory to have finalized all the assignments of the online part two weeks before the course starts. This way everyone has a good understanding of the concepts used and can enter discussions on a relatively equal footing. We expect a pro-active, and positive attitude from all participants. In return, we will do our best to create a supportive environment, that enables you to reflect on the conditions you need, to get the most out of your PhD time.
The online part will open about 6-8 weeks before the in-person days. The workload for the online part is estimated to be 20-28 hours; so plan ahead!
The platform we will use for the self-study part is Brightspace. For non-WUR PhD candidates a guest account will be provided so you can access all materials in due time. We will send out more information on how to prepare about 6 weeks before the in-person days.
In person days: we expect you to bring all the assignments with you and a laptop/ tablet/ working book so you can adjust what you wrote and make notes, following the interactive sessions. We also expect you to bring a Poster presentation
You will need to make a poster of your project, that you can present during the in-person days. The poster needs to be a printed full size poster; portrait style. Information on poster making you can find at:https://colinpurrington.com/tips/poster-design/. It does not have to be a full, detailed presentation of everything you will do; it is meant to tell others what you think you will be working on. So, present what you have and what you want to share.
Venue in person days
Hotel de Bosrand, Ede:https://www.debosrand.com/english The course will take place over 3 days and has a social evening program. We expect participants to stay overnight, unless previously indicated by the participant with a valid reason. Note that you will be sharing a room with another PhD candidate; if you already know who you want to share the room with, you can indicate this at registration.
Dates and times: 23 October arrival at the Bosrand on the first day 10:00-10:30, program starting at 10:30; 25 October departure after lunch (at around 14:00).
Registration
Registration is closed.
Course Fee
The fee for this course is €460* for all SENSE participants.
Cancellation policy: When cancelling after the 23rd of August without a valid reason, a fee of €230 euro will be charged.
*The fee includes a coordination fee and has increased due to a decreased SENSE membership price
Cancellation conditions
PLEASE NOTE: due to the preparation costs, we urge you to check your calendar carefully before registering for this course. Last minute withdrawals (withdrawals within twee weeks before the course starts) will result in unnecessary costs for your institute: a €125 will be charged if you cancel between 2 weeks and one week before the course starts; and the full fee thereafter.
Note: If you would like to cancel your registration, ALWAYS inform us. By NOT paying the participation fee, your registration is NOT automatically cancelled (and do note that you will be kept to the cancellation conditions).
Also note that when there are not enough participants, we can cancel the course. We will inform you if this is the case a week after the early bird deadline. Please take this into account when arranging your trip to the course (I.e. check the reimbursement policies).
General Information
Credit points
2.0 ECTS
Language
English
Group size
40-55 participants
Prior knowledge
Prerequisite: having started a PhD in the environmental sciences at a SENSE institute
Frequency
Twice a year (March and October). Next edition: 26-28 March 2025.