National GRADschools 2011

The dates for the Vitae National GRADschools 2011 have just been announced. They are:

GRADschool 1: Windermere, 1 - 4 March

GRADschool 2: Bournemouth, 14 - 17 June

GRADschool 3: Windermere, 11 - 14 October

More information on GRADschools can be found here, but basically they are residential courses for PhD students, that aim to do the following:

'Our vision is to create an inspirational, challenging and experiential learning environment in which all participants will learn something new about themselves and take away skills, tools or information which will motivate them to complete their studies, further realise their potential, and enable them to make more informed choices about their future careers.'

The courses are aimed at PhD students in their second year or above. If you are research council funded you will be eligible for a funded place on a GRADschool subject to availability. If you are a non-research council funded researcher you may apply for a national GRADschool but you or your department/school will need to cover the cost of your place and you will need to provide invoice details.

More details about the 2011 courses, and how to book, can be found here.

Having been on one of these courses myself during my PhD, I can't recommend them highly enough and I would strongly urge anyone to attend one. If you are interested, you should book as soon as possible, as the places are open to any PhD students in the country and they will get taken fast!

UK GRADschools

Information and booking now available for 2009 GRADschools

GRAD schools are three-day residential courses for PhD students run by Vitae. They are open to all PhD researchers in their 2nd year or above, although free places are only available to students with research-council funding. During the three days students take part in all kinds of activities designed to help them reflect on their skills and develop new ones. Much more information is available from the link above.

The website states that 'Our vision is to create an inspirational, challenging and experiential learning environment in which all participants will learn something new about themselves and take away skills, tools or information which will motivate them to complete their studies, further realise their potential, and enable them to make more informed choices about their future careers.'

This may sound a bit vague and "fluffy", but having been on one myself I can safely say that the courses do exactly what they say. While I was very sceptical at first about what a few days of "team-building" activities could possibly do for me, I came away with renewed enthusiasm for my research and also the knowledge that my PhD was helping me to develop a wide range of skills that I previously hadn't been aware of. I actually think my experience at the school helped lead me to my current job here, as it was such a sort of eureka-moment for me (wow - I am actually good at some things that don't involve being tied to a lab bench!) that I really want to help other people in similar situations. On top of all of that, I also made some lasting friendships with PhD students from other institutions that I would never otherwise have met.

If you like the sound of this but aren't eligible for a free place on a GRADschool, or don't fancy the residential aspect, then I will be running a non-residential 3-day skills school at Queen Mary in the summer. The dates are 22nd-24th June. Booking is already open through the ESD course site (see the link on the side-bar), but I will provide more information and reminders nearer the time.