All students funded by SEDarc are required to attend mandatory training sessions as part of their study. In addition to the Induction Week, which takes place in October of the first year, most training sessions are delivered online and typically scheduled for Wednesday afternoons.
In the first year of the PhD, the Research in Practice series (10 sessions) is usually held on the first Wednesday afternoon of each month. In addition, General Skills Training sessions are scheduled on one or two Wednesday afternoons per month. Prospective students can see the current year's schedule on the training calendar page of the website. Current students can see all session information on InkPath.
Beyond scheduled sessions, students are expected to engage in self-directed study, which can take various forms. To support your planning, a diagram outlining Year 1 training requirements is included below. Each SEDarc-funded PhD student must complete 200 hours of training per academic year, of which 50 hours must be contact hours.
In the Second and Third years of the PhD, Specialist Skills Training sessions are assigned based on students' needs as assessed through the annual Developmental Needs Analysis (DNA). Videos and resources/workbooks for each of the sessions are made available, and students are expected to manage their training with the support of their supervisors. Again, students are expected to complete 200 hours of training, of which 50 hours must be contact hours.
In addition to the regular training sessions held throughout the year, SEDarc hosts an Annual Summer School, typically taking place in June or July. Attendance at this event is mandatory for all SEDarc-funded students. To get a sense of the programme, you can view details from the most recent Summer School on the SEDarc Summer School webpage.