SEB Bulletin March 2005
Lifting the Lid on UKGRAD
Confession time. My name is Dr. Steve Hutchinson and I am addicted to UKGRAD.
In 1998, right in the real depths of the “second year slump” of my PhD, I went on a UKGRAD School and it was (don't tell my wife) one of the best weeks of my life. It was the epiphany for me. It was the point which made me realise that actually life could be very different for me and when I started to take some real control of my career.
Now I run the University of Leeds' research student training programme. I'm involved with the UKGRAD programme as a tutor on courses like the one I attended in Stirling and am now co-ordinator of the UKGRAD programme in Yorkshire and the Northeast. This year I'll be directing my first UKGRAD-equivalent school.
So, you can see that this is more than just a passing infatuation!
Before you tire of my autobiographical rantings, here are a couple of quotes from recent participants on UKGRAD activities:
“If someone tells you that you can't afford the time to go on a gradschool, don't listen to them. This is the most useful training I've ever done. Thank you.”
“I came here quite depressed, but this course has shown me that I can achieve anything. Thanks.”
So what is UKGRAD and why do people get so much from it?
UKGRAD is an organisation funded by the Research Councils to promote and support training and development for researchers. The organisation aims for all postgraduate researchers to be fully equipped and encouraged to complete their studies and then to make the successful transition from their PhD studies to their future careers.
There are two major streams of activity; firstly, running and supporting development activity and secondly, “spreading the message”.
UKGRAD runs a national programme of residential schools for second and third year PhD students. These range between three and five days and have a variety of themes, from “Career Development” to “Teamworking” and are now expanding into more specific areas, such as the “Environmental Sector”, or “Digital Industries”. Researchers work in teams of about 8 on a variety of tasks and case studies which are designed to test and develop a range of skills that are integral to research and building a career. So you might find yourself negotiating an international treaty, or managing an environmental crisis or launching a charity or working through a blindfold maze or any other of a huge variety of activities that challenge and test everything that you think you know about yourself and your abilities.
Courses are interactive, highly participatory, require personal reflection, extremely knackering, very challenging but, above everything, fun - in whatever sector you see your future laying. It is certainly NOT about “teaching people to be accountants…”
The strength of the UKGRAD courses comes partly from tutors and mentors who are recruited from a wide range of sources - including research academics. This provides a huge variety of perspectives and a massive number of learning opportunities for everyone involved. Yes - it's time away from your research, but participants report increased productivity and skills and huge upsurges in motivation as a direct result of going.
These courses are free to Research Council Funded students. In addition, UKGRAD is divided into a number of regional “hubs” many of whom help to support and run local “UKGRAD equivalent” courses which are often free to any research student. The hubs engage in helping institutions to run shorter activities for their own students, and so more and more students are having a UKGRAD experience.
If you are vaguely interested (and you should be) in getting involved with a GRADSchool, take a look at www.grad.ac.uk/gradschool
In addition to all this the UKGRAD website (grad.ac.uk) has a wealth of resources for all Postgrads (top tips and materials on Time & Project Management, Writing, Working with Your Supervisor, Building Your Career etc.) - but it also has materials for supervisors to download. GRAD also works with employers to build links so that all parties are aware of what the others can contribute.
UKGRAD is also heavily instrumental in helping to steer the national agenda on Researcher Training and Development, and has been instrumental in setting national policy. It's worth looking at the “Policy” part of the GRAD website, for an idea of how the world has changed in the last 10 years, and how UKGRAD, the Government, the Research Councils, the QAA and the UK Council for Graduate Education are united in trying to ensure that the training agenda is at the core of research activity in this country.
UKGRAD has, in addition, a range of publications which are often launched at national and regional events (the most recent being 'What Do PhDs Do?'; an analysis of career destinations of research students). These events are in addition to the annual conference and policy forums that UKGRAD organise. If you are a research supervisor, a 20 minute look at the UKGRAD website, might be the most useful thing you do this week (and you might consider tutoring!).
If you're a postdoc, find out about mentoring on the programming. You'll learn masses about yourself and your skills.
And finally, if you're a postgraduate student, DO find out about UKGRAD. It saved my PhD, changed my life - and it could do the same for you.
Steve Hutchinson
UKGRAD