Last week nine new ICN2 PhD candidates attended the “How to Be an Effective Researcher” course organised by the Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (BIST) on behalf of its seven member institutes.
Training in transferable and interpersonal skills by PhD students is vital to ensuring they get the most out of their PhD. Things like project planning, effective working practices, and even navigating interactions with thesis supervisors and colleagues all require attention, especially for someone entering the research environment for the first time.
The course, “How to Be an Effective Researcher”, delivered by experts in researcher training, the UK-based consultancy Vitae, aimed to do just this. Two participatory two-day workshops were held last week to initiate new PhD candidates at BIST institutes into the skills they will need to develop in parallel to achieving their scientific goals. The students were set a range of engaging tasks designed to achieve a greater self-awareness of their learning and working styles, and performance as individuals and in a team as a starting point for the years to come.
In total nine ICN2 PhD students in their first year attended these workshops, together with their peers from the Institute of Chemical Research of Catalonia, Institute for Research in Biomedicine and the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia.