The Nottingham BBSRC DTP offers a comprehensive training programme which is designed to support you both to be a successful postgraduate researcher during your time on the DTP and to build the skills and experience you will need to be successful in your future career, whichever direction that might take you in.
Induction
Our induction programme is designed to give you the best possible start to your time on the DTP. You'll join us for an orientation day at the very beginning of your studies, where we'll share lots of practical information and you'll be able to meet and start to get to know your fellow cohort members and the DTP team. This is followed by 2.5 weeks of induction training which consists of a mixture of in-person and online training courses and social activities.
The induction programme is updated every year to reflect emerging training needs and participant feedback, and you'll receive a full programme before you join us, but courses which have run in previous years include:
- Transition to PhD study
- Creating an anti-racist environment in the DTP
- Development Needs Analysis
- Introduction to imaging facilities
- Library training
- Introduction to R
- Machine Learning for Biology Analysis and Discovery
- Biochemical and Chemical Modification of Proteins
- Applications of Mass Spectrometry to Biological Systems
- Applications of NMR to Biological Systems
- q-RT-PCR training
- Molecular Biology lab skills
- IT induction
- Resilience Training
- Academic posters
- Presentation Skills
- Electron micropscopy in the Nanoscale and Microscale Research Centre
- Visits to partner organisations
Training Programme
The DTP provides you with core training across six key areas:
1. Excellent Research Practice
This is a core programme which runs throughout the whole DTP programme and will give you the opportunity to come together to consider research ethics, experimental design, public and policy engagement and more through innovative and thought provoking taught sessions.
2. Career Training
Whether it's quizzing our alumni at our biennial Careers Day, working on a pitch about your research for the media, becoming an accredited project manager or mental health first aider, our career training offering supports you to develop the transferable skills you need for your future success.
3. Entrepreneurship, Commercialisation and Innovation
Participate in BiotechnologyYES, learn how to engage with our industry partners (and put theory into practice during your PhD) and learn from courses designed to help you understand entrepreneurship, commercialisation and innovation in the UK.
4. Mathematical and Computational Skills
Use our bespoke online course materials to support the development of your mathematical skills, and select from a wide range of programming, AI and machine learning focussed courses throughout your time on the DTP.
5. Research Technique Development
Most training in this category will be 'on-the-job' training linked to your specific PhD project - whether it's learning techniques from your lab colleagues or accessing specific project-linked training courses using your Researcher Training Support Grant funding.
6. Writing, Thesis and Viva Prep
You'll be able to engage with writing support at all stages of your researcher journey - whether it's getting used to using referencing software, grappling with structure or just finding some time to focus on writing at one of our DTP writing retreats. All DTP PGRs have a thesis 121 meeting during their final year where an academic from the DTP training committee provides some external feedback on a chapter of their thesis.
The aim of the programme is to ensure that you have strong fundamentals across all of these areas, and to support you to identify further training that fits best with your own development needs and career aspirations. As such, much of the training you will complete in your first year will be mandatory, and then you will be able to make choices about which training best suits you as your progress in your studies.