An Introduction from the Dean and Postgraduate Skills Development Manager

Getting a PhD is a serious accomplishment and requires a bright mind, lots of hard work, enthusiasm and plenty of support and guidance. You are working as an early-stage professional researcher in a large inter-disciplinary institution. These web pages provide you with information on the Effective Researcher Development Programme; an extensive choice of training events exclusively designed for PhD and early career contract researchers.

Whether your looking for help on how to start your research project, how to finish it, how to give a conference paper, how to write at PhD level or how to prepare for the viva examination and life beyond the PhD, the web pages are crammed with a wide range of opportunities exclusively designed for research students. Last year nearly 1,500 PhD students engaged in our programme across over 150 workshops. What’s more, 97% of those attending stated the training was well above average. We hope to build on this success again this year.

We take training and development of our researchers very seriously here at Exeter and we are not the only ones who think training is central to a successful PhD. The programme at Exeter is funded by the UK Research Councils who set standards for PhD work nationally and internationally. UK Research Councils also expect PhD researchers to engage proactively in training opportunities.

We look forward to meeting and working with you over the coming months and years to help you get that PhD and make a seamless transition in to the work-place.

Professor Robert Van de Noort
Dean of the Faculty of Research

Dr Chris Wood
Postgraduate Skills Development Manager