Generic Knowledge and Skills - Portfolio

• Course leader Olga Göransson Olga [dot] goransson [at] med [dot] lu [dot] se
• Examiner The Assistant Head of Department for PhD studies at your department (FU-prefekt)
• The course targets PhD students at the Faculty of Medicine
• Credits 12 hp

Time period

Upon admission to the PhD programme, students are automatically registered to the course Generic Knowledge and Skills. You do not have to apply for this course. Thereafter, Generic Knowledge and Skills runs, in the form of individual work with a portfolio, throughout the PhD programme.

Purpose

The course aims to enable the PhD student to achieve and demonstrate their fulfilment of learning outcomes for the PhD education – especially those that are not achieved or generally examined through the dissertation.

Implementation

The learning outcomes for the course are achieved through the various activities that the student participates in during the PhD programme, as well as through the PhD student’s own documentation and reflection in a learning portfolio, using descriptive and reflective texts, appendices and other material. The portfolio is written in Swedish or English.    

Information about how to conduct the work is initially provided during the mandatory Introduction to PhD Studies. Support for the work is then provided by the course management in the form of a mandatory workshop within the Research school in medical sciences, elective workshops 2-4 times per semester, and a Libguide with supporting guides and documents.

A web-based system (Mahara) for the portfolio is provided and recommended.

Before the examination, the PhD student should create an assessment portfolio, according to specific instructions (provided in the course Libguide). The assessment portfolio consists of the PhD student's selection and compilation of experiences, descriptive and reflective texts, appendices or other material previously documented in the learning portfolio, and should together demonstrate that the learning outcomes for the course have been achieved. The assessment portfolio must be sent to the Assistant Head of Department for PhD studies (FU-prefekt) for examination no later than 4 months before the defense.

At the half-time review, the assessment portfolio is formatively assessed by the half-time opponents and the ’FU-prefekt’. 

1. Research process
2. Research methodology
3. Subject expertise
4. Publishing
5. Teacher training and experience
6. Conferences and seminars
7. National and international collaboration with the research community
8. Cooperation with wider society
9. Ethical issues
10. Supervision/supervisor
11. Administration, organisation and leadership
12. Career development

1A. formulate a project plan including background, research issue, methodology, time plan and potential uses

1B. analyse challenges within their own research project

2. give an account of the strategies used to fulfil their knowledge requirements in the broad subject area

3. reflect on the choice of methods, as well as the strengths and weaknesses of the methods used in their own research project

4. manage all aspects of the publication process 

5. reflect on their own experiences of teaching, and how their own teaching skills can be developed and applied to support the learning of others

6. present and discuss research at seminars and conferences, and reflect on the development of their own oral communication skills.

7. justify how national and international research collaborations can contribute to their own research process and the development of collaborative skills

8. reflect on the possible use of their own research results in society, and how the presentation of research has been adapted to different target audiences

9. based on their own doctoral thesis work, reflect on ethical considerations in research, as well as what is meant by good research practice and misconduct in research 

10. reflect on their development towards independence in research, and how supervision can contribute to this.

11. describe their own involvement and insight into administration, organisation or management of research or education.