National PDP Database

1. National PDP Database Personal development planning (PDP) for postgraduate researchers

2. an increasing emphasis on • personal development in all higher education degree programmes in the UK, and • embedding personal and professional development in research degree programmes

3. Vision for all Postgraduate Researchers (PGRs) to complete their studies and make a successful transition to their future careers within that, supporting needs-based personal development appropriate to the individual UK GRAD Programme

4. UK GRAD online review of PDP and Training Needs Analysis Centre for Recording Achievement www.recordingachievement.org National Postgraduate Committee www.npc.org.uk UK GRAD www.grad.ac.uk

5. Have you ever been through Paul Spencer on the National Postgraduate Committee discussion board www.npc.org.uk Nov 04 the process of applying for a job, looked at the person & job specification and then wondered how your skills and experiences match up?

6. If you have a structured way of: • recording your achievement and • various elements of 'training' that you have undertaken, it becomes a whole lot easier to create a comprehensive skills profile.

7. The overriding reason for undertaking PDP • is that employers look for people who have gone through the process of PDP • in other words the look for people who can evaluate their skills and react in an ever changing environment. • Adaptability is the key here.

8. It is also relevant in terms of project management of your studies • When you have a meeting with your supervisory team, you should discuss progress and where to go next • Advice- write it down!

9. A “Progress File” for HE a means by which students can monitor, build and reflect upon their personal development Recommendation 20 of the Dearing Report http://www.lifelonglearning.co.uk/dearing

10. HE Progress File consists of 2 elements: • A transcript to record achievement in a common format • A means by which students can monitor, build and reflect upon their development (PDP)

11. ‘a structured and supported process undertaken by an individual to reflect upon their own learning, performance and/or achievement and to plan for their personal, educational and career development’ endorsed by CVCP (now UUK), CoSHEP, SCoP and QAA www.qaa.ac.uk PDP defined as

12. Sir Gareth Roberts’ Review Set for Success into the supply of science and engineering skills in the UKstated that • ‘... the provision of at least two weeks' dedicated training a year, principally in transferable skills...’. http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk./Documents/Enterprise_and_Productivity/Research_and_Enterprise/ent_res_roberts.cfm

13. ….a joint statement (research funding councils and AHRB) • of the skills that doctoral research students would be expected to develop during their research training • these skills may be • present on commencement, • explicitly taught, or • developed during the course of the research

14. QAA Code of Practice: Postgraduate Research Programmes September 2004 Research students may find it useful to use the PDP tools provided by their institutions to record their • personal progress and development • including reference to research and other skills www.qaa.ac.uk and www.grad.ac.uk

15. of: recording self-reflection target setting action planning monitoring in relation to: academic learning and development skills development career management Cycles