Training Activities Programme
Training Plan
Activities of the Doctoral School
No activities
Program activities
Character
Compulsory
Hours
10
Description
During the first three hours, they will become aware of the legal developments affecting the doctoral framework, as well as their practical effects on the process leading to the doctoral degree. Another three hours will be devoted to a brief introduction to research, an explanation of the European Charter for Researchers, and the criteria for the elaboration and oral and written presentation of the results of the scientific work. Finally, the third session of four hours will be dedicated to explaining the bibliometric criteria for the evaluation of journals and scientific publications in each area of knowledge and the specific requirements for collaborating in them.
Results
The doctoral candidate will obtain a precise and practical lesson on the new framework in which his/her doctoral thesis will be developed. This includes some theoretical generalities about the new regulations, their parallels in the E.U. and the main differences with the situation that existed until now. Doctoral students will learn the modalities to register their project, how to do it, the deadlines to defend the doctoral thesis and the available types of thesis (including the requirements of each of them). Finally, the students will be repeatedly exposed to develop oral and written presentations in different languages and media about the results of their research. On each occasion, the trainee researcher will have to put the acquired skills into practice.
Assessment systems
Attendance to the seminar will be compulsory and monitored accordingly. In addition, active participation in the sessions as well as the practical work will also be valued.
Character
Compulsory
Hours
60
Description
In addition to the self-study activities on the research line methodology and their field or laboratory work doctoral students will be required to do (depending on the thesis project), the following training activities will be organised: a) Advanced methodology courses (including technological training) b) Participation in congresses (minimum one per year) c) Updating of the research plan (monthly).
Results
Doctoral students will acquire programming skills for their work and incorporate advanced technical and methodological skills into their repertoire.
Assessment systems
The attendance to all training activities will be monitored individually, and a minimum of 60 hours must be accredited. This one-to-one supervision will be part of the doctoral student's activity document (DAD), considered as one of the requirements in their annual evaluation, together with the official academic documents.
Character
Optional
Hours
150
Description
Doctoral students are recommended to carry out a predoctoral stay in one of the advanced centres, whether national or international, working in the field of Cognitive Neuroscience. The stay should last at least one month (except for those students who wish to obtain the European doctoral degree). In all applications, the role of the tutor and the thesis supervisor will be fundamental for guiding students. Also, information will be provided on scholarships or financial grants for mobility. In general, the programme will encourage research stays in foreign centres as well as the participation of foreign experts in thesis panels and follow-up commissions.
Results
Exposure to ideas, theories and methods different from those of the centre where the thesis is being carried out.
Assessment systems
All training activities will be individually monitored. This one-to-one supervision will be part of the doctoral student's activity document (DAD), considered as one of the requirements in their annual evaluation, together with the official academic documents. The report issued by the researcher responsible for the doctoral student at the host centre or the director of the corresponding department must be attached, indicating the student's performance.
Character
Compulsory
Hours
60
Description
In addition to the activities of revision and synthesis of articles, discussion of the research plan with the director, etc., the following training activities will be organised for the doctoral students: a) Scientific seminars (1 per week). The BCBL holds one scientific seminar per week; b) Conferences (2 per month). Every two weeks a guest researcher gives a lecture at the BCBL (see http://www.bcbl.eu/activities-and-seminars/); c) Congresses or doctoral days (1 per year). The BCBL organises two workshops/congresses each year on the knowledge area of Cognitive Neuroscience.
Results
Doctoral students will be exposed to new ideas that will allow them to update their scientific background and keep motivation for continuous learning throughout their lives.
Assessment systems
The attendance to all training activities will be monitored individually, and a minimum of 60 hours must be accredited. This one-to-one supervision will be part of the doctoral student's activity document (DAD), considered as one of the requirements in their annual evaluation, together with the official academic documents.
Character
Compulsory
Hours
40
Description
Throughout the whole programme, there will be training activities to improve oral and written communication skills: a) Presentation of thesis projects (30 minutes per student, with time allowed for feedback) and project presentations at the BCBL, where a seminar is hosted periodically, in which all the projects developed at the BCBL are presented; b) Evaluation sessions of the annual research plan (1 hour per student, with time allowed for feedback and evaluation); c) Workshop on writing scientific reports; d) Workshop on scientific dissemination techniques.
Results
Doctoral students acquire communicative skills that will be very useful whether they follow an academic path or pursue a career within companies.
Assessment systems
The attendance to all training activities will be monitored individually, and a minimum of 40 hours must be accredited. In addition, the writing workshop must be justified with an article written in accordance with the criteria of impact journals related to the scientific areas of the doctorate as well as a poster presentation or an oral communication at a congress. This one-to-one supervision will be part of the doctoral student's activity document (DAD), considered as one of the requirements in their annual evaluation, together with the official academic documents.
Character
Optional
Hours
40
Description
These intensive residential seminars take place over a full week in a multidisciplinary and multilingual (English, French, Spanish and Basque, although English is the main language of academic exchange) as well as interdisciplinary and multicultural environment. Forty trainee researchers from each university will receive exhaustive training aimed at their future professional insertion in a socio-labour environment that may not be exclusively related to university research and/or in public or semi-public centres. All the activities are dynamised by personnel specialised in the organisation of doctoral programmes. Amongst others, the activities programmed are: poster presentations, visits to companies, research centres and selected cultural entities on both sides of the border, testimonies of executive doctors and entrepreneurs, as well as teamwork for the joint preparation of an innovative project that will be presented on television.
Results
Doctoral students acquire practical training (learning by doing) in communication, innovation, teamwork, leadership and entrepreneurship. Based on the testimonies and experiences of a wide variety of professionals who work in companies and associations in the field of culture and language, as well as on visits to companies and associations, doctoral students will have direct contact with professional experience. These seminars have an interdisciplinary aim, grouping students into units that deliberately combine universities of multiple origins and areas of expertise. Experience should provide a wealth of knowledge about how to carry out their future professional project, both inside and outside university.
Assessment systems
The entire doctoral procedure is supervised by a pedagogical office, with professional advisors who will continuously feedback the activity of the group and monitor the work carried out daily by the doctoral students. Once enrolled in the doctoral programmes, attendance and active participation in the sessions will be mandatory.