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Welcome to Research Institute SHARE

A guide for new PhD students

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Colofon

December 2010 - University Medical Center GroningenSHARE (Research Institute for Health Research),

Graduate School of Medical Sciences

ContentLian van der Krieke, Charlotte Verboom, Truus van Ittersum

PhDcouncilSHARE@gmail.com

Please see the SHARE section on nestor.rug.nl for the most up-to-date version

of this guide.

DesignLetter & Lijn, Groningen

IllustrationSerigraph on the front: Petra Koonstra.

Explanation:

During college days a student is engaged in a broad field, symbolized by the

drawing of various figurines. While working on a dissertation the PhD-student

is focussing on a particular topic, by using a magnifying glass, so to say. This is

the white circle.

PrintChris Russell, Groningen

Research Institute

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Welcome to SHARE!

In this guide you will find everything (or as much as possible) that you need

to know as a new PhD student about SHARE. We provide information on

what SHARE is, what SHARE does, the most important people to know within

SHARE, we tell you about us (the PhD Council), and much more.

We try to keep our information as accurate and up-to-date as possible.

However, some things may have changed since this guide was printed. We

therefore urge you to check the SHARE section at Nestor (nestor.rug.nl) for

the most up-to-date version of this information.

In addition you can also check the SHARE website (www.rug.nl/share) and the

website of the Graduate School of Medical Sciences.

If you have any remaining questions after reading this welcome guide, you

can contact the PhD Council (PhDCouncilSHARE@gmail.com), Renate Kroese

(R.C.Kroese@med.umcg.nl) or Truus van Ittersum (D.G.van.Ittersum@med.

umcg.nl).

Doing your PhD should not be ‘all work and no play’. We therefore organize

several activities throughout the year where you can meet with other SHARE

members. Please join us if you can! It is a great way of meeting new people,

whether you are new to Groningen or not.

We hope you will enjoy doing your PhD project with us and that you will be an

active member of our research institute. Welcome to SHARE!

The SHARE PhD Council

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Index

About research institute SHARE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

• Whom you should know . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

• What you can expect from SHARE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

• What SHARE expects from you . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

SHARE PhD Council . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

SHARE educational program & the Training and Supervision Plan (TSP) . . . . . 13

Course information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Usefull addresses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

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About research institute SHARE

Research within the University of Groningen (RUG) and the University Medical

Center Groningen (UMCG) is organized in Graduate Schools. The Graduate

School of Medical Sciences (GSMS) is the Graduate School of the UMCG. All

research activities of the GSMS are embedded within four research institutes:

the Research Institute for Health Research - SHARE - is one of these.

The SHARE research programs focus on Health Research and represent a

broad range of scientific disciplines and departments (e.g. health sciences,

epidemiology, rehabilitation, psychiatry). Today, about 150 PhD students are

working on their projects within the context of SHARE.

The mission of SHARE is ‘to elucidate factors related to health, notably healthy

ageing. This is achieved by research on the determinants and consequences

of ageing, incident disease, quality of life, care and cure, as well as by training

researchers in the area of health research.’

Graduate School of Medical Sciences

Research Institute

of Chronic Diseases and Drug

InnovationGUIDE

Research Institute of

Biomaterials

W.J. Kolff Institute

Research Institute

of the Human Brain

BCN

Research Institute

for Health Research

SHARE

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Current Research programs within SHARE are:

CIOMO Center for Research and Innovation in Medical Education

ECS Ethics in Care and Society

EMB-P Evidence Based Medicine in Practice

GROUPS GROningen Unit for Perinatal Studies

HPR Health Psychology Research

ICPE Interdisciplinary Center for Psychiatric Epidemiology

ORG Orofacial Research Group

PHR Public Health Research

RGOc Rob Giel Research center

RPR Rehabilitation Programs Research

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Whom you should know

Robbert SandermanScientific director SHARE

Professor in Health Psychology

E-mail: r.sanderman@med.umcg.nl

Robbert Sanderman is a professor in Health Psychology and a clinical

psychologist by training. In addition to his task as scientific director of SHARE,

he supervises around 18 PhD students and co-publishes 8-10 scientific articles

each year.

Renate Kroese Secretary SHARE

E-mail: r.c.kroese@med.umcg.nl

Phone: (050) 3632868

Huispostcode (internal post code): FA13

As secretary of SHARE, Renate keeps all members informed on seminars,

research meetings, forthcoming dissertations etc. She is responsible for

member registration, routing of the training and supervision plan (TSP),

updating Nestor and the website. In short: the first person to contact with

SHARE-related questions.

Truus van IttersumLiterature retrieval specialist

E-mail: d.g.van.ittersum@med.umcg.nl

Phone: (050) 3636296

Truus will help you out with literature searching in databases such as Pubmed,

PsycINFO, Cinahl, Web of Science, Scopus etc. and teach you how to set up

literature alerts. You can also contact her for questions concerning Reference

Manager or RefWorks.

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What you can expect from SHARE

PhD Educational ProgramAs a graduate school, GSMS offers all PhD students a teaching and training

program. Each SHARE PhD student is required to make a personal Training

and Supervision Plan (TSP) in which you can determine your own program for

training during your PhD. The aim of the SHARE training program is, amongst

other things, to support you while carrying out your PhD research. More

information on the TSP and training program can be found further on in this

booklet.

Research meetings Twice a year, a research meeting is organized by the research institute. The PhD

council is responsible for organizing the Spring Symposium (in May), where

PhD students present their research projects. The staff of SHARE organizes

the second meeting (in November/December), with oral presentations and

workshops on general research topics.

SeminarsSHARE organizes seminars on a regular basis. Announcements are emailed by

Renate Kroese to all SHARE members and can also be found on the SHARE

Nestor page and on the website. Prominent (international) researchers are

invited to give a seminar for SHARE PhD students.

Refunding of costs for courses Most courses (all GSMS Research Institute courses) are free of charge for all

UMCG-PhD students. Some PhD students may have to attend courses outside

the UMCG if they are of importance for the research project. Check with your

supervisor whether your department (or your own project) has a budget in

these cases. If not, contact Renate Kroese for possibilities of refunds from the

GSMS.

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Assistance in literature retrieval Truus van Ittersum, staff member of SHARE, can help you with retrieving

relevant literature for your PhD project. For example, if you are going to

conduct a meta-analysis she can help you with setting up a good search

strategy. Also, if you have difficulties finding relevant literature for a paper you

are writing because you don’t know how to use the available databases, Truus is

there to help you. RefWorks, a web-based bibliographic management program

can be used to handle your citations while writing manuscripts. If you need

assistance, contact Truus.

SHARE contribution in dissertation printing costs SHARE offers a contribution of € 500,- in the costs of printing your

dissertation. To apply for the contribution, you have to meet the SHARE

requirements for the lay-out of the cover of your dissertation and use of the

SHARE logo. Furthermore, you need to supply SHARE with 50 copies of your

dissertation for distribution within SHARE and to other relevant contacts.

Support during the last stage of your PhD project A special meeting is organized for PhD students who are nearing the end of

their PhD project. Once or twice a year issues concerning the defence of your

thesis (e.g. how to react to comments of the reading committee; what to

consider in the planning of THE DAY; information about costs and refunding)

will be discussed. You should automatically receive an invitation for this

meeting from SHARE but if you have not received one and want to join, please

contact Truus van Ittersum.

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What SHARE expects from you

1. Fill out your Training and Supervision Plan (TSP) form promptly Please send your Training and Supervision plan, approved by your supervisor,

within three months of starting your project and your registration with SHARE.

2. Contact SHARE when finishing your projectWhen finishing your project, and ready to be writing and preparing the lay-out

of your thesis, please contact Truus van Ittersum for information on guidelines

for lay-out, ISBN number, logo, list of previous dissertations etc.

3. Be an active memberSHARE would appreciate it if you are an active member, e.g. attend seminars

and research meetings, or become a member of the PhD council or the

Education Committee. If you have any ideas for the SHARE-organization, please

let us know.

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SHARE PhD council

The SHARE PhD council represents all PhD Students of the various research

groups within SHARE. We currently have eight members, but ideally, we aim

to have at least one representative (preferably two) from each research group.

Please contact us if you want to join!

The aim of the council is to be a central contact point for SHARE PhD students

in case of questions, problems, ideas, etc. This information guide is one

of the activities within SHARE to make the PhD student’s life a bit easier!

Furthermore, we are actively involved in the SHARE Education Committee

to represent PhD students, and in the PhD Community consisting of all PhD

councils within the RUG.

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We have recently reorganized ourselves to focus on specific themes. These are

represented by the following committees within SHARE:

• Communication

• Education

• Seminars, symposia, and social activities

• Internationalisation

• PhD Community

As a part of this process we will be organizing some new activities during the

coming years.

Our main event, to which all SHARE members are invited, will remain the

annual SHARE Spring Symposium (formerly the Spring Meeting) during

which all PhD students are asked to give a podium or poster presentation

of their work. The Spring Symposium is a great way to find out more about

other research groups within SHARE. Additionally, it is less formal than most

symposia and therefore very suitable to having a first go at making a poster or

presenting your study to an audience.

We will keep you up-to-date on any activities we will be organizing in the

future. Of course, any suggestions you might have are also very welcome!

You can contact us by email (PhDCouncilSHARE@gmail.com) or by talking to

us during one of the events we organize.

Hopefully we will see you somewhere soon!

Kind regards,

SHARE PhD council

Iris Arends (PHR), Arna Arnardottir (EBM-P), Lauren Fortington (RPR), Marijke

Kleefman (PHR), Lian van der Krieke (RGOc), Sigrid Piening (EBM-P), and

Charlotte Verboom (ICPE)

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SHARE educational program & the Training and Supervision Plan (TSP)

Aim of the educational program • To train PhD students in the essential skills they need to carry out their PhD

research;

• To guarantee the high quality of SHARE PhD researchers, that is, to develop

the knowledge and skills needed to be an excellent researcher and, more

generally speaking, to prepare the PhD student for a scientific career.

In recent (inter)national discussions the importance of continuing education

for PhD students is stressed. PhD students are not only expected to perform

their research project, but are urged to follow a structured (individualised)

educational program in which they attend courses and are actively involved in

symposia and conferences (poster presentations/oral presentations) in order

to develop skills and knowledge relevant for their research topic and for their

development as a scientific researcher in general.

When the doctoral candidate meets the requirements of the training program

of the Graduate School of Medical Sciences, they are awarded a GSMS-

certificate as part of the PhD diploma, as well as supplementary financial

support of 2 200,- towards the printing costs of the dissertation.

As a SHARE PhD student you are required to develop an individualised

educational program together with your supervisor. This is to ensure that when

you have finished your PhD, your research competencies are actually at a PhD

level. Your individual program is described in a document called the ‘Training

and Supervision Plan’ (TSP).

The purpose of the TSP is to outline your educational program at the start

of your PhD project. It helps you to plan courses and activities necessary for

acquiring research skills. Moreover, the TSP is a formal agreement between you

and your supervisor(s) about the courses and activities that you are allowed to

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do in order to develop yourself. Your supervisor (or promotor) is responsible

for monitoring and supervising the content of your TSP.

Your TSP should be completed and returned within three months of your

registration as a SHARE member. You can find a template of the TSP on the

SHARE Nestor page or you can ask your supervisor. You need to give detailed

information on the courses and activities you plan to do in your first year and

a global plan for the rest of your PhD project. Detailed plans for the following

years are made explicit after the first year, through discussion between you and

your supervisor.

The role of the SHARE PhD education committee is to monitor the training

progress, give feedback and advice on the feasibility of your plans of the first

year. At the end of the PhD project, the committee will recommend whether

the PhD student will be awarded the certificate of the Graduate School of

Medical Sciences.

Content of the training program and TSPThe SHARE PhD educational program is designed for students to obtain and

show competence in three areas:

• Research techniques

• General research competence

• In depth and extensive knowledge in the subject area of the PhD project

For every area, specific competencies are described in the TSP. These

competencies can be obtained by following courses or taking part in activities

(e.g. oral or poster presentations, work visits abroad, attending seminars and

lectures, teaching, supervising). In your TSP, you need to link every course or

activity you undertake to the competencies that you have acquired through a

course or activity. The certificate will be awarded when all competencies have

been adequately trained.

Through use of the TSP, an educational program can be developed which

guarantees students attain a minimum level of research skills whilst providing

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the flexibility needed for the specific circumstances of each PhD project. The

supervisor is the key person to judge whether or not a PhD student has met

the minimum requirements. Every course and activity that you have finished

and have linked to a competency in your TSP needs to be approved by your

supervisor (by signing off every course and activity).

RequirementsSince 01-01-2010, a total of 30 ECTS (European Credit Transfer System) have

to be obtained through a standard four year PhD project. If your TSP was

submitted before this date, a minimum of 28 ECTS is required.

The requirements are adjusted to the time spent as full time PhD student:

• 3 years: 22,5 ECTS

• 2 years: 15 ECTS

Three year PhD students will come now instead of the bursary students. Two

year students are students like Bernouilli grant students (or other programs

where the student spends 2 years in Groningen and two years elsewhere) and

MD/PhDs.

External PhD students do not have to follow an educational program, but then

they will not receive a GSMS certificate. If they do follow some courses they

can request a ‘credit’ (deelcertificaat) for ECTS of the courses followed and

activities done with a minimum of 15 ECTS.

A minimum of 11 of the 30 ECTS have to be obtained by attending courses

covering the following three domains:

• Research techniques 6 ECTS

• General research competence 3 ECTS

• Field specific knowledge 2 ECTS

More information on courses is provided in a separate part of this booklet.

1 ECTS equals 28 hours of study. Many courses have a fixed number of ECTS

that can be obtained by completing the course. In agreement with your

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supervisor, you can calculate the number of ECTS obtained for attending a

course or activity that does not have a fixed number of ECTS.

As indicated, competencies may also be obtained through participation

in various activities. For every activity, a maximum number of ECTS has

been defined, which is indicated in the TSP. For every activity the minimum

requirement in order to be awarded 1 ECTS is given. This is provided only as a

guideline. The supervisor will determine the level and difficulty of an activity

and the number of ECTS to be awarded. The education committee reviews the

appropriateness of the ECTS awarded and TSP.

You can also obtain ECTS through self-study in the domain ‘depth and breadth

of knowledge’ on the topic of your PhD project. This can be, for example,

reading literature and discussing the content with your supervisor or by

completing a test (for example, in internet based courses). Whether an activity

counts as self study for which you can obtain ECTS is determined by your

supervisor and needs agreement from the education committee. In general,

if reading is part of your self-study activity, you should assume an amount of 5

pages per hour, which means that 1 ECTS covers 140 pages of reading. General

reading that is needed for getting background knowledge for your studies and

keeping up-to-date is not included in this.

ProcedureYou need to fill out your TSP within three months after registering with SHARE.

In this first version you have to present your specific plans for the first year

of your PhD project and indicate roughly what your plans are for the years

after. You need to discuss your TSP with your supervisor before you send it to

SHARE, both as a hard copy (signed by you and your supervisor) and as a digital

document to Renate Kroese, secretary of SHARE.

The education committee will check your TSP for feasibility and completeness.

They will provide you with feedback on your educational plans and how

these align with the requirements of the educational program. You and your

supervisor will receive this feedback within 3 months after submission. You

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may have to adjust your plans according to the feedback of the education

committee. Of course you can already start your educational program while

awaiting official approval.

Each year you need to update your TSP and discuss changes and progress with

your supervisor. To facilitate this, you can keep a list of all courses and activities

you took part in during your project. You need to send in your final TSP six

months before the end of your PhD project. The education committee will

check whether you have met the requirements of the SHARE training program

and whether you will be awarded the GSMS PhD certificate.

If you do not meet the requirements at the end of your PhD project, you will

not receive the GSMS PhD certificate.

Previous experience and exemptionIn general, competencies which have been gained in previous education (e.g.

your (research) master) do not count as an activity for your TSP. In very special

cases, exceptions can be made. Should you and your supervisor feel that an

exception applies, please prepare a request which highlights the reasons why

and discuss this with the education committee.

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Course information

GSMS PhD CoursesCourses are run by the four Research Institutes within the Graduate School of

Medical Sciences. These courses are free of charge for SHARE PhD students.

Information can be found on the websites of the GSMS and the Research

Institutes. In the near future a GSMS course book, describing all (free) courses,

will be made available for SHARE members.

In addition to the courses offered within the GSMS, there are other UMCG/

RUG based institutes who organize courses. For example, the Wenckebach

Institute, Mobiliteit&Opleiding, and the Language Centre. Most of these

courses are open to SHARE PhD students but are not always free of charge. We

have provided some links in the appendix.

SHARE Research Master coursesThe Top Research Master program “Clinical and Psychosocial Epidemiology”

is organized by SHARE. Courses of the Research Master’s program are open to

SHARE PhD students. However, sometimes there are restrictions due to the

number of participants: Research Master students have priority. Registration

for these courses can be made through the registration form found on the

SHARE website or by sending an e-mail to the contact person of the course.

The Research Master courses are free of charge for SHARE PhD students. For

more information about the courses please see the SHARE website.

Courses outside the UMCG/RUGSeveral institutions outside the UMCG/RUG organize other interesting courses

for PhD students. On the SHARE website, several links are provided to Research

Institutes, other universities, etc. These courses can be followed as part of the TSP.

Refund for courses outside GSMSIn specific cases, where a PhD student has a strong need to attend a course that

is not free of charge, there are possibilities for reimbursement (maximum of

600 Euro per year). Contact Renate Kroese for the exact terms and conditions

of this regulation before applying for such courses.

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Useful addresses

Other Research Institutes within the Graduate School of Medical SciencesResearch Institute GUIDE www.rug.nl/guide

Research Institute BCN www.rug.nl/bcn

W.J. Kolff Institute www.rug.nl/umcg/onderzoek/

interfacultaireinstituten/bmsa

CoursesDonald Smits Centre for ICT www.rug.nl/cit/onderwijs/cursusaanbod/index

Department of Epidemiology www.epidemiologygroningen.nl

Wenckebach Institute www.wenckebachinstituut.nl

Tom Snijders stat.gamma.rug.nl/snijders/

EMGO+ www.epidm.nl

International Service Desk RUGBroerstraat 5, Groningen

Academy Building, first floor, room 133a

Opening hours: Monday-Friday from 1.00 to 4.00 p.m.

Information for (Dutch and foreign) bursaries FAQs + example on taxes www.rug.nl/corporate/informatievoor/phd/index

Regulations www.rug.nl/corporate/informatieVoor/phd/

regulationsForPhd

PhD student communitiesGrasp www.grasp.name/

Dutch PhD Candidate Network www.hetpnn.nl/

University Medical Center Groningen

PO Box 30.001, 9700 RB Groningen. www.umcg.nl