PhD Program in Health Sciences

Training activities

Workshops on techniques, procedures and good practices in research
  • Number of hours: 15
  • Description: This activity is organized as an introductory course for doctoral students in any research line within the program, aimed at strengthening core competencies. The course will be taught by ULL professors, and the program will include the following topics: 1. Critical analysis of scientific publications; 2. Searching for bibliographic background; 3. Preparation of scientific publications; 4. Scientific English; 5. Sample selection; 6. Quantitative and qualitative analysis; 7. The value of statistical parameters; 8. The choice and availability of techniques; 9. Ethics and research.
  • Frequency (time planning): Only at the beginning of the first year of the doctorate for full-time and part-time students.
  • Justification: strengthening of basic competencies CB11 and CB13.
  • Learning outcomes: Acquisition of basic knowledge about the methodology, the tools available in their environment and ethical aspects for the development of their activity.
  • Language: Spanish and English.
  • Control procedure: Attendance control by signature (50%), final exam (30%), summary of the activity recorded in the personalized activity log (20%).
  • Mobility actions: Not applicable in this activity

Attendance at Research Seminars
  • Number of hours: 15
  • Description: Seminars given by leaders of groups from ULL and invited national and international researchers who are experts in different fields of Biomedicine. The frequency of these seminars is weekly. We have had the seminar programme (calendar, list of speakers and title of the seminar) since 2008. It has not been included in the report due to space issues. The activity is organised by the Department of Pharmacology and the Institute of Biomedical Technologies. The travel of foreign lecturers is subsidised with funds from ULL for the organisation of courses and seminars, and currently with the IMBRAIN project.
  • Time planning:
    • Full-time students: Attendance at 15 seminars over the first two years of the PhD.
    • Part-time students: Attendance at 15 seminars during the first three years of the PhD.
    • The selection of seminars will be supervised by the tutor.
  • Justification: Strengthening basic competencies CB11 and CB14, and capabilities CA05 and CA06.
  • Learning Outcomes: Knowledge of the lines of research developed in the workplace; establish benchmarks with leading national and international research groups; review the current status of the seminar topic; and foster critical thinking.
  • Language: Spanish, English
  • Monitoring procedure: Attendance control by signature. Preparation of seminar summaries. Presentation and discussion of the most relevant aspects of the seminars attended in research group meetings, with supervision by the tutor. The seminar summaries and their subsequent presentation and discussion at group meetings must be recorded in the personalized activity log.
  • Mobility actions: Not applicable in this activity
  • Seminar delivery
  • Number of hours: 5
  • Description: Each student must present at least one seminar on their research work. In it, they will present the foundations of the research project to other students and professors in the doctoral program, including the working hypothesis, objectives, methodology used, results, and conclusions. They must also discuss and answer any questions posed.
  • Time planning:
    • Full-time students: Once during the second or third year of the PhD
    • Part-time students: Once during the third or fourth year.
  • Justification: Strengthening basic competencies CB12 and CB15, and capacity CA06.
  • Learning outcomes: Demonstrate the ability to synthesize, clearly present, and communicate scientific results orally. Ability to debate and respond to specific questions.
  • Language: Spanish / English.
  • Review procedure: Report from the tutor/supervisor and the professors from the research area attending the seminar. The report should assess the doctoral student's depth of background knowledge, clarity of presentation, approach to the topic, and ability to engage in debate and discussion. The seminar summary, including aspects of the debate, and the reports will be included in the personalized activity log.
  • Mobility actions: Not applicable in this activity

Follow-up meetings of the thesis project and research results
  • Number of hours: 20
  • Description: Regular meetings between the doctoral candidate and their thesis supervisor(s) and other members of the research group. The purpose of these meetings is to design experiments in accordance with the established objectives, assess progress, findings, difficulties, and possible changes to the work strategy, including the establishment of collaborations to carry out specific experiments. The frequency of these meetings (between weekly and bimonthly) will be determined by the thesis supervisor.
  • Time planning: Full-time and part-time students: Meetings on a weekly to bi-monthly basis, depending on the objectives set, throughout the PhD program.
  • Justification: Strengthen specific skills to assume different roles within the work and discussion group. Enhancement of basic competencies CB12, CB14 and CB15, general competencies CG01 and capacities CA02, CA03, CA04 and CA06.
  • Learning outcomes: Demonstrate the ability to critically analyze the background, formulate hypotheses, use appropriate methodological resources, discuss and debate the research topic with scientific criteria, using the language and usual forms of scientific communication.
  • Language: Spanish/English
  • Control procedures: Monitoring by the tutor. Report of the meetings with the director and/or research group in the personalized document of the doctoral student's activities. The report must include at least the schedule of meetings and a brief description of the topics discussed, progress in the study, short and medium-term objectives and conclusions. Report from the director.
  • Mobility actions: Not applicable in this activity

Attendance at national or international conferences

Number of hours: 60

Description: Attendance at national and/or international conferences where topics related to the thesis objectives are addressed. This activity is to be carried out by students enrolled on a full-time or part-time basis. In addition, each student must present at least one paper.

Time planning: During the time spent in the Program.

Justification: Strengthening of skills and abilities related to the presentation of scientific results in specialized forums.

Learning outcomes: Acquisition of scientific communication skills and abilities. Initiation and/or consolidation of contacts with national and/or international research groups.

Language: Spanish and/or English

Control procedure: Certificate of attendance at the Congress. Copy of the communication/presentation presented. Approval by the Director. Incorporation into the Register of Activities and Research Plan (RAPI)

Internships at other research centers (mobility)
  • Number of hours: 400
  • A stay of at least three months, to be completed in one or two visits, at another prestigious national or foreign center. The selection of the destination center and the most appropriate length of stay must be agreed upon with the thesis supervisor.
  • Justification: Strengthening of basic specific competencies CB13, CB15, and capacities CA04 and CA05.
  • Time planning:
    • Full-time students: during the second or third year
    • Part-time students: during the third or fourth year.
  • Learning outcomes: Be able to integrate into a foreign research group and collaborate on its lines of research. Resolve specific questions raised in their research. Learn new techniques and be able to apply them to their doctoral thesis. Initiate contacts for future collaborations.
  • Language: Spanish/English.
  • Voluntary activity subject to budget availability. The funding provided for this activity comes from mobility funds of the
    own university, from specific items of agreements and projects and from external calls at local, national and international level (see section 7.2: : Forecast of external resources and travel grants for conferences and stays at other centers). It is estimated that 25-50% of full-time students and 15-35% of part-time students will be able to benefit from this activity.
  • Without prejudice to the establishment of new collaborations based on objectives, in the section 1.4 Some groups with which there are currently collaborations and centers with which there are agreements (annexes) that include the mobility of doctoral students are mentioned (see also sections 5.2.4: Programme organisation. Provision of doctoral student stays at other centres).
  • The Internal Quality Assurance System will be responsible for the procedures for the correct development of mobility (see Section 8.1.3).
  • Control procedure: Pre-stay report, including: 1. Justification for the opportunity of the stay in the context of the thesis work, 2. Experience of the host group in the topic and/or technique to be developed, 3. Presentation of the specific issues to be resolved, 4. Work plan, 5. Source of funding for the stay. Once the stay has been completed: 1. Report from the person in charge of the host group where the stay was carried out on the use of the stay, 2. Personal reasoned report on the objectives achieved and unachieved with respect to the proposed plan, 3. Presentation of the progress that the stay has made for the thesis in a research group seminar. The report must be included in the personalized activity log.
  • Mobility actions: Mobility actions will be regulated by the ULL mobility regulations. See also the points 5.2.4 (Forecast of doctoral stays in other centers) and 8.1.3 (Procedures that regulate the correct development of mobility programs) of this report.