Doctoral Program
in Sciences
Health

Training activities

Workshops on techniques, procedures and good practices in research
  • Number of hours: 15
  • Description: Activity organized as an introductory course for doctoral students in any line of research of the program, aimed at enhancing basic skills. The course will be taught by professors from the ULL and the program will include the following topics: 1. critical analysis of scientific publications, 2. search for bibliographical background, 3. preparation of scientific publications, 4. scientific English, 5. sample selection, 6. quantitative and qualitative analysis, 7. value of statistical parameters, 8. 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 work environment, establishing references with leading national and international research groups. Reviewing the current status of the seminar topic. Stimulating critical thinking.
  • Language: Spanish, English
  • Control procedure: Attendance control by signature. Preparation of seminar summaries. Presentation and discussion of the most relevant aspects of the seminars attended at research group meetings, with follow-up by the tutor. The seminar summaries and their presentation and subsequent 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 his/her research work. In this seminar, he/she will present to other students and professors of the doctoral program the foundations of the research project, including the working hypothesis, objectives, methodology used, results and conclusions. He/she must also debate and answer the 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.
  • Control procedure: Report from the tutor/director and the professors of the line (area) of research who attended the seminar. The report must assess the depth of knowledge of the background, clarity of presentation, approach to the topic and capacity for debate and discussion shown by the doctoral student. The summary of the seminar, including aspects of the debate, and the reports will be included in the personalized activity record document.
  • Mobility actions: Not applicable in this activity

Follow-up meetings of the thesis project and research results
  • Number of hours: 20
  • Description: Periodic meetings between the PhD student and the supervisor(s) of his/her thesis and the rest of the members of the research group. The purpose of these meetings is to design the experiments in accordance with the established objectives, assess progress, findings obtained, difficulties and possible changes in the work strategy, including the establishment of collaborations to carry out specific experiments. The frequency of these meetings (between weekly and bi-monthly) will be established 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 national or foreign centre of recognised prestige. The selection of the destination centre and the most suitable period of stay must be agreed 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: Being able to integrate into a foreign research group and collaborate on its lines of research. Resolving specific questions raised in your research. Learning new techniques and being able to apply them to the development of your doctoral thesis. Initiating 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: Provision of external resources and travel grants for conferences and stays at other centres). 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 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 of 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 by the person in charge of the host group in which the stay was carried out on the use made of it, 2. Personal reasoned report on the objectives achieved and not achieved with respect to the proposed plan, 3. Presentation of the progress that the stay has meant for the thesis in a seminar of the research group. The report must be included in the personalized record of activities.
  • 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 regulating the correct development of mobility programs) of this report.