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Registration

The next course will take place in person and on campus. This course is for anyone who started in March 2024 or after.

Registration is now open. 

Make sure to check the timetable to see which sessions you need to attend in person and which are being delivered online.

Download the Faculty of Health PIC timetable (PDF, 115KB)

We also recommend taking a look at the campus map to help you navigate the campus to find your sessions.

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What to expect

The PIC has been designed to introduce you to many of the core skills and experiences you are expected to gain during the course of your research degree.

We recommend that all students attend the compulsory sessions and consider attending the other non-mandatory sessions based on your course. For example, the lab skills session would only need to be attended by lab students.

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Outcomes

By the end of the course, you will

• be better adapted to the research environment 
• have acquired basic research skills such as how to do a literature search
• developed key skills, eg scientific thinking, critical appraisal and data handling 
• gained an understanding appropriate for your research programme

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What previous PIC participants said

Students who have attended previous courses (both face-to-face and online) have said 

• they enjoyed the course.
• learned a lot from it
• acquired and developed skills that would be useful to them in the future
• would recommend the course to other students

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I feel that it was easier to ask questions because although it was a public session with many participants, it was also very private, as it did not feel that we would be judged by others based on our questions. This helped instil more confidence in me during the sessions to interact with the presenter.

PhD student

Feedback on the PIC

 

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English-language training

We also run an intensive English-language training course, recommended for non-native speakers of English studying at the University. It's run over two three-hour sessions which cover different aspects of the English language:

• Academic style: This first session will cover the main features of academic writing, including vocabulary, grammar, punctuation, and being precise and concise.
• Spoken communication: The second session will look at spoken communication and listening skills. There will be particular emphasis on social conversation and small talk, topics of conversation, clarifying and discourse markers.
• Cohesion, coherence and voice: The final session focuses on the structure of a paragraph, and how to make your writing and oral presentations cohesive.

After these initial sessions, there is also an opportunity for students to attend further 1:1 tutorials for more individual language support.