Handbook for Icasestudents

Handbook for Icasestudents

Handbook for iCASEStudents

2016/17

Table of Contents

1. Induction

1.1 MacBooks

1.2 Registration

1.3 Pre-Arrival at Warwick (for students who will be registered at University of Birmingham or University of Leicester)

1.4 Pre-Arrival at Warwick (for students who will be registered at University of Warwick)

1.5 Everyone: Before you arrive at Warwick5

1.6 Registering at Birmingham (For non-Birmingham students)5

1.7Registering at Leicester (for non-Leicester students)

1.8 Accommodation

1.9 Change of University Policy

2. Taught modules

2.1 Quantitative skills module

3. Masterclasses

4. Mini-projects 1 and 2 (Spring and Summer Terms)

5. Professional Internship for PhD students - PIPS or industrial placement

6. Course Work information

6.1 Marking guidelines

6.2 Coursework deadlines, penalties and extensions

6.3 First year score

6.4 Information made available to potential supervisors

6.5 Plagiarism

7. PhD Project

7.1 PhD projects

7.2 PhD thesis submission

8. Personal Development

9. Cohort meetings and events

10. Finances

10.1 Core payments

10.2 Additional support

11. Years 2– 4

12. Important Information

12.1 Attendance monitoring

12. 2 Personal details and e-mail accounts

12. 3 Car parking at Warwick

12.4 Laboratory safety and Lab coats

12.5 SSLC

12.6 PG Hub

12.7 Student Support Services

12.8 Annual Leave and sickness

12.9 Insurance

12.10 MIBTP Website

12.11 Photographs

12.12 Researchfish

12.13 Data Protection

12.14 Confidentiality

12.15 Contact details:

UseandpublicationofInformationprovidedtoRCUKonRCUKfundedStudentships

1.PhDprojectinformationdisplayedontheGatewaytoResearch?

2.OtheruseofinformationprovidedtoRCUK

3.Je-SStudentDetailsFunctionality

Year 1 Interactive Training Programme

MIBTP recognises the need for skills training, cohort development and professional internships. Therefore, cohort training will be based in purpose-devised learning and social space and students will all start their degree with a period of hands-on training from experts in both dry and wet experimentation.

ForiCASE students, placement at the non-academic partner is an essential part of the training. The placement will be a minimum of 3 months and a maximum of 18 months and can be accrued through a number of shorter placements. The industrial collaborator should provide business-related training e.g. project-management, strategy or finance, equivalent to the MIBTP professional internshipas part of the placement activity. There is flexibility for the student to opt to undertake a PIP with another company with the agreement of the Supervisor and MIBTP Director in addition to the business related training offered by the industrial collaborator.

The training year is split into two or three 3-month periods as shown below. You can start your PhD in April or you can choose to a) do part or all of your 3– 18 monthsplacement with your iCASEcollaborator or b) undertake a PIP prior starting your PhD or placement..

. Periods 1 and 2 are fixed.

Period / Activity / Location
1. October - December / Taught modules
Masterclasses / Warwick
All 3 Universities
2. January - March / Mini-project 1 / Away University
3. April - June / Start PhD or PIP (optional) or placement (at a time decided by you) / Home university / Your choice (or industrial collaborator)

This is interspersed with compulsory cohort training events, which are detailed further into the handbook.

1. Induction

MIBTP students are expected to attend induction the week before Warwick term starts (note that term dates are not the same for each university). This will include pre-sessional mathematics and other training so that everyone can make the most of the modules in term 1. It will also include some team building exercises, skills training and presentation of posters by students finishing year 1 to allow contact between cohorts and a window on research opportunities. For 2016 this isw/c 26th Septemberand will take place solely at Warwick. Final details will be sent to you before you join us. This information will also be uploaded to the induction page on the MIBTP intranetwelcome pages

1.1 MacBooks

All MIBTP students will be issued with a 13” MacBook. This is expected to support you for the duration of your PhD. The MacBook is suited to the datasets you will use in training and the large datasets which many of you will encounter during your PhD. MacBookswill be issued during induction week at Warwick (and you will be advised how you will get this accepted by your local IT servers if you are to be based at Birmingham or Leicester). They will be registered and supported at Warwick for the duration of your training. Local support will also be available from your local University.

Please note that the MacBook remains the property of the University of Warwick and must be returned on completion of the programme for software licensing requirements.

1.2 Registration

All MIBTP students will be registered at each university to make it simpler to access facilities during training / cohort events. The following information concerns registration at Warwick (for all students). With regards to registering at Birmingham and Leicester (for students not registered at these universities), you will be emailed the relevant forms to complete along with details of where to submit them.

1.3 Pre-Arrival at Warwick (for students who will be registered at University of Birmingham or University of Leicester)

As you will be completing your term 1 training at the University of Warwick and visiting Warwick periodically during your studies for cohort meetings, mini-projects etc.you must register at Warwick as visiting students. Registering at Warwick will enable you to gain access to University buildings, library and IT facilities etc.

How to register

  • Please complete a Warwick Postgraduate Application form Select Course code: P-C1PBA: Life Sciences PhD (Leicester and Birmingham students only)
  • References: Please leave the reference section blank (or enter not applicable) as we do not require references to be submitted. If you enter referee email addresses an email will automatically be sent to the referee requesting a reference.
  • Please note that you will not be required to submit any documents. This exercise is purely to add you into the Warwick system.

1.4 Pre-Arrival at Warwick (for students who will be registered at University of Warwick)

It is important for you to have received (and accepted) an unconditional offer of a place at Warwick before your start date. If you haven't yet received an unconditional offer please ensure that any conditions set out in your offer email are satisfied as soon as possible.

1.5 Everyone: Before you arrive at Warwick

Once you have an unconditional offer, there are a number of things you will need to do to complete your registration:

  • Upload a photo for your University ID Card - Students must submit their photograph by Friday 2ndSeptember. Online photo submission is now open.
  • Enrolment- Enrolment is the term used to describe your official registration as a student at the University of Warwick. Online enrolment opens approximately 4-6 weeks before the start of term and should be completed before you arrive at the University.
  • Once you have enrolled you should then apply for your IT Services account.

The Welcome to Warwick pages may provide useful information for you.

All students will also register at Birmingham and Leicester to allow for easier connectivity when attending these universities for masterclasses and cohort events.

1.6 Registering at Birmingham (for non-Birmingham students)

In order to register at Birmingham, you will need to complete the Birmingham registration form and return to Matt Phillips via email ().

1.7 Registering at Leicester (for non-Leicester students)

In order to register at Leicester, please complete the Leicester registration form (see the welcome page for form) and return to Dr Jonathan McDearmid via email().

1.8Accommodation

You will see from the information in this handbook that you will need to attend a university away from the one you are to be registered at for significant periods of year 1. In particular, in Term 1 you will need to be able to attend Warwick for all the quantitative training run by the Warwick Systems Biology Centre. You will not be able to restrict your choice of masterclass to one university and you must take at least one of your mini-projects away from your place of registration. Transport for some collective activities may be provided, but you will need to organise daily or weekly travel to suit the choices you make.

A one off stipend uplift payment of £850 will be paid at the start of term 1 to reflect this and assist with extra travel costs. This will be paid into your account at the same time as your first stipend payment at the beginning of October.

Each University will also offer some assistance in finding suitable short-term accommodation.

1.9Change of University Policy

The MIBTP programme receives half its funding from BBSRC and half as matched funding from the individual Universities. BBSRC now requires all students associated with a DTP to be formally registered on JeS (the Research Council database). This requires students to receive at least 50% BBSRC funding, and therefore all students in MIBTP are receiving funds from the BBSRC and matched funds from their University. This funding arrangement means that it is not possible for MIBTP students to transfer their primary registration between partner Universities, for example if you have a studentship at Warwick, you cannot move to Leicester or Birmingham for your PhD project. However, we want to encourage collaborations between the Universities and are very keen to see projects that depend on facilities and expertise at more than one University.

2. Taught modules

The first term will begin with the following compulsory taught module:

2.1 Quantitative skills module

The Quantitative skills modules will take place in term 1. This module provides training in the quantitative skills that you will use in your PhD projects. There are three elements to the module:

  1. Statistics, which provides grounding in applying statistical methods to data,
  2. Computer programming to make you less dependent on existing software tools
  3. Data analysis methodology, which will enable students to undertake complex data analysis tasks.

Students will be given free time each week for independent taught module study.

3. Masterclasses

A series of bespoke Masterclasses will be on offer each week during the Autumn Term from week 6 onwards. Masterclasses are a set of hands-on workshops in selected, advanced research skills and technologies. You will choose classes to suit your personal development needs. You must choose classes that deliver a minimum of 12 days engagement, but may choose as many as you wish subject to availability (and your timetable).

  • There are Masterclassesat all three Universities with instruction from world experts.
  • These workshops will be as ‘hands-on’ as possible - you will participate wherever this is possible. You will be advised in advance of items (e.g. lab coats) you need to take with you.
  • Some are short, one-day events, others are up to 3 days
  • You will be asked to choose from a list of masterclasses within the first two weeks of joining us. We will check numbers (many activities are necessarily restricted) then finalise your selections around mid-October.
  • Masterclasses will incorporate a compulsory exercise with a tangible output that allows the person running the Masterclass to assess whether you have achieved the learning objectives of the class. You are expected to achieve a pass in the coreMasterclasses you undertake that add up to the minimum 12 days required.
  • Masterclases are listed on the relevant pages of the MIBTP intranet

Masterclass feedback

We would appreciate feedback on the masterclasses – even brief – to help us improve them for next year.

If you could fill in the feedback form – found here: for your masterclasses, or even some of them, that would be great.

Please send the form to the MIBTP administrator () who will collate the information.

4. Mini-project (Spring Term)

Your mini-project will take place January to April and will be spent at one of the universities in the partnership outside of where you are registered; which one is your choice. You will beprovided with a list of potential supervisors from all three universities who arehappy to offer mini-projects within their research groups (you are not limited to these supervisors or projects and can approach any supervisor of your choice so long as their research meets the BBSRC criteria). You will need to find out more about research areas of interest and approach supervisors you would like to work with to discuss projects in more detail. You will be asked to submit the details of your chosen project via an online submission form (details will be provided by the MIBTP Administrator) by the given deadline.

  • The Mini-project isfor 3 months.
  • You have freedom tochoose any new lab environment or technique you wish. You should discuss this with the MIBTP Directors who can advise you bearing in mind your interest and likely area of PhD research. The more active you are in devising the content of your project with your chosen supervisor the more it should meet your personal development goals.
  • Each student will have access to a consumables budget of £750 per mini-project.
  • Students are required to write up their mini-project as a mini-thesis or as a research paper. The thesis should be a maximum of 6,000 words (not including abstract, references or figure legends). The due dates for submission of the thesis or research paper will be by 5PM on the last day of the project (i.e. 31st March).
  • Please submit your mini-project paper or thesis (max 6,000 words) as a pdf (max file size 3 MB) with the filename Lastname_Firstname.pdf (i.e. Smith_John.pdf). The first page of your paper or mini-thesis must contain at a minimum: 1) title, 2) your name, 3) your supervisors name and 4) the University at which the project took place.
  • Submissions that fail to adhere to these guidelines will not be accepted. More detailed guidelines for writing your mini-thesis or research paper can be found in Appendix 1 at the end of this document.
  • The thesis or paper will be marked by the project supervisor and by a second marker. Your final mark will be made up as follows: 65% project write up (average of the two markers) and 35% research performance mark from your supervisor. A postgraduate marking scheme can be found on the following pages.
  • Mini-project information can be found in the training section of the MIBTP intranet

End of 1st Year Poster:

At the end of the first year, iCASE students will produce a poster on their PhD project. The poster will be in A0 size and be uploaded to the MIBTP website by 5 pm on a date to be advised in mid September. The poster should be submitted as a pdf with a maximum file size o 2MB (for ease of printing) with the filename Lastname_Firstname_poster.pdf(i.e.Smith_John_poster.pdf).

The posters will be presented as part of the induction week activities for new MIBTP students (usually the last week of September). The administrator will arrange for poster printing and the deadline must allow for printing time. Assessment will be by the directors and other academic staff invited to the poster session. Marks and feedback will be collated by the administrator and fed back to the students within 2 weeks.

5. Professional Internship for PhD students - PIPSor Industrial Placement

BBSRC requires each student to complete a ProfessionalInternship for PhD Students (PIPS) in a professional employment environment. The PIPS must not relate directly to your PhD project or be scientific research, but you may go to a relevant company as long as you take on a role that is not research-led. A biochemist may go to a pharma company and take a role in marketing or HR, for example. The PIPS should last for approximately 3 months.

As an ICASE student you can either choose to do a PIPS at a company chosen by yourself or choose to incorporateit into a longer placement with your industrial collaborator. You must spend a minimum of three months and a maximum of 18 months with your industrial collaborator and receive business related training as part of the placement. You can start this in April before you begin your PhD or alternatively you can choose to start your PhD in April and arrange to complete your industrial placement at any time during your PhD in agreement with your supervisor and the industrial partner.

Information for iCASE students who opt to undertake a PIP in addition to their industrial placement.

  • All 3 universities have assembled a growing list of prospective host organisations, ranging from educators, business development offices, communicators, policy makers etc. However, if you have your own contacts, or your own ideas, it is a great way to explore a career option without obligation whilst being paid your stipend. We will try hard to support you to secure a PIPS relevant to your interests and development needs.
  • PIPS opportunities are likely to be available in many areas of professional endeavor such as communications, policy, teaching, governance etc., not just industrial companies.
  • PIPS are intended to help early career researchers understand the broader context and impact of their research and to enable them to explore the range of career opportunities in which they can apply their PhD skills and training after they graduate. Students will gain new transferable skills during their PIPS and develop connections with potential employers.
  • Students must inform the MIBTP Administrator of their proposed PIPS choice at least a month before the start date (via an online submission form which can be found on the PIPS pages of the MIBTP intranet) so that the Directors can assess for relevance. The Administrator will contact you with regards to submission deadline dates.
  • It is a requirement of the BBRSC that all students submit a report within 3 months of completing their PIPS. The aim of the PIPS placement report is to capture information on your PIPS placement; including the major outputs, outcomes and impacts from your placement. The report also aims to capture the extent to which your PIPS placement gave you the opportunity to further develop skills or develop new skills. The information you provide in this report will be collated and made non-attributable. Your supervisors will not be able to view your response; however aggregated analyses may be shared with DTP Management Boards. The PIPS placement report is accessed via a link that is unique to each student. You will be provided with a unique link to submit the BBSRC DTP PIPS Placement Report. To access the PIP report, please contact
  • All of this information can be found in the training section on the MIBTP intranet

Leicester MIBTP students – PIPS and away mini-project

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