Training Needs Analysis

The Training Needs Analysis is a tool for managing, reflecting on and helping to promote Higher Degree by Research skills development.

The University of Sydney is committed to attracting and training the very best research students from around Australia and the world. Our aim is to help students produce not only high quality theses but for them to become high quality researchers - well rounded intellectually and effective communicators about their research and disciplines to their peers and the broader public.

While recognising the extraordinary variety of skills, perspectives and goals that students and staff bring to their research collaborations, the University has agreed that there are a number of attributes that should be common to all recipients of a postgraduate degree from the University of Sydney, attributes that directly address the commitments listed above.

Our aim is that all research candidates will, on graduation, have demonstrated general competency in:

• The ability to communicate, both orally and in writing, at the level required for the effective presentation of their research to their disciplinary peers;
• The ability to communicate, both orally and in writing, specialist material to a non-expert audience;
• The issues of professional conduct as they relate to their field. This will include issues of research integrity, professional responsibility, project management and the sharing of knowledge. It will also include aspects of professional conduct specific to each discipline – eg. ethical use of surveys, animal experimentation and fieldwork;
• Sufficient aspects of the social history of their discipline such that they can provide an informed and reflective answer to the question, what is the value of this discipline and how does it relate to the work of other disciplines and fields of research?

Students should also have had the opportunity during their candidature to engage in career-development activities – including networking with peers and industry partners, as well as receive training around issues to do with commercialisation, intellectual property, research leadership and professional development more generally.

Beyond these general competencies, it is expected disciplines will define their own requirements in terms of essential skills, knowledge and experience. With regard to these areas, the aim will be to identify:

• the set of skills, knowledge and experience regarded as essential for all candidates, including not only the general competencies outlined above, but those related to the particular discipline(s) in which they are located;
• the training requirements to develop these skills and attributes;
• whether the training requirements identified are currently available within the School or Faculty, or will be delivered through other means (ie. through coursework available in other Faculties or units such as ITL,Careers or Learning Centre, etc.)

Compulsory on-line modules

The University of Sydney expects all Higher Degree by Research students to be aware of policies and procedures regarding important issues in conducting research work. To help students with these issues, we are currently developing introductory online modules on Research Integrity and Workplace Health & Safety issues. You may have seen reference to these modules on your Training Needs Analysis forms. When these modules are available, we will communicate directly with all currently enrolled HDR students via your University email address with easy instructions about how to complete these training modules.