First Steps

These are things you should do in your first month as a UCL student.

Doctoral School Welcome Event

All research students should attend the Doctoral School Welcome events.

Introduction to Research Log

Use the Research Log to track your progress and training. Start by making sure your log is set up, and you’ve completed the initial section. Watch this video for an introduction to Research Log and review the Student Quick Reference Guide.

Introduction to Skills Development

Begin your skills development journey by attending a Skills Development: Harness your potential for PhD success and beyond  session. Join UCLs Organisational Development team for an introduction to skills development at UCL for Doctoral Researchers. Explore how to evaluate your training needs, create a development plan, and accessing the courses available to you at UCL.

Key contact: docskills@ucl.ac.uk

Programme of mandatory training

In addition, there is a programme of mandatory training that all research students are required to complete. This consists of eight modules. The first seven overlap with the staff mandatory training. The final one is unique to research students.

1. Fire Safety

The Fire safety course needs to be completed on your first day at UCL, in addition to a local fire safety induction run by your Department’s fire evacuation marshal.

2. Safety induction

The Safety induction course will help you identify hazards and mitigate risk of injury or ill-health. You should also receive a safety training as part of your local induction, which will cover any safety information specific to your area of work.

3. Information Security Awareness

The Information security awareness course will help you with understanding information security threats at UCL.

4. Data Protection and Freedom of Information

The Data Protection and Freedom of Information course covers legal requirements relating to GDPR, the Freedom of Information Act and related legislation.

5. Disclosing and Managing Conflicts of Interest

The Disclosing and Managing Conflicts of Interest course will teach you how to recognise, report and manage conflicts of interest.

6. Understanding and Protecting Intellectual Property

The Understanding and Protecting Intellectual Property course will demo how Intellectual Property applies to your role at UCL.

7. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion training

The Equality, Diversity and Inclusion training details the key concepts that should inform our ways of working and interactions with staff and students across UCL.

8. Research Integrity

All research students should complete training on research integrity. You should also read UCL’s Statement on Research Integrity.  

The Research Integrity website content has been streamlined to reflect the researcher experience: it covers research integrity principles and provides an easy way to access the Code of Conduct for Research, which outlines researchers’ responsibilities as well as UCL’s responsibilities.

The pages outline the training available for PGR students, particularly the mandatory self-paced Research Integrity course that fulfils the research integrity requirement for the PGR upgrade. There is also information on the Introduction to Research Support and Integrity course at UCL: a live online course which takes place over a day and includes sessions on Integrity, Ethics and Data Protection, Research Data Management and IT, and Library, Copyright, and Sharing. This course can be used as the integrity requirement for PGR upgrade and should be taken in addition to the self-paced Research Integrity (self-paced) training.

Some Departments may also offer local training such as the Dilemma Game. Your supervisor or PGR administrator should be able to advise on whether your department offers local training. 

Find out more via the Research Integrity website and the Doctoral School’s Research Integrity and Ethics page.

Recommended training

In addition, we recommend research students to complete the Active Bystander training, which helps combat sexual misconduct, bullying and harassment at UCL.

Additional mandatory training courses for PGTAs

Further to the above, for those students who are Postgraduate Teaching Assistants (PGTAs) there are a few further mandatory training courses you will need to complete as a UCL staff member.

PGTAs are entitled to receive payment for these trainings, but not for any training that they are required to complete anyway as students (i.e. any of the seven modules above such as the Fire Safety training).

1. Change Possible – Be Part of a Sustainable UCL

The Change Possible – Be Part of a Sustainable UCL course is focusing on sustainability at UCL and how to improve your impact.

2. Prevent at UCL

Understand your Prevent duties as a member of staff, what to do if you are concerned about someone and information about freedom of speech and organising events. Access the Prevent training.

3. Gateway

The Arena Gateway course helps prepare you for your teaching responsibilities.

Additional mandatory training may also be required for certain roles such as working with animals, or under-18s and adults at risk.

Optional Training

We recommend PGTAs also take the optional Teaching Associate Programme, which can help you develop as a PGTA and work towards HEA Fellowship.