Academic skills can be broadly divided into four domains and examples of each of these domains are given below. It is the responsibility of the academic supervisor to determine which of these generic academic skills are relevant to an individual trainee during the training period and to develop a training programme accordingly.
-
Generic and applied research skills - examples include:
- Identifying a research supervisor
- Identifying a research topic
- Defining a research question
- Observational and experimental research design
- Developing a research proposal
- Writing a grant application
- Critical appraisal of a paper or topic
- Carrying out an experiment
- Data interpretation and statistical analysis
- Writing a research paper or thesis
- Commercialisation of research outputs
-
Research Governance - examples include:
- Research ethics and how it is monitored (including COREC processes)
- Information storage and retrieval
- Patent and Intellectual Property issues
- Clinical trials / clinical trials legislation
- NHS structure and regulations
- Fraud/Scientific misconduct
- Knowledge of issues around misuse of research
- Research and Integrity (awareness of complex dilemmas in scientific research).
-
Communication/Education - examples include:
- Writing skills
- Verbal presentation skills
- Electronic media / audio-visual presentation skills
- Poster presentations
- Teaching skills/experience
- Supervision skills/experience
- Science and the Media
- Effective networking and collaboration
- Collegiality/ability to work co-operatively and creatively with colleagues
- Assertiveness skills
-
Research and Teaching Outputs - examples include:
- Presentation at national / international research meetings
- Submitting an application for a grant or fellowship
- Publishing a peer-reviewed article
- Delivering an educational lecture or seminar