A head start of your PhD during a pandemic

Three times per year, the RIMLS Graduate School organizes the introductory course “In the lead of my PhD”. This course provides new PhD candidates with insights, tips and tricks to be at the forefront of your research and training objectives. In short, PhD candidates and their needs for a successful PhD are the focus of the program i.e. PhD in the lead.

Starting a PhD in Corona-times is even more challenging than in “normal” times. Therefore, the graduate school paid special attention to organize these courses despite all Corona-measures. This resulted in three completely different versions of the course:

The first course in February took place before COVID-19 hit The Netherlands and could take place as usual at Soeterbeeck in Ravenstein. This historic and inspiring environment was originally a convent of this sisters Augustinessen. At the time, no one realized how privileged they were to be able to meet and sit together to learn new things.

After the complete lockdown of research activities in March-May, participants of the second course were extremely happy to meet each other at Soeterbeeck in a group of maximum 30 people. A workshop at 1.5 m distance from anyone was completely new to everyone. The nice weather, the beautiful garden and excellent organization of Soeterbeeck made this course into a success, an opportunity that everyone had longed for.

The second wave of COVID-19 started in October, making it impossible to meet in person for the third “In the lead” course. The course was held online. Although all participants would have highly preferred to meet each other face-to-face, also this workshop was highly appreciated.

In all three versions, the content of the course was similar: PhD candidates worked in small groups and explored what drives them in their research and what they need to learn to achieve their goals. What does a supervisor expect from a PhD candidate? What competencies should they develop during their PhD trajectory? How can the talents they discovered using “Strengthfinder” help them develop in independent researchers and prepare them for their future career?



Here are some experiences PhD candidates had with this introductory course: 

  • "I think it is a nice start of your PhD''. 
  • “Really helpful, the professors are really wisdom”.
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Research Annual Report 2020 Graduate School

Highlights

Our aim

The primary aim of our Graduate School is to optimally train our PhD candidates as professionals in the field of biomedical sciences. Here, examples are presented of activities within our Graduate School that aid in achieving our goals.

Supervisor of the year Frank Hoentjen

Excellence is shown in many ways, and excellent supervision is something we should all strive for. We are proud to have colleagues within RIMLS who take on the role of supervisor with great dedication and enthusiasm. read more

Supervisor of the year Frank Hoentjen

The supervisor of the year award is organized by the RIMLS PhD Council.

A great tradition, because excellence is shown in many ways, and excellent supervision is something we should all strive for!

The PhD council invited PhD candidates to submit a motivation why their supervisors deserve to be elected as a superhero of the RIMLS. From these nominees, the three best-ranked supervisors were selected:For 2020 Jeroen de Baaij, Ellen van den Boogaard and Frank Hoentjen. All RIMLS PhD candidates were invited to vote for these nominees. After an exciting neck-to-neck race Frank Hoentjen, theme Inflammatory Diseases, was elected as Supervisor of the Year 2020! 

Frank Hoentjen received an online award and a hoody was sent to his home.
 

RIMLS PhD Retreat

Once a year, all PhD candidates meet during the retreat. This year for the first time online due to COVID-19, however it was still a great success, exemplified by the enthusiasm of all attendees and the professional organization by the responsible PhD committee. read more

RIMLS PhD Retreat

This year, a traditional RIMLS PhD retreat was planned for April 2020. This retreat would have included workshops, posters, presentations, two keynote speakers and a party at the Conference Centre Koningshof in Veldhoven. Unfortunately, this retreat was cancelled only weeks before due to Coronavirus measures.

In September 2020 the committee decided to organize the retreat online. The online retreat differed much from the normal PhD retreat since it took place in an afternoon instead of during two days. Still the retreat was a great success. We do sincerely hope that the 2021 retreat can take place in the traditional format again.

40 last year PhD students presented their results in ZOOM groups with specific research themes. The themes included; Immunology, Oncology-Immunology, Microbiology, Targeted therapy & Translational and clinical research and Genetics.  The quality of the presentations was exceptional, especially since it was an online session. The presentations were followed by lively discussions with other RIMLS PhD candidates. All presenters can be very proud of their achievements.  

After the presentations, there was time to socialize, as is custom in the RIMLS PhD retreat. Unfortunately there was no party this year, but participants tried to escape in a competitive COVID-themed online escape room. They did so while getting to know new people in small online meetings. All the groups managed to escape in time!

The RIMLS management team would like to thank the participants, the escape room organization and the organizing committee of RIMLS PhD candidates.

Most popular Meet the Expert

This meeting highlights a particular scientific technique in an informal setting. read more

Most popular Meet the Expert

Our Meet the Expert meetings are increasingly well attended online.

The most well-attended Meet the Experts were ”The transcriptome: an introduction to RNA sequencing” from host Simon van Heeringen

and “Illustrator course” from host Heidi Schigt.

ENABLECARES

RIMLS participates in EU project ENABLECARES facilitating PhD training in Open Science & Innovation skills. read more

ENABLECARES

The Radboud Institute for Molecular Life Sciences will participate in the ENABLECARES project, funded under the Science with and for Society Programme of Horizon 2020, the EU Framework programme for research and innovation. Starting in February 2021 and coordinated by IRB Barcelona, ENABLECARES will deliver high-level training in open science, entrepreneurship and other relevant transferable skills to young scientists in Europe.

ENABLECARES will allow its four partners to enrich their transferable skills course catalogue with state-of-the-art training on advanced competencies increasingly demanded by emerging professions. Training curricula in entrepreneurship and open science will be established through co-creation and train-the-trainers strategies based on the expertise of IRB Barcelona and Radboudumc & Radboud University. Participants will benefit from a combination of face-to-face workshops and online contents as well as the support of local career advisors to personalise their training itineraries.

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 101006361.

A head start of your PhD during a pandemic

The RIMLS Graduate school offers a course “In the lead” for new PhD candidates. “The course broadened my horizon and made me optimistic about my PhD". read more

First online FIJI course

Due to the COVID-19 crisis, the first FIJI course of 2020 had to put all its bits and pixels together to go completely digital. read more

First online FIJI course

Due to the COVID-19 crisis, the first FIJI course of 2020 had to put all its bits and pixels together to go completely digital. It took place on the 4th and 5th of June.

Although Jack Fransen, Marieke Willemse and Merijn van Erp missed the personal classroom interactions, they can again look back to a successful course thanks to an enthusiastic group of 14 students who helped them through this first online version.

Vlog of PhD candidate Özlem Bulut

COVID-19 struck hard. Not only for sick people or care givers, also for researchers. In her vlog, Özlem Bulut interviews young researchers about how they have coped with closed labs, starting in a new country and your cat as the closest colleague. video

Vlog of PhD candidate Özlem Bulut

 

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