Project is aimed at graduate students and recent PhDs
Photo: Mariana Haupenthal
From Apr 2 – 4, PUCRS opened its doors to three researchers from Newcastle University, UK, one of its partners with whom it has worked together in several collaborative projects. Dr Adam Potts, Dr Robin Humphrey and Dr Rosalind Beaumont participated in several meetings to introduce their new project, the Postgraduate Certificate in Research Training, aimed at doctoral students and recent PhDs.
Humpfrey, who serves as the Director of the Graduate Program in Human and Social Sciences of Newcastle University, spoke about his wishes to make PUCRS an academic hub for the program in Brazil, through the Center for Continuing Education of PUCRS (Educon), in a network that includes other institutions, such as Naresuan University (Thailand) and Newcastle University London. “The project will make it possible for researchers from Brazil, UK and Thailand to work together in a virtual learning environment”, says he. We expect the program to begin in 2019.
The plan, which was under discussion at the Office of the Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies (Propesq), brings potential benefits for the Graduate Programs of PUCRS. “We are studying the viability of offering this certification as a sequential program to the Master’s and Doctoral programs at the University, or even as a mandatory course in some programs in the areas of Humanities, Social Sciences and Applied Social Sciences. Consequently, this could be a significant improvement to the internationalization of Graduate programs at PUCRS”, says the Dean of Graduate Programs, Dr Christian Kristensen.
The program
Photo: Thais Gonçalves
The Postgraduate Certificate in Research Training was created in 2009. So far, more than 400 students have completed it. The comprehensive training at the doctoral level offers solid foundations for those seeking to undertake academic research.
The program gives researchers the chance to develop and master the skills in a variety of research methods. As well as this, the program will earn students with the knowledge, understanding, abilities and aptitudes to undertake advanced research and will offer carefully designed opportunities for social scientists and students doing research in Arts and Humanities. Lastly, it gives an opportunity to doctoral students or entry-level researchers to set up a network of contacts for future potential international cooperations.
The partnership between PUCRS and Newcastle
The partnership with Newcastle University, a member of a network of 24 leading British universities named Russel Group, has been going on for more than 20 years. Groups of researchers from PUCRS have been doing systematic work in partnership with the British giant in several academic areas.
Among the joint initiatives, we can mention the seminar Internationalisation of Higher Education in the UK and Brazil: A partnership between Newcastle University and PUCRS that addressed the research carried out in different academic areas and discussed the perspective of internationalization from research networks in British and Brazilian contexts. In addition to it, the joint designing of the exhibit Marcas da Evolução (Traits of Evolution), at the Museum of Science and Technology of PUCRS and Great North Museum: Hancok, has tightened the bonds between the two institutions.
