Abstract:

QAA Scotland, Scottish Funding Council, Vitae and the Higher Education Academy are undertaking an integrated programme of work in the area of the Postgraduate Research Degree Experience. The overall purpose of the benchmarking execrcise is to support the higher education sector in enhancing the postgraduate research degree student experience and to identify, share, discuss and disseminate innovative practice in this area.

This presentation will report on the progress of the work, focused on the following areas identifying any interesting and useful developments and practice internationally:

Student experience – supporting the research degree student
Supporting International and part-time students, language barriers
Standards, quality assurance and reviews
Examination and external examiners, assessment, supervision and supervisors and the challenges of Joint Degrees
Developing and supporting critical mass and critical diversity
Collaboration and Graduate Schools, Doctoral training Centres; Inter- and intra-national graduate schools, variations and models of graduate schools; joint degrees
Supporting the development of postgraduate skills and attributes
Public engagement, communication, entrepreneurship, leadership and management and professional skills; postgraduates who teach
Broadening the postgraduate experience
Internationalising the student experience; mobility

The overall purpose of the benchmarking work is to support the higher education sector in Scotland in the development and enhancement of the research degree learning experience through: comparing with and learning from international practice (including the rest of the UK) establishing a range of useful resources, contacts and links for institutions, Students’ Associations and practitioners.

Keywords:

Post Graduate, International, Graduate Schools, teach, experience, assessment, practice, collaboration.