Training at NINE
Define your research training programme
Create a personalised research training experience
NINE DTP award-holders have the opportunity to create and shape their own training experience during their PhD. Candidates can attend our programme of events, apply for small grants to attend and engage in external opportunities, or even create or propose events of their own devising.
NINE DTP Summer School
These are typically 3-4 day events, offered every June, on one or more of the NINE DTP campuses. They bring together all of the NINE DTP students from the seven partner institutions for a comprehensive programme covering everything from conceptual questions in the social sciences to strategies for professional development. All costs for attendance by NINE DTP students are covered by the DTP.
Specialised Courses
NINE DTP academic staff offer a number of 1-3-day short courses on specialised topics. In-person attendance by NINE DTP students is covered by the DTP, including travel costs for Northern Ireland students to attend trainings in England, and vice versa.
On a space available basis, students from beyond the DTP or its institutions may be able to attend for a fee. Some of the courses offered in recent years include:
- Writing Across Boundaries
- Visual Methodologies
- International Fieldwork in Development Contexts
- Participatory Action Research
Professional Development Short Courses
NINE DTP works with outside experts to teach short (usually 2-4-hour) courses on a range of topics that our research postgraduates have recognised as meeting professional needs. Most of these courses are taught in online or hybrid format, so they’re easily accessible to students from across the DTP. Some of the topics covered in recent years include:
- Time management
- Networking
- Building confidence and resilience
- Preparing your CV
- Preparing for academic and non-academic interviews
- Presentation Skills
- Developing podcasts
- Writing for non-academic audiences
- Influencing policy
- Achieving impact
- Learning to work collaboratively
Video Resources
Recordings of many of the short courses and Summer School presentations over past years are available on a password-protected area of the NINE DTP website. Topics include Networking Skills for Researchers, Preparing for your Viva, Open Access Publishing, Intellectual Property, Applying for PostDocs, Mixed Methods Research, Data Management Plans, and much, much more.
To access this website, first contact us via Contact - NINE DTP requesting a password. Once you have received a password, click the box below to access the password-protected site.
Development Needs Analysis
All NINE DTP students are required to complete an annual Development Needs Analysis exercise. The DNA is conducted via InkPath and the results are to be reviewed jointly by student and supervisor, so that student and supervisor can work together to plot out next steps in the student’s training.
The DNA uses the Vitae framework, which breaks training needs into four categories:
- Knowledge and Intellectual Abilities
- Professional Effectiveness
- Research Governance and Organisation
- Engagement, Influence and Impact
The outcomes of this exercise are analysed on an institutional, pathway and overall DTP level, with the NINE DTP Director reporting the findings to the Academic Quality Committee. The ESRC also review individual responses, to ensure the exercise is being completed effectively and the training needs of our students are being identified and addressed appropriately within our remit.
We encourage all NINE DTP students to use the DNA process to shape their own research training experience in conjunction with their supervisors.
Upcoming Training Offered by NINE DTP
Participatory Action Research 2025
Doctoral students taking a PAR approach face many challenges, including negotiating how to work with partner organisations, handling co-ownership of research findings in relation to the thesis, and responsibilities for working for social change.
The course will cover key values, ethical/political issues, theorising and critiquing PAR, working with partner organisations to influence change, and participatory approaches to research design, process, analysis, dissemination and implementation.
Registration for all other NINE DTP-sponsored courses is done via InkPath.
On the calendar below click on dates marked with a black dot for information on training courses.
If you don't see what you're looking for, consider institution-sponsored training courses, RTSG-funded training, or developing your own training event.