Initial assessment Purpose After approximately 3-4 months of full-time postgraduate study, or after 10 months in the case of part-time mode of attendance, it is expected that PhD Researchers will have developed a reasonable understanding of the area of research in which they are working and will have some initial ideas on the likely contribution to knowledge that it will make to the subject(s) concerned. The initial assessment will be convened that seeks to ensure that this level of progress has been achieved. The dates of the initial assessment will be notified to Postgraduate Researchers by Leona O’Neill. Content The assessment process comprises both a written and an oral element and addressing these requirements should be organised in close co-operation with the project supervisors. The presentation will normally last 10 minutes and will then be followed by 10 minutes of questions. It should provide information on: Project background. Overall aim of the research. Objectives to be achieved within the first 10 months (full-time) or 20 months (parttime) and the activities that will be undertaken to achieve these objectives. Type of training and equipment required to advance the project. Gantt chart indicating plans over the next 9 months. Assessment The Panel will be seeking to answer the following core questions: Is the project clearly defined? Are the objectives realistic and achievable in the time period available? Will the project provide adequate research training for the student ? Is the programme of work likely to provide a sufficient foundation for PhD study? Does the student show evidence of at least a basic understanding of the research topic, the nature of the approach being taken to investigate it and the relationship of the work to other research in the field? Are the supervisory arrangements, including meeting schedules, satisfactory? Is the student content with the research environment? Procedure Your initial assessment report should be submitted via PhD Manager. A Step by step guide can be found at the following link: https://phdmanager.ulster.ac.uk/do/activity/guides/all Your report needs to be uploaded no later than 10 days before your initial assessment. The report you upload should be approved by your supervisor as the final version – changes to the submitted document cannot be made. PhD Researchers also need to submit the report document to Turnitin for a plagiarism check. The process to obtain your Turnitin report is straightforward – simply access the relevant area within Blackboard (www.learning.ulster.ac.uk), enter your usual password and select ‘Courses’. Note that you should upload the FULL Turnitin report not just the submission receipt