PhD Training

Each PhD is hosted at the venue of one of the principal partners and will be enrolled in a graduate school. Each PhD also spends up to three secondments (max. 30%) at other HERILAND partner institutions, notably outside academics, to put theory into practice and increase job opportunities. These secondments offer extra facilities and training options, while also promoting collaboration between the WPs.

The host partner provides the main supervisor, to be assisted by one or two co-supervisors, each from different disciplines and sectors. At the start of the project, the PhD candidate and supervisor draw up a Personal Career Development Plan, with a personal time schedule and with tutoring arrangements and needs regarding secondments, tutoring and other training activities.

Although the PhDs can integrate their mandatory graduate school programmes with HERILAND training modules and events, all have access to the rich training programmes of the graduate schools of the academic partners and also to the training of the non-academic partners. These offer, amongst others, complementary skill courses which allow the PhD fellows to prepare for a professional career; e.g. teaching, research integrity/ethics, audience-focused presentations, scientific writing, grant writing, interdisciplinarity, project management and leadership, GIS-analysis, remote sensing, spatial design, language and multi-media.

This entails training in developing and carrying out questionnaire surveys in selected heritage landscapes, regions or cities. The surveys are directed at stakeholder groups relevant to the research.

The PhDs are also trained to collaborate and exchange knowledge in joint, real-life assignments in living labs. These labs, notably in Rome, and Newcastle, offer test cases for comparative cross-European analyses of the HERILAND skills set and for evaluation of best practices and critical success-factors in using these skills. In these labs, the HERILAND key themes are leading in the selection of assignments. The assignments are commissioned by HERILAND partners (e.g. municipalitiesor heritage boards).

All PhDs, supervisors and partner staff members participate in five-week long workshops, each of which is dedicated to one of the key societal challenges central to HERILAND. Each workshop includes reporting sessions discussing the progress of the PhD projects, a Master Class, a field school, complementary skills training, a job dating session and an exhibition.