PhD Courses in Denmark

The aim of the course is to give the PhD-students a holistic overview of food science in general, and especially to the research disciplines at DTU FOOD, including biotechnology, nutrition, food quality, food safety, food technology and environment & health, and how their projects fit into this context. The course also provides students an opportunity to meet fellow PhD students and discuss projects and possibilities for collaboration. During the course students will be introduced to different aspects of being a PhD student including the resources available to them. Participants will also be presented with some of the general challenges they may face during their PhD study.

A student who has met the objectives of the course will be able to:

• Formulate a scientific hypothesis that encapsulates your PhD project
• Formulate your PhD project in different contexts
• Identify innovation and rights of property issues in your PhD project
• Explain how your PhD project fits into the overall research and advisory work conducted at FOOD
• Interpret different scenarios related to research integrity and code-of-conduct principles in life sciences
• Formulate your expectations for student/supervisor interactions during your PhD study
• Identify the needs and level of statistical knowledge to conduct your research
• Formulate biosecurity issues (if any) that need attention during your PhD study
• List data management strategies for your PhD project
• Identify fellow PhD student projects with potential synergies with your project

Building up a general knowledge within the food sciences: The course will include lectures representing different research groups within the department, where the different disciplines are introduced by leading researchers. Participants are subsequently encouraged to relate their own research projects and hypotheses into a broader perspective within the food sciences. The output from this exercise will be presented individually during a poster session. Basic concepts of research in food science: We will discuss how scientific hypotheses are formulated, how research questions are addressed, how to describe methodology, putting your research into a larger context and who the stakeholders are. The participants will subsequently discuss their own research in this context, describe and discuss what they want to measure in their research, and which methods they will use. The participants will also be introduced to different driving forces for research and types of research projects with focus on researchers (assessors) and the decision makers (managers). Finally the Danish Code of Conduct for Research Integrity will be presented and discussed. Daily life and challenges during a PhD project at the institute: The participants will be introduced to the administration of a PhD project, and what is expected of them in accordance to this. Newly educated PhD fellows will tell “their story” including ups and downs during the project and how the transition has been to their new jobs. Different possibilities to seek help during the PhD study will be outlined. Discussions on expectations from supervisors, institute and from themselves. Discussions on what they can expect from the supervisor and department. To pass the course, the participants must have active participation and prepare, present and discuss a poster on their own PhD project reflecting inspiration and input obtained during the course.