Survival guide for PhD candidates at UCT Prague

Survival guide

Hi, welcome to your PhD!

The beginning of doctoral studies can be a bit overwhelming – that's why we, in cooperation with the PhD Office, have prepared a Survival Guide: 15 important points to help you get oriented and not forget the most essential things. Every PhD candidate's experience is a little different – but this overview will give you a good start and show you what to watch out for from the beginning. PhD candidates are expected to be relatively independent, and for that reason, the very first point of this survival guide is:

1.  Review important information. Notable information sources are:
   1. The Doctoral Electronic Guidebook at phd.vscht.cz
   2. Conditions of Study in Doctoral Study Programmes
   3. Study and examination rules and policies (in Czech only)
   4. Facebook page for UCT Prague doctoral candidates
   5. FAQs
   6. Intranet
   7. General Practitioner’s Office of UCT Prague
      
2. If you don't know something, please don’t hesitate to ask us. Your mentor, your laboratory colleagues, the Deans’ offices  (FCT, FET,  FFBT, FCE), Faculty heads, departmental councils, Vice-Deans, Tutors (currently info in Czech only), Mili Losmanová, the Counselling and Career Centre, the Department of International Relations, or us. No question is too trivial, and the key to success is communication.
   
   
3. Registration/enrolment: Here's how to do it. Don’t forget that you have to register for each year of study, every year. Are you studying at Academy of Sciences? We recommend that you arrive at the registration together with the Supervisor.
   
   
4. Go through all doctoral study requirements and create your individual study plan (ISP):
   1. Study requirements for UCT Prague’s individual faculties are here: Faculty of Chemical Technology, Faculty of Food and Biochemical Technology, Faculty of Environmental Technology, Faculty of Chemical Engineering. Generally speaking, requirements include classes listed in a study programme, participation at conferences in English, the basic part of the state doctoral exam (“státnice” in Czech), and the PhD thesis defense. Other requirements include international experience (research stays abroad or/and international collaboration, see Study and Examination Regulations and schloraly publishing (see Subject Requirements)
   2. "Creating an ISP” means that you choose what classes you want to take in relation to your study programme and when you plan to complete them. Our advice is to take into consideration also the requirements of the basic part of your state doctoral exam while choosing the classes (list of classes, here).
      
      
5. Go through the adaptation plan with your supervisor and discuss regularly, including working hours for your research related duties and activities. It is good to set interim goals and discuss them on an ongoing basis. Four years may seem like a long time, but it flies by quickly.
   
   
6. Arrange for your future pedagogical duties and activities (teaching, consulting on Master theses, helping students, and so on), if you have not already done so. Pedagogical activities can take a lot of time, and you need to count on this when making your individual plan.
   
   
7. Get familiar with the “e-doktorand” evaluation system and write an annual progress report:
   1. E-doktorand is UCT Prague’s system used to evaluate doctoral candidates, assigning points for achieved results of study. Based on these points, each doctoral scholarship amount is determined (among other things), which is why it is really important to understand how this system works.
   2. Attention: After the first year of PhD study and later on, the deadline for entering data into the e-doctorate system is usually in the middle of the summer.
      
      
8. Get familiar with how internal UCT project grants work (VIGA/PIGA/SIGA): These are  great opportunities to get more funding and learn how to apply for and carry out various types of research, educational, or social projects. It is good to have the project preliminarily prepared before Christmas, because the deadline for submitting project applications is usually the beginning of January (VIGA, PIGA). SIGA’s deadline is in December.
   
   
9. Explore additional options
   1. Look abroad, discover funding options
   2. Keep track of other scholarships.
   3. Take advantage of accommodation in UCT Prague’s dormitories.
   4. Extend your research and academic skills, participate in workshops and other events. 
      Data Stewardship
      Transferable skills subjects
      PhD_Post.doc / UNIQORN
   5. Enrol in Effective Scientific Writing, a two-semester course (I and II) that will teach you how to write professionally for academic purposes and increase your chances of publishing success.
   6. Join the mentoring programme and other Counselling and Career Centre activities.
   7. Join the UCT Prague community. You can find various associations and student activities at: aktivni.vscht.cz.
   8. Become a tutor.
   9. Use other services offered by UCT Prague: “Test Tube”, UCT’s day care centre (in Czech), Sports, Recreational facilities.
   10. Start tutoring (in Czech)
       
       
10. Manage your daily routine; here is a list of things that might be useful to you:
    1. Emil
    2. Phonebook
    3. UCT Prague maps (in Czech)
    4. OKbase (for doctoral candidates who are also UCT Prague employees)
    5. Notification about operating lab devices at night (in Czech)
    6. Preparation of presentations, posters. Here, among other things, you will find instructions on where to print posters as well as official school logos and presentation templates.
       
       
11. When you have a problem
    1. Preferably, discuss it with your mentor, otherwise with the head of your department or with a departmental academic council representative.
    2. Try reaching out to the Counselling and Career Centre or a tutor. Did you know that the centre has psychological, legal, and career counselling support?
    3. Ask a representative for doctoral candidates on the Academic Senates (University Senate, Faculty of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Chemical Technology, Faculty of Food and Biochemical Technology, Faculty of Environmental technology) or the Ethics Committee for assistance.
    4. If your issue is related to research projects, your studies, the e-doktorand evaluation system, and so on, Mili Losmanová from the PhD Office can help you.
    5. In more serious cases, use the anonymous chat Safe Talk (managed by ombudsman Klára Muzikářová).
    6. Do you have a problem with English? Or you need to prepare for an conference taking place in English (i.e. one of the study requirements)? The Department of Languages offers English courses for doctoral candidates.
    7. The Computer Center can help you with technical support.
    8. Problems in the dormitories? Discuss it with the Dormitory Council.
    9. If you don’t know who to contact, write us, The Electronic PhD Guide team.
       
       
12. Don’t lose track of the scholarship opportunities and requirements; everything is summarized here.
    
    
13. Do you need to change something during your doctoral studies? Contact your mentor, academic council, or Dean’s office. The change request form is here (in Czech).
    
    
14. Find out how and when your dissertation should be submitted: Read the Rules for submitting and publishing dissertations.
    
15. After you’ve successfully mastered all of this, here’s information about graduation and job offers.

If you want to recap everything, here’s our presentation for Freshmen at PhD where we explain everything.

Wishing you all best,

The Electronic PhD Guide team