======= Date Modified 17 11 2010 00:11:59 =======
Hello,

During the course of my PhD i notice that a lot of emphasis is placed on the technical aspect. There is little on management and leadership. PhD students are excluded on some of the management trainings for staff due to high demand for these workshops. I was thinking of applying for some funding project to inculcate a 5 day training over 6 months on leadership and another one over the same time frame on management. I was wondering if other phd students think that this is an area of need or is it just me? With training in leadership and management and an award accredited by CMI or ILM, Phd researchers can be able to apply for funding and manage projects rather than looking for jobs. Instead they will be creating jobs. What do people think about this?

hi koturu; I agree with you. It is also the same thing for my uni, management training are not open to students. Sometimes they also have workshops (for using software etc.) and some are just for staff.
satchi

Isn't the issue more that PhD researchers are not considered eligible to apply for funding by many funding organisations as you have to have a contract that covers the duration of the grant in place before you apply? I rather doubt attending 10 days of training would make any real difference if you're not eligible in the first place. But why not take advantage of the courses on this sort of thing that are offered by Vitae - I'm sure they offer leadership training and it's aimed at PhD students. Or ask your graduate school if they'd organise something for you?
Oh and it works the other way too - since I became a postdoc, I can attend all sorts of these (usually utterly pointless) staff development courses, but was I allowed to attend the training day on a research method that I'd really like to learn? No - PhD students only allowed. I think it's because the training budgets come from different sources.

Doing PhD itself requires leadership and management skills. Our Graduate School does offer Research Management Skills. I guess the way a organization manages itself and others are trade secrets that's why they courses are not open to students. Sometimes, it works from top to bottom and people at implementation level would not even know how the management decisions were made. Mostly, it revolves around money....as far as I know.