Formations - FAQ EN

Why a system of complementary training to the thesis?

The doctorate is a professionalizing training that should make it possible to train towards research and through research - but not only for research - for executives for all public as well as private organizations. Even though the thesis is at the core of the doctorate as a means of learning scientific and transversal knowledge and skills, the mere work related to the production and writing of the thesis is no longer sufficient to acquire and develop them.

Thus, the Decree of May 25th 2016, which governs doctoral studies, expressly states that doctoral schools "define and implement support measures for the continuation of professional careers after obtaining a doctorate in the public and private sectors and organise, in conjunction with the departments of the institutions concerned, the monitoring of the professional careers of the trained doctors". In addition, "training in research ethics and scientific integrity" is explicitly mentioned.
In fact, all French universities offer a catalogue of training courses to their doctoral students.

 

What is the logic behind the new training system at the Université de Lorraine?  

 

The doctoral schools of the University of Lorraine wished to propose a common scheme that encourages doctoral students to acquire a range of knowledge and skills necessary for the training of a doctor through practical activities or training modules. These skills and knowledge have been divided according to a three-part system (themselves subdivided into several headings):
•    The acknowledging your scientific path component
•    The supporting your thesis component
•    The preparing your career component
This training system must serve as a framework for the doctoral student and his/her thesis supervision when filling out the individual training agreement. It is intended as a guide and an incentive. It is in no way restrictive and a doctoral student may of course follow more training than he/she is asked to do. It is the framework within which any training or acquisition of skills must be registered, whether it is acquired from the catalogue offered at the Université de Lorraine or from another source.

 

 

What are the 3 parts of the device equivalent to?

 

 

• The " acknowledging your scientific path " section includes practical activities that are directly related to the course of the research activities linked to the thesis: publications, participation in conferences (oral, written and poster presentations), free hearings (participation in scientific meetings without intervening), and a stay in another laboratory, a priori in another country, within the framework of scientific exchanges on the thesis work.

 

• The section " supporting your thesis " includes the acquisition of skills normally necessary for the smooth running of the thesis. These are first of all disciplinary training courses, targeted on a speciality or common to a more or less broad disciplinary field: these training courses are generally proposed within the frame of a doctoral school. Transversal skills cover general knowledge and activities where disciplinary specialisation is annexed: documentary research, prevention of risks, public oral communication, project management... These training courses are organised at the level of the Collège Lorrain des Etudes Doctorales. Ethics and scientific integrity are a theme explicitly included in the decree defining doctoral studies.  Basic language skills are considered essential for the development of a career where the doctorate involves international exchanges: mastery of French for non-French-speaking doctoral students hosted at the Université de Lorraine and mastery of English for French-speaking doctoral students.

 

• The " preparing your career " component aims to facilitate the transition to a career after the defence. It offers training modules to familiarise oneself with themes and professions related to the opportunities opened up by a doctorate: higher education, employment in companies, business creation, scientific mediation... It also includes the promotion of practical activities: working in a company or in a local authority within the frame of a CIFRE or a main paid job.

 

 

How does the credits system work?

 

The common rules for doctoral schools include the use of credits as a valorization unit for the modules and activities followed, one credit being equivalent to approximately 10 hours of work.

It is therefore agreed that doctoral students will have to justify the value of 30 credits for the defence of their thesis:
•    At least 10 for the “acknowledging your scientific path” component
•    At least 10 for the “supporting your thesis” component
•    At least 5 for the “preparing your career” component.

Compared to the 25 credits thus counted, there are 5 "floating" credits remaining that can be justified on one or the other of the components, or one or the other of the headings, depending on the doctoral school to which you belong.

Within the "thesis support" section, each doctoral student will have to justify at least 5 credits for disciplinary training, 3 credits on transversal competencies, 1 credit for ethics and scientific integrity, and 1 credit for languages. Credits awarded for cross-disciplinary training are recognized in the same way regardless of the doctoral school.

 

 

Are there specifics for my doctoral school?

 

Yes, each doctoral school has its own specificities regarding the definition and value of the activities to be justified, particularly in the “acknowledging your scientific path” component. It also offers its own disciplinary modules, possibly with other doctoral schools in the same disciplinary field. It can also assign different values to practical activities carried out in preparation for the “preparing your career” component. They are also free to define recommendations for the attribution of the 5 floating credits.

In addition to the rules specific to each doctoral school as a whole, the management of the doctoral school may also adapt the training requirements according to a doctoral student's profile and project: a doctoral school may, for instance, set stricter obligations in terms of disciplinary training for doctoral students who have validated through practice a certain professionalization (doctoral students who are mainly employed). It is therefore advisable to check with the doctoral school's management for any specific conditions of application of the system.

 

 

Do I need to attend a training if I already acquired the required skill?

 

No. However, the management of the doctoral school is the sole judge of the validation of acquired skills. If you feel that you have already acquired the requested skill, you therefore need to justify this to the doctoral school by contacting your educational officer.

The aim of the system is first of all to encourage doctoral students to develop a certain number of skills. Also, in some cases, it should be possible to validate a skill without having to follow the training.

Let us take for instance the "first aid rescuer at work" (SST) training: the doctoral student who can justify obtaining this diploma will not be required to follow the corresponding training. Similarly, a doctoral student who can prove that he/she has a sufficient level of English language certification will not be obliged to follow training in English. Career paths will also be used to justify credits for “preparing your career”.
However, as the training system is designed to encourage doctoral students to develop their skills, the doctoral school management may encourage them to develop skills other than those they already have.

 

 

What are the differences between themes, routes and labels?

 

• Themes, more specifically set up in “preparing your career”, indicate groupings of modules on specific fields. One of the objectives is to enable doctoral students to build a progression during their doctorate with modules that have been designed to accompany them during their three years of doctoral studies.

 

•  A route occurs when a set of modules, generally developed around a theme, is proposed to the doctoral student. The pathway may then include modules that depend on several headings. Thus, the "higher education" programme, which is considered to accompany a higher education mission, offers over three years the modules of the "higher education" theme, but also the module on "first aid at work" and, as a partial replacement for the 1st year seminar, the module on communication.

 

• Finally, labels imply logics of complete routes and are accompanied by a practical application (for instance, a teaching service for the higher education label). One applies for a label on the basis of a voluntary application: the interested doctoral student shows that he/she has followed a route and carried out practical activities, and is then heard by a jury.

 

 

Can I take courses that are not offered in the catalogue?

 

Yes, doctoral students can choose to follow training courses that are not listed in this catalogue, either because they have a complementary offer (modules offered by an "EPST", or by the HR department of the Université de Lorraine), or because they are doing their thesis under conditions where they cannot participate in the training courses organized by the Université de Lorraine (case of doctoral students working far from Lorraine in the framework of cotutelle, or a CIFRE, for instance).

In this case, if doctoral students wish to have these training courses validated, they will have to request a prior agreement to their doctoral school: they will need to send the description of the training course to their doctoral school and, once completed, proof of their participation.
In order for doctoral students to be able to count this type of training as part of the validation process, they will have to enter the description of the training in the input menu for non-catalogue training courses in their ADUM space. For this entry, the off-catalogue training have to be be categorized in the correct section of the system ("category" ADUM). The validation of this entry is carried out by the doctoral school.
All non-catalogue training or skills acquisition actions must go through this ADUM entry to be taken into account on ADUM.

 

 

I started my PhD at the University of Lorraine before the start of the 2018 academic year: am I concerned by this change in the training system?

 

The new training system applies to all doctoral students who have enrolled from the start of the 2018 academic year: it does not apply to doctoral students at the end of their thesis.

For intermediate cases, each doctoral school can adapt its position according to the degree of progress of the thesis. The objective is that the transition should not be disruptive for doctoral students.

 

If you don't find the answer to your question among these examples, you can directly contact the educational officer of your doctoral school for more information.