Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR)
Being a scientist is complicated. You have to deal with responsibilities towards your colleagues, your profession, science in general and society. On top of that, you have to perform state of the art research providing thrilling results and new insights for the life sciences.
The VDS PhaNuSpo therefore offers a training course 'Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR)', which consists of four modules. The individual modules build on each other and are designed in such a way that the content runs parallel to the specific challenges of a PhD programme. During each training session, the participants will discuss different aspects of research integrity, illustrated by a variety of cases, and share their experiences with their fellow doctoral candidates/ early career researchers.
- Credits: For each successfully completed module 0.25 ECTS.
- Language: English
- Prerequisites: Modules must be completed in sequence.
- Format: All modules include a preparation phase (self-study materials or e-learning module) before the face-to-face workshop session.
- Group size: maximum 50.
- When: Start with M1 as soon as possible after the start of your doctoral studies. We expect you to actively participate in the entire course series, but at least 75%.
- How to register: See the links provided in the table below.
Course schedule
| Module | Next date | Registration |
|---|---|---|
| M1 - each summer term | 09 April 2025 from 09:00-13:00, in HS-1 (2A120) at UZA II | Until 27/03/2025 |
| M2 - each winter term | Only for PhD candidates who have completed M1 in May 2024. 28 April 2025 from 9:30-12:00, in HS-1 (2A120) in UZA II | Until 07/04/2025 |
| M3 - each summer term | Summer semester 2026 | tba |
| M4 - each winter term | Winter semester 2026/27 | tba |
Description of the modules
Module 1: Responsible Conduct of Research: introduction, dilemmas and identifying breach
Course description: Everyone knows that you cannot cheat in science, but it still happens. Why does it happen? This course will help you to remain a good citizen in science. The main aspects of responsible conduct of research are briefly discussed, using examples from the life sciences. Tools will be provided to help you resist the temptations and challenges of supervisors, the "system" and your own ambitions. In addition, we will discuss everyday experiences in research practice that will help you to manoeuvre responsibly through the grey areas of science.
Learning objectives: Participants will learn strategies on how to discuss and deal with issues and dilemmas that arise in life science research and will learn to adress these issues from a Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) perspective. Participants will also learn to identify breaches of RCR by other researchers, e.g. in publications, research proposals and behaviour.
Instructional method: Participants prepare for the course by reading an article on RCR.
- A lecture will introduce the different aspects of RCR in the life sciences.
- Participants will subsequently discuss in small outbreak groups either premade dilemmas, or they can enter their own experience as a discussion topic.
- The outbreak groups will shortly present their dilemma, the discussion outcome and considerations in a plenary session.
Module 2: Integrity in academic publication: authorship and peer review
Course description: This course aims to create awareness of relevant issues in your academic publishing practice and ways to approach them. We will focus on these 3 themes:
- Authorship – who qualifies, order, publication strategy.
- Academic publishing – FFP and retraction, predatory journals, dilemma’s and grey areas.
- Reviewing – peer review types, a constructive review.
Learning objectives: You learn how to be or become a good author and fair reviewer. Our aim is to stimulate you to become aware of relevant issues in your academic publishing practice and ways to approach them from a Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) perspective.
Course schedule: You have to complete the e-learning “Integrity in academic publication: authorship and peer review” (~4 hours of work) before the one-hour plenary session in which you discuss several tasks performed in the E-module guided by the trainer.
Module 3: Responsible research through supervision, mentoring and working together
Course description: This course aims to teach you how and why supervision, mentoring and collaboration are key ingredients to support Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR). We will focus on these 4 themes:
- Expectations and responsibilities in supervision and mentoring – styles of supervision and mentoring, power relations and RCR, mutual expectations.
- Culture, colleagues and communication – communication on RCR in your research practice.
- Collaboration outside the research team – conflicts of interest, competing responsibility, IP.
- Learning to take responsibilities and its boundaries – conversation with your supervisor/mentor.
Learning objectives: You will be introduced to key challenges that you could face when collaborating with others during your PhD research. Furthermore, you will learn how to deal with expectations and responsibility in supervision and mentoring.
Course schedule: You will first complete the E-module “Responsible research through supervision, mentoring and working together” via the u:rise moodle. Next, you will participate in an one-hour plenary session in which you discuss several tasks performed in the E-module guided by the trainer.
Module 4: RCR for the next career path
Course description: In Module 4 of your PhD trajectory you are preparing to defend your thesis. In your next career step, you may remain working in academia, or go beyond. Whatever you will become, the RCR values remain valid at subsequent stages in your career. This will be the focus of this years’ course.
Learning objectives: We will focus on tools than enable you to be a “good citizen in science” in your next career steps, and reflect on your rights and duties towards science and society as a PhD.
Instructional method: The 3 hour meeting consists of an introductory lecture, outbreak groups with challenges you may encounter in your next career path, and plenary feedback session in which you present and reflect on the case(s) you discussed and/or encountered during your PhD trajectory.
Cancellation and No-show policy
Once you have signed up for a course
- We expect you to attend. For every late cancellation or no-show we have had to disappoint others who would have liked to attend.
- We expect you to participate actively throughout the module hours.
Trainers
of Cohorte 2 starting from April 2025 and onwards
Eva-Maria Plessl: Postdoc at the Division of Pharmacology and Toxicology f the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences.
Haider Sami: Senior Scientist at the MMCT-Lab, Divison of Pharmaceutical Chemistry of the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences.
of Cohorte 1 that started in summer semester 2024
Marcel van der Heyden is associate professor in the department of Medical Physiology at the University Medical Center Utrecht. He obtained his PhD in the field of cancer research at the Utrecht University in 1995. Thereafter he performed two post-docs on stem cell biology and connexins at the Netherlands Institute of Developmental Biology. He entered the field of cardiac arrhythmias in 2000. Currently, his focus is on cardiac potassium ion channel pharmacology and ion channel trafficking. His research group combines functional electrophysiological methods with cellular and molecular biology, and biochemical methods. He authored more than 150 peer reviewed papers, most of which deal with membrane protein biology and pharmacology including ion channels. Marcel also teaches and writes on scientific integrity and is Consulting Editor for Research Integrity for the British Journal of Pharmacology, and member of the Utrecht University Committee for Research Integrity. Marcel is editor on several peer review physiology and pharmacology journals.
More information (course structure & content) at the Utrecht University website PhD Course Centre Agenda - Graduate School of Life Sciences