There should be a secretary function and course responsible function. They have the following duties:

The secretary function will partly be taken care of by the Polforsk, partly by a local secretary function. It comprises:

• make a deadline schedule ensuring: minimum 4 week to produce a paper, minimum 4 weeks to read literature, minimum 3 weeks to read the papers,
  
• publication at polforsk.dk, nepos.net and during mailinglists
• set up application form and manage incoming registrations
• organise evaluation
  
• issueing diplomas
• arrange class room booking or make sure that a room is booked at the relevant University
• economic administration, incl. fee payment
  
• assign a person whom the phd-students may contact when they arrive and during the phd-course. The phd-students and the lecturers should have the mobile number of this person
  
• perhaps help finding accommodation
  
• perhaps create a course website including a mailinglist for the course
• arrange a course dinner on the first day of the course
• make sure the students can gain access to the internet at the relevant university
  
• answer general inquiries
• make a generel travel guideline
• send a map over the campus to the participants
• assist the course responsible with the program
• at least 2 months before first course day: check which literature can included in compendium
  

It is preferable that a course program is finished at least 5 (6-7 month is preferable) months before course start. Course planning comprises:

• make sure that the institution has approved the use of resources that the course needs.
• answer specific inquiries.
• schedule Ph.d-presentation or exercises.
  
• prepare a course program including (the secretary is supposed to assist the course responsible with this):
  

1. Title of the course.
2. Dates and place, incl. room, where the course takes place.
   
3. Lectureres.
4. Department and responsible planner.
5. A short description (5-10 lines) answering the question: Why should a Ph.D.
   student attend this course?
6. A long description that outlines the core ideas, and what topics the course
   cover as well as how it hooks the Ph.D. student up to the research front.
7. Time schedule for each course day comprising lectures, discussions, paper
   presentations, breaks, etc.
8. Literature. Which literature should the Ph.D students obtain themselves, and which should be included in a compendium. Link to literature in electronic form should be made available.
   
9. Fee (covering costs of food during course and course dinner and costs of compendium and if relevant also tuition fee and other costs).
10. How and when to subscribe as well as deadline for papers.
11. The format of Ph.D students' papers (size, type, etc.)
12. How the Ph.D. student can participate: Pure participation, presentation of
    paper, and/or delivering a paper 8 week after course for approval.
13. Course-dinner (first day) must be included in program...
    

The course will be announced at polforsk.dk and nepos.net and send to the international contacts, including publication via the NEPOSnewsletter. The course will be announced in the newsletters, until the subscription deadline.

Comments

Purpose:

The purpose of a Ph.d-course is to support the Ph.d-students in succeeding with their Ph.d-dissertation. Therefore, a course should support their own research by giving knowledge and competences which are functional for their work. However, a course should also support the Ph.d-students in their research process, typically by commenting and discussing papers/presentation.

Particularly, it is important to pay attention to the number of lecturers. It is often tempting to invite a number of specialists to a Ph.d-course. Although it may be an advantage to have wide range of expertise at disposition at a course, it may be at the cost of pedagogical structure and knowledge progression on the part of the Ph.d-students. Thus, it is important to balance these objectives, and to make clear what the purposes of the course is. Is the purpose of the course to give the Ph.d-students an overview of different approaches to a field of research? Or, is the purpose to learn the Ph.d-students the subtleties of one approach to the field? Or?

Program:

A course-day will often consist of half lecturer presentation and discussion and half Ph.d-students' presentations followed by comments and discussion.

A Ph.d course may be concentrated in one week or spread over several weeks. Courses should usually be concentrated if foreign researchers and Ph.d-students are assumed to participate.

A week-course has a duration of 5 days, but it may be shorter or longer. An opportunity is to let a course run over a week-end so that the Ph.d-students may relax/work over the week-end.

A relatively concentrated course that still may be interesting for foreign Ph.d-student runs over two periods of 2-3 days. The advantage of such a course is that the Ph.d-students would have time to apply what they have learnt during the first period.

Courses running over more than 2 periods are usually of little interest for foreign Ph.d-students. Such a course could, for instance, have the format of 1 day weekly in 5 weeks or half a day weekly during 10 weeks. 

A Ph.d-course will typically consist of lecturer presentations of the literature and discussions on the one hand, and Ph.d-students presentations on the other hand.

The program should, from the beginning, contain literature because this is an decisive part of the 'content declaration' of a Ph.d-course. If there is no list of literature, the Ph.d-students will not know what they will learn, and they will hesitate to attend.

The responsible for the course should consider how to handle the Ph.d-students' different levels of knowledge, and whether some basic literature should be presumed known.

Ph.d papers and presentations:

Papers should be sent to sek@polforsk.dk as a minimum three week before starting day of the course. The secretary will place incoming papers at the course website. The participants may present a synopsis of his/her PhD-dissertation, an article or a draft paper.

The main purpose of the paper and the presentation is to increase the Ph.d-students' opportunities to produce a good Ph.d-dissertion. Therefore, it is not only important that the Ph.d-students comment each others papers/presentations, but that the lecturer(s) do it, too. The llecturer(s) is also responsible to facilitate the discussion so that each Ph.d-student draws maximal advantage of it.

The presentations should be scheduled with comments from Ph.d-students and lecturers. The schedule should also reflect the theme of the days and the diversity in how far the Ph.d-students are from finishing their dissertation.

ECTS:

ECTS published at polforsk.dk is recommended for Ph.D students in the Polforsk-network, only. Therefore, Ph.d students from other departments must themselves ensure that she or he will be credited for participating in the course before they attend a course. Polforsk has absolutely no responsibility for the credits that other institutions give their Ph.D students.

Only if a participant is taking part full time and have delivered a paper, will the Ph.D student be accredited full recommended ECTS. See http://polforsk.dk/about/papers/ects.

Compendium:

The secretary will prepare a compendium if wanted by the course presenter. The responsible planner makes sure that the secretary, no later than three months before course start, will receive a full literature list or if possible all texts as master copies. Compendiums are posted for every participant no later that 1½ month before the course actually takes place. The compendium also contains information of which books the participant is supposed to buy him/herself.

Room booking:

Should be fixed before the program is published.

Cancellation:

Courses are normally not cancelled, if more than 10 participants are registered. If less, the course may be held in a reduced version. Cancellation must be published as soon as possible as well as in an email to all participants, including lecturers.

Hotel and/or hostels:

The Ph.D students are themselves responsible for accommodation. But, the secretary may offer a list of possible hotels and/or hostels close to where the course are to be held.

Copenhagen:

Hotel Ibsen
Vendersgade 26
1363 København K
Denmark
Tlf.: +45 3313 1913

Youth Hostels:
http://www.hostelsweb.com/cities/copenhagen.html

Roskilde:

Hotel Prindsen
Algade 13
4000 Roskilde
Denmark
Tlf.: +45 4630 4632

Danhostel Roskilde Vandrerhjem
Vindeboder 7
4000 Roskilde
Denmark
Tlf.: +45 4635 2184
E-mail: roskilde@danhostel.dk
Hjemmeside: http://www.danhostel.dk/vandrerhjem.asp?id=128

Room prices 2006:
Single room w/ bath & toilet: € 54
Double room w/ bath & toilet: € 110

Århus:

Hotel Cab Inn Århus
Kannikegade 14
8000 Århus C
Denmark
Tlf.: +45 86 75 70 00
Fax: +45 86 75 71 00
E-mail: aarhus@cabinn.com
Hjemmeside: http://www.cab-inn.dk/

Room prices 2006:
Single room w/ bath & toilet: € 71
Double room w/ bath & toilet: € 87

Ålborg:

Prinsen Hotel
Prinsensgade 14
9000 Aalborg
Denmark
Tlf.: +45 98 13 37 33
Fax: +45 98 16 52 82
E-mail: info@prinsen-hotel.dk
Hjemmeside: http://www.prinsen-hotel.dk/prinsenhotel/dk/index.php

Room prices 2006:
Single room w/ bath & toilet: € 61-75
Double room w/ bath & toilet: € 89-103