This is the feedback page for comments/suggestions submitted by postgraduate students to the RCSI School of Postgraduate Studies. Please feel free to make new suggestions or comments using our Suggestion Box form. We endeavour to act on them in a timely manner. If an item has not been address to your satisfaction, then please contact Ant Chubb directly.
| Suggestion | Date | Response |
| I would really like training in Endnote-I can use the basics but it would be good to learn about some of the advanced functions and using it with other collaborators as I’m sure it would save me alot of time. | 2017 03 |
We cover EndNote as part of Postgraduate Essentials. Also, you can access a Lynda.com course on EndNote from the RCSI LAN. |
| I have had a very positive experience over the past year. My only comment is that things seem to be more set up for those starting in October rather than in April, like I did. | 2017 03 | We are going to run the Induction Day and Postgraduate Essentials again this year in April. We’ll also try to run all the core modules twice a year. And beyond that we’re actively trying to build online versions of all courses to make sure everyone has equal access to them throughout the year. To this end we have a dedicated laptop and headset with Articulate online content development software in the office for any supervisor/educator to develop bespoke online content that is perfectly tailored to RCSI PGR students. |
| Could you please build a student facing website? It is not apparent to most students that they should go to the Staff Portal, and some students don’t have access. | 2017 03 | We are working with IT to potentially build a new Student Portal, akin to the Staff Portal, but specifically aimed at PGR students. At the moment IT is in the process of rebuilding the whole RCSI website, so this project may well have to wait until the revamp is completed. And in the new system we may find a suitable home for all PGR student-specific content. |
| Getting started in Dublin is difficult for foreign students. Much of the necessary information is in the Student Guide, but my supervisor did not know about this. | 2017 03 |
We have developed a detailed Supervisor Training online module which has all necessary links to information that supervisors may find useful. We will also send out the PDF version of the Student Guide to all new students, as part of their welcome pack. This includes information about visas, organising accommodation, PPS numbers, etc. |
| Mentors. Please set up a mentor system to help new students settle in to RCSI/Dublin. | 2017 03 | This is a great idea. We’ll try to assign volunteer students to each new student as a mentor. |
| The same students seem to go to each of the PGSU events. Why don’t you send out surveys to find out what activities students want? | 2017 03 | TBC… |
| Try to be more aware of cultural diversity in the PG student population. For example, some muslim students cannot join events because there is no halal option or there is a drinking-promoting atmosphere. | 2017 03 | This is a very valid point. We’ll try to ensure more inclusion by including more halal options, etc. One idea we had was that as an alternative to the very successful “Dublin PubhD” pub-based PhD discussion forum, we could set the same kind of event in a coffee shop and call it “Research CaPheD“. TBC… |