Courses and teaching

The seminar series is offered through a collaboration between the University Library, High North Academy and the Faculty of Humanities, Social Sciences and Education and has subject code GEN-8001. It provides the participant with 2 ECTS points. For more details, application deadlines, requirements and assessment, go here.

Content of the seminars
The seminar series consists of five seminars, organised as interactive sessions combining theory, plenary discussions, group activities, and individual practice.

1. Academic integrity and the transparency of science
This seminar provides a basis for the entire seminar series. The aim is to understand the importance of academic integrity for the different stages of the research process and for science in general. With transparency as a guiding principle, the focus is on the whys and hows of using/creating sources correctly, both research papers and research data. 
PowerPoint presentation February 2022

2. Literature search
This seminar focuses on doing complex and more systematic literature searches and how to use scientific databases in an efficient and effective way. A large component of the seminar is to address the various purposes of literature searches.
Participants can choose between 3 seminars: i) Humanities, Social Sciences, ii) Medicine and Health Sciences, and iii) Technology and Natural Sciences. 
PowerPoint presentations March 2022: i) Humanities and Social Sciences, ii) Medicine and Health Sciences, iii) Technology and Natural Sciences.

3. Open Access publishing
This seminar discusses what open access means, the choices researchers have to face when selecting publication venues, and how those choices affect both the scientific and the general community. Participants learn how to evaluate open access publication channels, and receive information about the UiT Publication Fund. We also discuss how researchers can make their publications
available in open repositories. This practice is called self-archiving and it is mandated by an increasing number of funders and institutions.
PowerPoint presentation March 2022

4. Research data management
This seminar is an introduction to best practices for research data management. This includes how to write a solid data management plan, how to structure, document, and preserve the data during the project, and, finally, how to archive and share the data in suitable repositories. Participants also receive information about the UiT institutional archive, UiT Open Research Data, as well as the UiT principles and guidelines for research data management.
In the second half of the seminar, we split in two groups. Participants can choose between i) a group focusing on data containing sensitive information, and ii) a group focusing on data without sensitive information. 
PowerPoint presentations March 2022: Part 1: Introduction, Part 2: Data with sensitive information, Part 2: Data without sensitive information.

5. Reference management
This seminar introduces reference management and how reference management tools can be used in the various phases of the research process. The seminar will go in more detail into EndNote.
Part 1 is an introduction to EndNote, where focus lies on the basic functionalities of the software, such as creating an EndNote library and entering references into a Word document. Part 2 is an advanced course of EndNote, focusing on sharing, organizing and publishing references. Participants may participate in one or both parts.
PowerPoint presentations March 2022: Part 1: Basic, Part 2: Advanced.

Learning outcomes
Knowledge

• Explain correct use of sources in an academic publication and questionable research practices.
• Explain the purpose of literature search for the research process.
• Explain the purpose and advantages of open science, for research and society in general.
• Explain the main sections of a data management plan.

Skills

• Cite academic work, including published research data, in line with existing norms and conventions.
• Select and use scientific databases for advanced literature searches.
• Build advanced searches, using operators (AND, OR, NOT) and search history.
• Evaluate and select suitable publication channels for own research.
• Find and use repositories for archiving text (publications/manuscripts) and research data.
• Structure and document research data in line with good academic practice.

Competence

• Carry out research with academic integrity.
• Disseminate academic work in line with current publication trends and requirements.
• Communicate with peers and the larger scholarly community about the concept of transparency of science.
• Use the research support services at the University Library.

Reading list
Spring 2022

Contact information
If you have questions or comments, please send an email to helene.n.andreassen@uit.no

The course is aimed at people who have not used EndNote before and people who need a refresher.

No prior knowledge is required to take this course, but basic knowledge of Word will be helpful.

Go to online course on EndNote

If you are a student at UiT The Arctic University of Norway, you must log in using your FEIDE profile.

If you are not a student with a FEIDE user account, you must register as a user.

Please let us know if you encounter any problems, by sending an e-mail to: endnote@hjelp.uit.no.

Student plagiarism can not be eradicated by one teacher alone, or by sending students to an introductory course in information literacy at the library. It is significant that an institution like The university of Tromsø takes a wholistic approach to this issue, working on plagiarism from both administrative and pedagogical viewpoints. This involves informing and teaching students abour academic writing, produce regulations and procedures that deal with the matter in an appropriate manner, and make sure teachers have the necessary resources and knowledge to contribute in the prevention of plagiarism.

The course consists of six parts. You can work through all the parts in the listed order, or you can do them in the order you personally prefer. Each part contains a text, topics for further discussion and sometimes also a video. there are also control questions at the end of each part.

You can take the course on your own, or work together with your colleagues. We believe that many of the issues presented are well suited for discussions since most teachers have som kind of experience with student plagiarism, and that the learning outcome from the course will be even more enhanced by listening to the ideas and opinions of your peers.

Go to online course in deterring student plagiarism

The course aims to make you better equipped to deal with the demands and expectations you are met with at universities and colleges when it comes to learning and academic integrity. The skills presented here are also important to employers, for instance finding the necessary information to solve a problem, and being able to evaluate the information you have found. This course is simply a smart way to get ahead both in your studies and at work.

Go to online course on information literacy (iKomp)

The aim is to enable beginning researchers to easily access information on searching and reviewing scholarly literature, on academic writing, and on sharing and publishing reports and data. The project is a collaboration between five Norwegian university libraries.

Go to online course PhD on Track

Leaders come in different shades, from excellent to ruthless or even scary. Leadership is not an exact science, and how the task is solved depends on the situation, time and the employees. The course introduces the concept of leadership and different leadership styles that one can find in academic and non-academic organizations. We will discuss the value of leadership; what is a good leader and what kind of leader could you become? We also want to make participants reflect upon their own leader experience and think about which skills & personal traits are relevant and important to succeed as leader. We will introduce analytical tools that will help participants to understand their own core qualities, as this is essential to understand group dynamics and create a successful team. We will talk about the concept of emotional competency, learn techniques how to identify and resolve conflicts at the workspace and finally discuss the importance of cultural intelligence in international groups. The course includes many hands-on group exercises, which will make this course relevant for course participants from all research disciplines.

Pre-work 
Course participants will be asked to submit an essay where they reflect on their own leader experience (1 - 2 A4 pages). 

Course schedule for 2022  
The course will be in week 13: 28.03. - 01.04.2022 

Exam 
There is a home exam at the end of April, where course participants will be asked to submit an essay about different aspects of leadership. 

Lenke til kurskatalog https://uit.no/utdanning/emner/emne?p_document_id=743912&ar=2022&semester=V

To continue in science after a PhD it is essential for researchers to master the challenge of securing funding for their research. This means that PhDs needs a good understanding of where to apply for funding and how to write research proposals, as well as to understand which criteria are used for the proposal evaluation. This course is designed by researchers that have a broad experience in proposal writing and will share their knowledge and experience with the course participants.   

The High North Academy’s philosophy is learning by doing, and to obtain the ECTS for this course PhD students need to work on their own ‘real’ proposal. To be allowed to participate in the course, participants are asked to submit a one-page draft of their research idea, which they want to develop into a research proposal. The course starts with three days of lectures and practical exercises, followed by a month where participants are asked to work on their own proposal draft. The second part of the course is reserved for the oral presentations of all proposals, where a panel of experts provide instant feedback on each proposal. Every course participant will be asked to be an opponent for one of their peers` proposals. This feedback should be used to improve the final proposal draft that is submitted as home exam at the end of the course. The exam forms a solid basis for a future, real proposal. 

Pre-work 
A draft of your research idea (one page max.) must be submitted on Canvas two weeks before course start. More details will be announced on Canvas. 

Course schedule for 2022  
The course consists of 2 parts; first part will be in week 41: 10. - 12.10.2022 and the second part will be in week 45: 10. – 11.11. 

Course content 

Part 1 - Course lectures and individual work 
Three days of theory and small exercises, followed by one month of individual work. The core lectures are given by Michaela Aschan (UiT – BFE) and Petter Olsen (NOFIMA), both with extensive experience on external funding (see examples here). Students will use what you have learned during the first days of the course to make the backbone of their own proposal and work on it individually until part 3. 

Part 2 - Present your own proposal 
Finally, two days are spent on presentations. Student send their proposal draft and the power point presentation of it to an appointed opponent. Every course participant has to present and explain the contents of their own proposal during this last part of the course. They will get get instant feedback on their work and can use this to finalize their proposal for the course exam. 

Exam 
Course participants are expected to submit a proposal draft as home exam for this course. A full, ready-to-submit proposal is not expected due to restricted time, but it should be a solid starting point for a future proposal. Ideas will mature, and a modified proposal may be submitted at a later stage or when a relevant call appears. 

Using a challenge-based problem-solving approach, course participants will expand their disciplinary comfort zone and develop their creativity by trying to solve challenges given to them at the beginning of the course. Participants will work in small and diverse groups over one week and go together through an entrepreneurial journey to solve these challenges by developing a (virtual) venture. The journey starts with a creative brainstorming session to identify solutions to the problem and ends with a pitch that will be evaluated by an expert panel. The course will use a combination of lectures, guest lectures from academic entrepreneurs, assignments in smaller groups, and presentations in plenary sessions. Norinnova will showcase local ventures, present how UiT supports spin-off creation by PhD students, and inform about financing opportunities in Norway and in Europe. 

Pre-work 
Submission of a short essay (max 1 A4 page) prior to the course, where we want you to answer general questions about your research background, your motivation & expectations for the course and previous experience on entrepreneurship (if you have any). More information will be announced on Canvas.  

Course schedule for 2022 

The course will be in week 49: 05.12. - 09.12.2022 

Exam 

All course participant are going to present their venture idea in a final pitch at the last day of the course and as short report through wiseflow. Both submissions will be evaluated by an expert panel and represent the exam of the course. The grading is passed or fail. 

You will learn more about the importance of communication in this course and how you can communicate your science successfully. You will gain an overview of the different communication channels that can be used for science communication and understand how to use them for your own communication needs through practical exercises. This course will help you to become more confident in the role as communicator and we hope that it inspires you to become an active science communicator.  

Pre-work 
Prepare to answer three questions related to science communication based on your own research projects. More information can be found on Canvas. 

Course schedule for 2022 

The course will be in week 17 & 18: 29.04., 02.05. - 06.05.2022 

This will be an intensive 6 day course. We will spent the first day at the UiT museum (29.04.2022) and continue with lectures, seminars and groups work during the following week (02.05. - 06.05.2022).  

Exam 
Written home exam at the end of the course (more information will follow). 

Lenke til kurskatalog 

https://uit.no/utdanning/emner/emne?p_document_id=743863&ar=2022&semester=V

This course is designed to help students during the article writing process both regarding hands-on support with the manuscript, as well as giving students a motivation boost for making progress in their writing. Through lectures and assignments, the course will give basic skills in writing, reviewing and publishing scientific articles. Course participants will learn more about the guidelines and practices behind authorship, the general process of publishing, how to use sources and open research data. During group work, participants will practice their skills in how to structure and edit scientific text, as well as to practice the process of peer-reviewing. 

Pre-work 

All participants have to submit a draft of one of their own manuscripts prior to course start. This will be the basis for many of the assignments and group work. The manuscript may be at an early or late stage but should be more than just a collection of bullet points. This is a great opportunity for PhD candidates to progress in their writing process and significantly improve the manuscripts throughout the course. Each student´s manuscript will be constructively reviewed by a mentor of their research field and get feedback during group work with their fellow PhD students. More details will be announced on Canvas. 

Course schedule for 2022
The course will run in week 43: 24. - 28.10.2022  

Course content 

The course contains of lectures on publishing, the peer-review process, and how to present scientific data in figures. Another focus of the course is on scientific English and grammar. After one week of course lecture, participants with similar scientific background are grouped together to work on their manuscripts over an one month period. The improvement of the manuscript, active participation during group meetings and input to the other group participants' manuscripts makes the participants eligible for the exam. 

Exam 
We are currently revising the format of the exam and more information will follow.