researCh training in the Creative arts and designskills, what counts as good proposal looks very different in different in subject areas.
at an abstract level all subjects share a common definition of research and the phd,
but the practice of research at subject or discipline level can differ radically, and it is at
subject level that students need to develop competence. second, it enables students to
broaden their own understanding beyond their specific project focus, but still retaining
a sense of shared issues and concerns. although generic research training programmes
have in the past been implemented on an institution- wide basis, these have rarely
proved popular with students or supervisors. This does not rule out interdisciplinary
engagements (an issue i will return to below), but it is important not to mistake an
abstract discussion of research from how this works out at subject level. i would also
argue that research advances through developments at subject and discipline level and
if research skills are not to become reified and research training is to remain dynamic,
there has to be engagement at subject level.
Participation in an active research cultureif one learns the craft of research through practice, then the same applies to learning
to be a researcher. although not necessarily defined as formal training, participation
in a research community provides some of the best opportunities for doctoral students
to develop many of the contextual skills that are essential to developing a successful
research career: skills in research presentation and communication; networking and so
on. it is also at this level that there are opportunities for peer learning, which are no
less important to doctoral students than students of any other qualification. in sweden,
for example, doctoral students participate in a formal series of seminars at which they
are expected to present a first draft, a number of chapters and a near complete version
of their thesis, before a final seminar (slutseminarium). all of these presentations have
opponents in the style of the uK viva. such seminars no doubt serve a training purpose
and prepare the students for the defence of their thesis; however, there is also a need
for less formal presentations, opportunities for students to share work- in- progress in
the spirit of open exchange in order to develop rather than test the quality of their
thinking. Reading groups may offer one such mechanism.
institutions should also actively support students’ contribution to the wider research
culture, for example through supporting students’ attendance at conferences and facili-
tating student- led conferences and publications. This is also an area where the intel-
lectual generosity of supervisors is important, facilitating students’ entry into networks,
spotting publishing opportunities and so on. students in the creative arts and design
are often keenly aware of the importance of audiences and users of research, and there-
fore opportunities for participation beyond an academic context may also be relevant
here. The relatively small number of doctoral students in the creative arts and design,
the fact that many also study part- time and that they often span professional practice
and research poses the question of how these students are integrated into a research
culture. one response has been to develop collaborative research training events.
For example, the ‘millennium programme’, a collaboration pursued over a number
of years between institutions in norway, denmark, sweden and Finland, brought to-
gether research students to participate in an innovative research training programme
(dunin- Woyseth 2002).