Skills Point System

Every PGR student is expected to take part in approximately 210 hours of development activities over the course of their studies. This is the amount of training advised by the UK Research Councils, and is roughly equal to two weeks training and development for each full-time year of study. 

The selection of appropriate development activities and courses should form part of your relationship with your supervisors, and you should expect to discuss your development needs during your annual reviews. A tool to help you assess your development needs is the available from the Development Needs Analysis.

All PGR students are automatically registered on the  Skills Points Plug-In within CPD and they must ensure that their training record is kept up to date. The Plug-In captures generic and discipline-specific developmental activities that students are involved in, through the allocation of points. Points are given for courses or workshops run by the Doctoral College, Schools and Institutes, and external organisations. Points are also awarded for participation in other activities such as conference attendance, teaching and attending seminars. 

The new Skills Points Plug-In is now available to use within the CPD system. You will now be able to submit Skills Points via CPD, where you will find a ‘Skills Points’ option across the top navigation menu. By moving Skills Points to CPD, we are streamlining the PGR training experience so that you can access your full training record through one system - CPD. 

Read our guide for the new Skills Points Plug-In: Skills Points Plug-In User Guide [PDF 1,102KB]

Key Facts:

• Points can be accrued at any time during your doctorate.
• Any activity that has helped to develop your research, skills or knowledge can be claimed. This includes training courses and workshops run by the Doctoral College, Schools and Institutes, and external organisations.
• The only activities that cannot be claimed are things that are integral parts of the doctoral process (e.g., your research, meeting your supervisor, writing your 9-month report and thesis, mandatory Health & Safety training, etc.).
• Activities such as attendance at conferences or giving research presentations are eligible for a set number of points.
• Most recurring activities (such as conference or seminar attendance and teaching) have a maximum cap of points that can be gained, either per year or over the course of your

Points gained are mapped against the four domains of the Vitae Researcher Development Framework (RDF) (2010) in order to assist students and supervisors in planning individual personal development. 

How many points do I need? 

Students are expected to accrue 210 points across the course of their doctoral degree. These points should be spread across all four domains, but there are a minimum number of points required in each domain. 

Recording your activities 

The PGR Skills Points Plug-In records training and development activities and keeps track of the points accrued. You can log in and use the system using your Queen Mary login credentials. Detailed information on how to use the system can be found in our How to use the Skills Points Plug-in guidance (below). 

Any activities you have taken part in since September 2011 can be logged on CPD. This may happen automatically (e.g., for Doctoral College courses), or you may be required to enter the information from your own records. 

If you are unsure about any aspect of the Skills Points Plug-In or CPD, please look at our FAQs page. If you still have questions, please contact spdsupport@qmul.ac.uk.