Postgraduate Course: Self-Directed Development in AI for Biomedical Innovation (Year 3) (INFR11296)
Course Outline
| School | School of Informatics |
College | College of Science and Engineering |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
| Course type | Student-Led Individually Created Course |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | As interdisciplinary doctoral researchers you need to develop a diverse range of skills and experiences to ensure you are best prepared for future career opportunities. This course will allow you to design and undertake a self-directed training programme to meet development needs specific to your academic interests, existing knowledge, PhD research project, and future career aspirations.
The skills that you develop through this course may include specialist technical and biomedical domain-specific skills and broader research and personal effectiveness skills, such as leadership, research integrity and effective science communication.
The course will result in the production of a personal development plan that may include a wide range of different types of activity including, but not limited to, specialist summer schools, external research challenges, hackathons, masterclasses, online courses, and design and delivery of public engagement initiatives. |
| Course description |
In this course you will develop a personal development plan that aligns with your development needs. This self-directed course must follow the structure set out below and requires careful planning, monitoring, and reporting to be successfully completed.
The course consists of the following stages:
1. Reflect on and update your Development Needs Analysis. You are expected to take ownership of your development and identify key skills and competencies you need to target during this course. This will involve consulting and seeking feedback from your supervisory team, CDT course tutor, and peers. In the process, you will improve your ability for self-reflection and for seeking and responding to constructive feedback.
2. Identify training & development opportunities best suited to meet your development targets. You should critically consider the various options available to you. These activities may take different forms such as specialist summer schools, external research challenges, hackathons, masterclasses, online courses, and design and delivery of public engagement initiatives.
3. Write your Personal Development Plan and get it approved by the course tutor and your supervisors. The plan should include estimated resource needs, key stakeholders and agreed outputs for each development activity. Preparing the plan will require the ability to effectively manage time and resources and have in-depth understanding of the wider context and impact of your research.
4. Self-direct and manage the implementation of your personal development plan. You are expected to take full ownership of this stage, including regular self-reflection, tracking progress and adjusting plans flexibly, consolidating and recording the agreed outputs in a portfolio, and seeking support from the supervisory team and CDT when necessary.
5. Write up a Development Report. The report should outline your progress, lessons learned and achievements. It will be used as summative assessment for the course and should demonstrate how you've met the learning outcomes.
6. Prepare and deliver a presentation summarising the outcomes of your learning experience. The presentation will be delivered to other students in the CDT, providing an opportunity for peer-to-peer learning and feedback.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
|
Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | Only available to students in the AI CDT in Biomedical Innovation. |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2025/26, Not available to visiting students (SS1)
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Quota: None |
| Course Start |
Full Year |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Feedback/Feedforward Hours 2,
Summative Assessment Hours 10,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
184 )
|
| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
|
| Additional Information (Assessment) |
100% Coursework |
| Feedback |
You will receive detailed formative feedback for the following:
- Development Needs Analysis and Development Plan
- Interim Development Report, to be submitted midway through the course
The feedback will be provided by your supervisory team and the CDT course lead. You are also encouraged to seek feedback from your peers and mentors.
You will be expected to summarise the outcomes of your self-designed learning experience in a presentation delivered to other students in the CDT. While not formally marked, it should provide an opportunity for peer feedback.
The summative coursework, Development Report and Portfolio, will receive written feedback as part of the marking process. |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- scope, plan, implement, and critically evaluate their personal development plan and the resulting learning experiences
- effectively use the skills and competencies developed through this course and apply them in different contexts, including their PhD research, professional and public engagement activities
- reflect critically on their current skills and knowledge and identify target areas and optimal strategies for improvement
- clearly communicate their learning experiences and achievements, and their placement in a wider context of their specialism
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Reading List
| Resources are provided online https://sliccs.ed.ac.uk/students. These resources include guidance to students on: reflective learning and reflective models; generating their own specific focused learning outcomes from the generic learning outcomes; collecting and curating evidence of their learning using an e-portfolio; writing reflective reports on their learning. |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Personal and Intellectual Autonomy: self-awareness and reflection, independent learning and development, decision making, creativity and inventive thinking
Personal Effectiveness: planning, organising and time management, flexibility, change management, situational awareness
Research and Enquiry: problem solving, analytical thinking, critical thinking, knowledge integration and application, handling complexity and ambiguity
Communication: verbal communication and presentation, written communication, interpersonal skills |
| Keywords | Biomedical Innovation,Artificial Intelligence,Self-Directed Learning |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Ian Simpson
Tel: (0131 6)50 2747
Email: Ian.Simpson@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Ms Lindsay Seal
Tel: (0131 6)50 5194
Email: lindsay.seal@ed.ac.uk |
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