Course

VET421 Midterm evaluation

Credits (ECTS):3

Course responsible:Andrew Michael Janczak, Andrew Michael Janczak

Teaching language:Norsk, engelsk

Course frequency:Spring and Fall

Nominal workload:75 hours

Teaching and exam period:Spring and Fall

About this course

The midterm evaluation aims to provide the Ph.D. candidate with the opportunity to practice presenting his/her research project in both written and oral forms. The project should be placed by the Ph.D. candidate in a wider scientific context and evaluated critically from the perspective of research ethics. The midterm evaluation is also meant to motivate the Ph.D. candidate and the supervisors to keep up their work efforts and to detect any aspects of the project in need of attention.

The midterm evaluation is an individual activity, not a traditional course. The main supervisor of the PhD candidate is responsible for organizing it.

Learning outcome

Through the midterm evaluation, the Ph.D. candidate is expected to attain the following:

  1. Perform a written and oral presentation of the research project, including a plan for the completion of the work
  2. Discuss the results that have emerged through the project and evaluate the status of the project relative to the plan for completing the work within the allocated time.
  • Learning activities
    Individual
  • Prerequisites
    The course is mandatory for all Ph.D. candidates at the NMBU Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and must be completed when the candidate is midway through their Ph.D. program and within two years of starting.
  • Assessment method

    The evaluation entails that the Ph.D. candidate presents his/her project in written and oral forms including a summary of progression relative to the education plan.

    1. The main supervisor proposes a 2-member evaluation committee comprising an internal examiner and an external examiner to the Head of Department. One of the Ph.D. candidate’s supervisors acts as the internal examiner. The external examiner can be a researcher at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine but cannot be part of the Ph.D. candidate’s project group. The external examiner should provide an independent evaluation of the project's status based on the material presented by the Ph.D. candidate.
    2. The Head of Department approves the proposed evaluation committee.
    3. The main supervisor sets a date for the midterm evaluation (oral presentation) in consultation with the Head of Department and organizes the logistics. The Head of Department is expected to attend the presentation and the discussion afterwards.
    4. The Ph.D. candidate fills out Nettskjema (https://nettskjema.no/a/305806) in good time before the midterm evaluation takes place.
    5. The Ph.D. candidate submits a written report on the status of the project (up to 3 pages, Calibri 11, single line spacing) to the two examiners as well as the Head of Department one week before the midterm evaluation (oral presentation). Published work, manuscripts and abstracts must be included as attachments. The report should be based on the original project description submitted in connection with admission to the PhD program and provide comments on progression relative to the original plan. The report should end with a short plan for the last part of the PhD project.
    6. The candidate holds a 30-minute oral presentation in an open forum, which allows for questions and discussion following the presentation.
    7. The evaluation after the oral presentation takes place in four stages.
      1. A discussion between the PhD candidate, the two examiners, the other supervisors and the Head of Department- the two examiners give the candidate feedback on both the written report and the oral presentation. The candidate, together with other meeting participants, raises any academic, organizational or collaborative problems which might have emerged in connection with the project.
      2. Thereafter, there should be a discussion regarding how these issues can be dealt with to ensure timely completion of the work.
      3. Right after this meeting, the Ph.D. candidate will have a chat with the head of the department. This time can be used to raise any issues related to supervision that the Ph.D. candidate thinks need attention.
      4. The external examiner completes Form 2.4 (www.nmbu.no/en/studies/study-options/phd/veterinary-sciences/phd-forms) and submits it to the Ph.D. advisors (phd.radgiver.vet@nmbu.no).


  • Examiner scheme
    One internal examiner and one external examiner as described previously.
  • Mandatory activity
    The Ph.D. candidate submits a written report on the project's status, up to three pages long, and gives an oral presentation.
  • Notes

    There is no application deadline, but Ph.D. -candidates are required to fill out Nettskjema (https://nettskjema.no/a/305806) in good time before the midterm evaluation takes place.

    Andrew Janczak is listed as the responsible contact point because the system requires this role, but he is not directly involved in organizing or administrating the activities described herein.

  • Teaching hours
    Individual