The wellbeing of all members of staff in AGRO is very important, but we have several initiatives related specifically to PhD students and junior scientists. These initiatives have been established and improved over the years as we find it very important to support especially our young people the best way we can. Many of the initiatives are very unique and only offered at AGRO.

Buddy-scheme

AGRO’s buddy-scheme was established in 2007 on requirement from the PhD students. The list of tasks was made by the students, and it is continuously updated to reflect the needs of the current students. In 2016 the buddy-scheme was introduced to the entire department as part of our onboarding programme.

The purpose of the buddy-scheme is to make new students feel welcome and to make sure that they become a part of the scientific and social part of the department.

Introduction meetings for new students

4 times a year we will in continuation of the department introduction meetings have specific introduction meetings for new PhD students in the department. The meeting will contain information on our specific PhD initiatives and other things to be aware of in connection with doing a PhD in our department.

Wellbeing conversations

Wellbeing conversations were implemented in 2015 and have since been part of the PhD committee’s tasks. The conversations are held twice a year between one of the senior PhD committee members and the student.

The purpose of the conversations is to give the student a room to discuss topics with a person who is not involved in the PhD project. The student sets the agenda and decides which topics should be discussed.

It is mandatory to participate in the talks, they are confidential, and no minutes are taken. It is  possible to book more conversations if it is needed.

AGRO Researcher Days

Once a year a two-day event for all VIP and PhDs in the department takes place. The days can be used to discuss relevant topics both together (VIP and PhDs) and in relevant groups.

It is a possibility to get together across the sections and locations and it is great opportunity to discuss things that are relevant for both VIP and PhD.

The PhD committee gives suggestions to the topics that should be treated at the meeting.

PhD committee workday

Once a year the PhD committee meets for a physical meeting. At this meeting all guidelines and descriptions on the PhD homepage are being evaluated and updated. At this event the students have the possibility to influence the way things are done and described and we make sure that the guidelines, processes, and descriptions reflect the current PhD students’ needs.