LET-REMA-LC1506
Research Master LCS Lab Rotation I
Course infoSchedule
Course moduleLET-REMA-LC1506
Credits (ECTS)6
Category-
Language of instructionEnglish
Offered byRadboud University; Faculty of Arts; Graduate School;
Lecturer(s)
PreviousNext 4
Lecturer
dr. J.K.M. Berns
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dr. S.M. Brouwer
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Lecturer
prof. dr. H.H.J. Das
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Lecturer
dr. S.L. Frank
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dr. S.L. Frank
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Academic year2022
Period
JAAR  (05/09/2022 to 03/09/2023)
Starting block
JAAR
Course mode
full-time
Remarks-
Registration using OSIRISYes
Course open to students from other facultiesNo
Pre-registrationNo
Waiting listNo
Placement procedure-
Aims
At the end of the course, the student has
  • learned various practical research skills;
  • acquired knowledge of the contents of ongoing research;
  • acquired hands-on experience in carrying out academic research.
 
 
Content
Students become interns in a research environment at Tilburg and/or Radboud University (such as a research group, a department, or an ad-hoc combination of related research projects), become familiarized with the research being done in that group, and carry out a small project under the supervision of one or more senior researchers within the group. The class consists of three components, i.e. three research activities students carry out in the context of their internship. Together they are credited with 6 EC; taken together with Lab Rotation II, in which the internship is rounded off or followed up by a second one, students take part in one or more local research projects for 15 EC.

Before the beginning of this class, and following up on the outcome of Research Orientation (in which students chose their research environment of choice and formulated a first project proposal), the student chooses a research environment and approaches one of the senior researchers in order to secure a place in the team as an intern. The 6 EC for Lab Rotation I can be broadly considered to consist of  the following activities:
1) attending seminars and/or meetings with the group of supervisor(s) or research team;
2) writing a proposal for a (small) project; and
3) carrying out a small project or assisting one or more members of the team with their current research.
While there is a natural progression to these tasks, they are basically carried out simultaneously: seminars and research meetings take place throughout the time period, students may begin straight away with the preparation for their own project, and they function as junior members of the team from the very beginning.

Students start their Lab Rotation with an intake conversation with a senior researcher within the group of their choice. The first goal here is to delineate the environment within which the internship takes place. This may be obvious in the case of a well-defined research group or externally funded large-scale project, but it may also be a collection of related projects that lacks a formal status; in that case the intake process is to define the research context for the duration of the internship. At this point this environment is preferably not defined too narrowly, in order to get the student exposed to a relatively wide range of research cultures. The second goal is to identify the student’s initial goals for the internship, decide on the most optimal supervision structure, and assign the student to the most suitable supervisor(s). In consultation with the supervisor, the student then carries out the three different activities.  As familiarization with research culture is one of the goals of this class, it is encouraged that students attend group meetings, relevant seminars, workshops or other kinds of research meetings (not necessarily limited to the focal research group). A summary and short reflection of these activities should be included in the portfolio, specifically the part that describes the ongoing research and the research environment (which includes, if any, the research in related groups at the two universities.
 
In case the student carries out an individual research project it will be carried out within the context of the larger group, and will often be in close collaboration with one or more senior researchers, postdocs or graduate students. Often, a student’s project will address a relevant aspect of the overall group’s central topic that is not addressed in great detail by other members of the team. In this case, the student’s Lab Rotation II will continue in the same group. While the student is responsible for his or her own project, every step will be carried out under close supervision from experienced researchers. At the start of this stage (roughly two months after starting the Lab Rotation), there is a planning meeting with minimally the student and the senior supervisor present, and the purpose is twofold: to discuss the planned project in general terms, and to redefine the research environment for it. In most cases, the team the student will be part of for the next stage is smaller and more focused than it was for the first stage. The student then prepares a fairly detailed research proposal; the rest of the time is spent carrying out as much of the project as possible, focusing on data collection and first analyses. If the student chooses to assist one or more members, often a PhD student, in carrying out their research, the exact nature of the tasks assigned to the student will be dependent on the nature of the project and the stage of its progress. At the end of their lab rotation, the student puts together a portfolio containing the research proposal, a description of the work done on the research project (including possible continuations), an overview of the meetings, seminars, and workshops attended and a description of the research environment (see above). Ideally, an Appendix is added that contains samples of the work that has been done (papers, experiments, datafiles, reviews, summaries, posters, presentation, analyses, et cetera) The portfolio will be graded by the supervisor and a second reader who is not part of the research team.
The course is not a taught class. Students learn in the course of their work as an intern in a research team. The supervisors, in consultation with the student and with the coordinators of the Research Master program, decide at the beginning what work needs to be undertaken in order to justify the 6 EC and on what basis grading will be done. An important consideration is that the work needs to target the student’s further career chances: the student needs to learn useful skills and will preferably work towards output that helps building an academic resume, such as a conference presentation or a published paper.
The course is scheduled for the fourth period of the first year, but in actual practice the supervisor and student work out an optimal time schedule, taking account the timing of the work that needs to be done and the availability of the various people involved. This means the Lab Rotation can start earlier and end later than the fourth, or be condensed into a shorter period.

Note: Before the start of this Internship, students should formally register their lab rotation. They can do so by filling out the 'Application Form Internship' that can be found following this link: They can do so by filling out the 'Application Form Internship' that can be found following this link:https://www.ru.nl/facultyofarts/careerservice/internship-info/ma-internships/application-internship-master/

 
Level

Presumed foreknowledge

Test information
Portfolio containing the research proposal, a description of the work done on the research project (including possible continuations), an overview of the meetings, seminars, and/or workshops attended and a description of the research environment. Ideally, an Appendix is added that contains samples of the work that has been done (papers, experiments, datafiles, reviews, summaries, posters, presentations, analyses et cetera).
 
Specifics

Instructional modes
Internship

Tests
Portfolio
Test weight100
Test typeProject
OpportunitiesBlock JAAR, Block JAAR

Minimum grade
5,5