Registration checklist for starting your PhD

Registration as a PhD candidate

It is important that all PhD candidates are registered with HR in time (3-4 weeks prior to starting date for PhD candidates with a Dutch nationality, minimal 3 months for PhD candidates with a non-Dutch nationality) so that formal access to the PhD program and submission of the TSP via Hora Finita can be arranged within three months.

In the registration process, the following types of PhD candidates are distinguished:

• Regular PhD candidate (“Onderzoeker in Opleiding (OIO)”)You can register a new regular PhD candidate through the appointment process in HR Self-Service (Request (new) agreement - PIL or PNIL).
• External PhD candidate
  An external PhD candidate must have a "with permission present" (MTA) contract. You can also register this PhD candidate through the appointment process in HR Self-Service (Request (new) agreement - PIL or PNIL). Please indicate in the 'comment HRO' whether this person is physically coming to NL yes or no. In the case of an MTA contract, full ICT account (Intranet + mail + workplace) must be chosen.
• Radboudumc employee starting a PhD trajectory
  An employee who is already employed at the Radboudumc and starts a PhD program (e.g., a medical specialist who starts a PhD project) can be registered by filling in for this person the requested data navigating via 'Mijn Radboudumc > e-HR (HR Zelfservice) > Contract > Haal contracten op > Promotiegegevens' (start and end date, expected PhD date, research institute). This can be done by the supervisor or the employee.

When a PhD candidate is registered in the above way, he/she will automatically receive a request to start filling in the registration in Hora Finita.

Also at the end of the PhD, each PhD candidate needs a contract to be able to finish the PhD process in Hora Finita. More information can be found in this PhD candidate timeline.

Additional questions

For additional questions about Hora Finita, please contact Hora Finita or one of the Graduate Schools (Radboudumc Graduate School or Donders Graduate School). Questions regarding contracts can be directed to your HR officer.

Hora Finita horafinita.ru.nl

Hora Finita is a software system used by the Radboud University and the Radboudumc to register and follow all PhD candidates and generate the necessary digital correspondence for thesis submission and graduation. Any researcher in a PhD project under the supervision of a Radboudumc professor must be registered in this system, including external PhD candidates.

Go directly to the Hora Finita system: horafinita.ru.nl (please use Chrome, Edge or Safari).

Instruction manuals for Hora Finita can be found here.

• Registration in Hora Finita

  New PhD candidates receive a number of emails at their Radboudumc email address:

  1. Welcome mail from the dean;
  2. An invitation from Hora Finita to complete the registration process in Hora Finita;
  3. Once registration is finished they also receive a welcome mail from the specific Graduate School with instructions for the introduction process.

  After receiving the invitation to complete registration in Hora Finita (e-mail 2), the PhD candidate follows the link provided in the email. The PhD candidate will need to upload his/her Master's certificate as part of the procedure.

  During the registration process, the PhD candidate selects the Graduate School. The Graduate School corresponds to the research institute of his/her daily supervisor.

• What happens next

  After the registration in Hora Finita, the PhD candidate receives a welcome mail from the chosen Graduate School. The email specifies the way to go to the first checkpoint in Hora Finita:

  • Introduction by the PhD Council. PhD candidate members of the PhD council will meet you in a small group of fellow PhD candidates that have just started to provide background information about the Radboudumc Graduate School PhD program and other PhD related affairs (peer-to-peer talk).
  • PhD introduction course by Graduate School. A two-day introduction course helps new PhD candidates to find their way and make the most of their PhD. The course consists of two parts: a general introduction for all researchers of Radboudumc (registration for this mandatory course via the Online Learning Environment) and a part only for PhD candidates of the chosen Graduate School. The course is given four times per year and PhD candidates are invited by their Graduate School.

• Help in Hora Finita

  Should you have any remaining questions about Hora Finita, please contact the Hora Finita mailbox.

FAQ about Hora Finita

For additional questions about Hora Finita, please contact Hora Finita or your Graduate School (Radboudumc Graduate School or Donders Graduate School).

This FAQ is divided into the topics 'General', 'PhD Checklist', 'Checkpoints', 'Training activities (portfolio)' and 'Manuscript'.

• General

  What is Hora Finita?
  Hora Finita is the PhD project monitoring system of Radboud University and Radboudumc. With Hora Finita Radboud University and Radboudumc have an all-in-one system for the monitoring of all PhD projects. More information can be found on this page of the Radboud University's website.

  Who is considered a PhD candidate of Radboudumc?
  Every researcher in a PhD project under the supervision of a Radboud university medical center professor, is a Radboud university medical center PhD candidate.

  What is the link to Hora Finita?
  The URL is https://horafinita.ru.nl

  Is registration in Hora Finita necessary?
  For all PhD trajectories Hora Finita must be used, according to the Doctorate regulations. This is because all steps in the PhD process, e.g. registration, Training and Supervision Plan (TSP), submission and review of manuscript, are performed exclusively through Hora Finita. Logging in into Hora Finita is done via SURFconext and is only possible with a Radboudumc (or RU) account.

  Why can't I login into Hora Finita?
  Logging in into Hora Finita is done via SURFconext and is only possible with a Radboudumc (or RU) account.  

  Therefore it is important that all PhD candidates (regular PhD candidates, external PhD candidates, Radboudumc employees starting a PhD trajectory) are registered with HR in time. More information about registration of different types of PhD candidates can be found here.

  If the PhD trajectory is not completed within the contract period, action should be taken so that access to Hora Finita and associated Radboudumc facilities remains possible. More information can be found here.

  If you are unable to login, even though you have a Radboudumc account, please contact horafinita@radboudumc.nl.

  Where can I find Hora Finita manuals?
  There is an extensive set of manuals available in Dutch and in English for both PhD candidates and supervisors.

  For additional questions about Hora Finita, please contact Hora Finita or your Graduate School (Radboudumc Graduate School or Donders Graduate School).

• PhD Checklist

  How can I agree to the Academic Integrity Code?
  If you click on the link behind the "Academic Integrity Code" in the checklist you can read the code and check that you agree.

  I attended all required courses but the “required courses” are not ticked off in the PhD checklist on my dashboard
  You must add all activities, including the required courses, to your portfolio yourself. You can do this for required courses through the tab "required courses". For all activities this can be done via "training activities". For more information please check the manual (ENG, NL).

  “Required course are completed” on your PhD checklist will only be ticked off when you select these courses via the tab “required courses”, or select these courses from the course list that is already available in Hora Finita. If you added a required course and its details yourself, please delete the course and add it again via the above mentioned procedure.

  My TSP has been approved before but “TSP has been approved” is not ticked off or the date is not correct
  Please contact your Graduate School (Radboudumc Graduate School or Donders Graduate School).

• Checkpoints

  What are checkpoints and where can I find more information?
  Checkpoints are moments of supervision used to monitor and evaluate the progress of a PhD candidate's PhD project during the research phase.

  For more information about the checkpoints please check the interactive infographic of the Radboudumc PhD trajectory on our website. More information about the PhD trajectory of the Donders Graduate School can be found here.

  Six weeks before the checkpoint date you will receive an automatic email announcing the checkpoint. In this email and on the checkpoint page is described what is expected of you.

  When is a checkpoint created?
  After the PhD candidate’s registration has been approved, Hora Finita automatically creates checkpoints. A new checkpoint will appear on your dashboard 6 months before the checkpoint date. Six weeks before the checkpoint date you will receive an automatic email announcing the checkpoint. Checkpoints are automatically created until the first supervisor ("promotor") approves the manuscript.

  Is a checkpoint meeting the same as my annual appraisal interview ("jaargesprek")?
  The checkpoint (annual review) meeting is different from your annual appraisal interview, but you may choose to combine the two. In that case, please cover both the topics of the Hora Finita annual review questionnaire and the topics of the Radboudumc annual appraisal interview. Afterwards you have to submit both the annual review questionnaire (via Hora Finita) and the report of the annual appraisal interview (via email to "Postbus Personeelsdossier").

  Please note that for Checkpoint 2 and 3 (1 and 2 years after start PhD trajectory) it is advised to have an external advisor present at the checkpoint meeting.

  Who should approve a checkpoint in Hora Finita?
  Checkpoints should only be approved by the daily supervisor(s) of the PhD candidate. After the PhD candidate submits the Checkpoint, the daily supervisor automatically receives a request to approve the Checkpoint. The mentor has no role in the approval procedure.

  The Training and Supervision Plan (TSP) should be approved by the daily supervisor(s), the first supervisor ("eerste promotor") and the Graduate School.

• Training activities (portfolio)

  How and when do I add activities to my PhD portfolio?
  You must add all activities, including the required courses, to your portfolio yourself. You can do this for required courses through the tab "required courses". For all activities this can be done via "training activities". For more information please check the manual (ENG, NL).

  Annually, if you have a checkpoint, you will be asked to add the activities you did during the past year to your training activities (portfolio) in Hora Finita. Of course, you can also add an activity immediately after you've completed it.

  Please note that for PhD candidates affiliated to the Radboudumc Graduate Shool it is not necessary to upload proofs of attendance.

  I attended a required course but the course is not present in my portfolio
  You must add all activities, including the required courses, to your portfolio yourself. You can do this for required courses through the tab "required courses". For all activities this can be done via "training activities". For more information please check the manual (ENG, NL).

  Please note that for PhD candidates affiliated to the Radboudumc Graduate Shool it is not necessary to upload proofs of attendance.

  When do I have to complete my portfolio and submit it to my Graduate School for approval?
  After your manuscript has been approved by your first supervisor (“promotor”) you will receive a request to complete your portfolio and submit it to your Graduate School for approval.

  Please note that for PhD candidates affiliated to the Radboudumc Graduate Shool it is not necessary to upload proofs of attendance.

  Your Graduate School will decide whether you have completed all the necessary components of your institute’s PhD program in order to be awarded with your Graduate School’s education certificate. You will be informed of this decision in due course. The Graduate School will also provide you with a Word document of your final portfolio, which can be added to your PhD thesis.

• Manuscript

  How do I, as supervisor, perform a plagiarism check?
  Indeed, according to the Doctorate regulations, the supervisor must check the PhD thesis for plagiarism. For this purpose, a similarity report, generated by the program iThenticate by colleagues at Radboud University, will be sent to the promotor via e-mail. Questions about the working method or the program can be sent to Hora Finita or the RU helpdesk. There are also several short manuals available on RadboudNet that explain how to use the program.

Training and Supervision Plan (TSP)

Graduating within the agreed time-frame is not always as easy as it may sound. A clear training and supervision plan (TSP) is an essential tool for achieving this objective. Moreover, it forms a useful part of your annual appraisal meeting. Every PhD candidate should complete a TSP with his or her supervisor(s) and submit this to the relevant graduate school within three months of his/her research start date. This plan is regarded as a formal agreement between PhD candidate and supervisor. The plan is dynamic, being evaluated and updated at least annually either during the appraisal meeting with your supervisor(s) or via a checkpoint form.
 
The plan includes agreements made concerning your

• research project goals, preferably formulated as SMART
• competences and transferable skills to be improved
• any possible teaching agreements made for a Bachelor's or Master's programs.

Welcome!

The introduction for new employees consists of number of parts: digital preparation viewing eight videos, a mandatory on-site introduction day, and for PhD candidates and postdoc an additional target-group specific introduction organized by Graduate school and Postdoc & career office.

Digital preparation

Via the Onboarding Application Appical you will get access to a number of videos and information for new employees. You will be taken through the most important topics what we as Radboud university medical center (Radboudumc) stand for: our strategy, our vision, and especially the way we want to shape those things at Radboudumc every single day.

We want to inform the employees of our organization as best as possible when it comes to current and future developments. A lot of information and best practices can be found on the intranet. Thus, the films provide you with links to the relevant information about the topic at hand. Have fun watching the films. For translation adjust the settings in the video.

On site introduction

As a part of the general introduction day for the new research employees of the Radboudumc, on-site introduction is organized four times a year. The upcoming date can be found here.

Participation in this introduction day is mandatory. You need to enroll via the abovementioned link; in case you experience problems, please contact Postbus Introductiedagen Human Resources.

You will learn

The introduction day will give you an idea of what the Radboud university medical center stands for, how the research is organized, what the important issues to deal with as a researcher are, and how you can contribute.

Furthermore, an additional introduction specific for postdocs is organized by the Postdoc & career office, which will start the day after the General introduction for research personnel.

If you have questions, please contact Postdoc & career office.

Come meet your Graduate School

Every Graduate School organizes its own events for its PhD candidates, including an introduction course.

• Radboudumc introduction course for PhD candidates (link for this 'In the lead' course will follow soon)
• Donders introduction course for PhD candidates

PhD mentor a quick guide

The mentor will support and guide you as well as stimulate you to critically look at and reflect upon your learning objectives and outcomes. In the context of your personal and scientific development, your mentor should discuss career progress with regard to your specific goals (research and education), ambitions and interests. Your mentor can advise you regarding your choices for elective subjects and where necessary offer feedback on research project results, conclusions and ideas. Confidentiality will be maintained at all times.

Also see institute specific information in the time line.

Specific for PhD candidates of the Radboudumc Graduate School

Tasks of the mentor

1. Read the Training and Supervision Plan (TSP) at the start of the project, and comment on it if necessary at the first meeting between the candidate and the mentor.
2. Have a meeting with the PhD candidate once a year to discuss the progress of the project, both in terms of scientific output, as well as training (competences and skills).
3. Be available throughout the year for independent advice.

Confidentiality will be maintained at all times.

Guidelines for PhD mentor meetings

Every year, the PhD candidate needs to arrange a progress meeting with his/her mentor. Progress and scientific output are discussed. The attendance of the PhD training program components will also be assessed.

Although the content of the meetings will depend on the candidate's needs, several subjects need to be discussed in the meetings. This will help the PhD candidate to make the right choices in his/her individual program.

Important questions during mentor meeting

1. Is your PhD progressing as you had expected?
2. How would you assess the interaction and communication between yourself and your (co)supervisor(s)?

In light of these two questions, the following example points may be raised

• Reflection on expectations from the PhD project and from the supervisor(s)
• Reflection on end-of-year assessment [jaargesprek] with supervisor
• Reflection on personal ambition & interests
  • Combination work and personal life
  • Future career plans
• Reflection on achievements in last year
• Reflection on personal strengths and weaknesses (knowledge gaps, specific interests)
  • Elective courses and workshops followed to date. Outcome & relevance e.g. in the light of improving weaknesses, technical expertise, future plans etc
• Reflection on Timeline for writing thesis: thesis chapter ideas > chapter titles > start writing.
• Foreseen difficulties