Research School SENSE

Frequently Asked Questions

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SENSE Research
About the ITSP : Answers about your ITSP
SENSE education
The SENSE e-network : Questions about the interactive PhD-forum and knowledge database.

[ SENSE education ] How do I register for a course?

I want to register for one of your courses? How can I do this?

The courses that are offered by SENSE have a button "Enroll" at the bottom of the page. You can use that button to register for the course.

Some courses do not have a date yet. Those course aren't "planned yet". This means you cannot register for those courses. We will announce new dates via our newsletter SENSE e-News and via this website.

Some course have a registration handled by another Research School or organisation. You cannot register via our website for these external courses. When you press the enroll button, you will be notified and have the possibility to be forwarded to the registration site for that course. Please follow the instructions carefully.

[ SENSE Research ] Where do I find the research descriptions?

I see the main link Research, but where are my research projects?

Our research projects are described on this website and can be found via the main menu. Choose the core you are interested in and follow the link to all research projects within that core. You can also search for research via the search option, browse by keyword and/or by institute.

SENSE Researchers can add their projects via the Contribute Link on their personal page. For this, login and follow the "My Details" link.

[ About the ITSP ] Where do I find my ITSP?

You find the link to your own ITSP in the website menu on the left hand side, under 'For PhD Students' You see this menu when you have been acknowledged as a SENSE PhD student, after registration.

[ About the ITSP ] I have registered as a new PhD student on the SENSE website. Why can't I access my ITSP?

Creating an account on the SENSE website involves the following steps:

1) You register yourself at the website (by going to: www.sense.nl/start).

2) You will receive an automated reply e-mail, in which you will find a weblink. Follow this link to validate your registration.

3) Your account will be approved by the SENSE webmaster. After approval you will have full access to all applicable website parts.

Once you have validated your registration, you have access to your account, and you can already carry out a number of actions, such as editing your account and registering for courses. However, your account has not yet been approved by the webmaster. This approval of the webmaster is necessary for your account to be recognized as a PhD student account (or, in other cases, a researcher account, an alumnus account, or an external contact account). Only when you are a SENSE PhD student, the ITSP options will become visible for you. Since these ITSP options are linked to PhD students accounts, they will become visible only after the webmaster has approved your account.

The SENSE staff always tries to approve a new account as quickly as possible, but still it might take a day or two before your registration is processed. If you still can't access your ITSP one week after your registration, then please contact SENSE, by logging a ticket in our support system (www.sense.nl/helpdesk).

[ SENSE education ] Where do I find the courseguide

SENSE offers courses. Where do I find the descriptions and the planning of those courses?

The courses can be found via the courseguide

The fastest way is the use the shortlink to visit our courses: http://www.sense.nl/courses.
You can find a specific course by using the shortlink /courses/course/[coursenumber], eg for the SENSE A1 course: http://www.sense.nl/courses/course/A1.

You can find the courses that you have registered for at the "My Courses" area, once you have registered and logged in.

[ FAQs ] Do you have a News area?

Do you offer News and can I submit my own news?

We have a news area with Environmental news, vacancies and PhD defences.

News can be found here: http://www.sense.nl/news
Vacancies are here: http://www.sense.nl/vacancy
PhD graduations are listed here: http://www.sense.nl/graduations

Submit your own news or vacancies!

You can submit news via the website. You news will be posted, once approved, and included in our newsletter "SENSE e-News"

[ FAQs ] How do I register at this website?

What do I need to do to access the personal areas?

The registration at our website is now needed to access some parts of the website. Registration is open to everybody!

Follow this link: http://www.sense.nl/registration to register today!

Registration involves two simple steps:

Fill in your details at the registration page.
Confirm your email address by clicking on the link in the confirmation email you will receive right after registration

You can login after you have confirmed your email address. Once logged in, you can register for courses, add news, add your defence and much more!

The SENSE staff will review your registration and create your personal area. This ensures you get the best out of the website. PhD students will be able to create and submit their ITSP once they are accepted. Please note that we require PhD students to submit the title of their project and the name and affiliation of their promotor. Please contact us with any more questions!

[ SENSE education ] I see that I am enrolled in a course, does this mean I will be able to join?

When you enroll into a course via our website, you will find this course in your overview of courses with the status "enrolled". Does this mean you are automatically allowed to join in this course?

NO. In some cases the course coordinator will ask additional information or organise a selection for the course. Please make sure you will receive a confirmation from the course coordinator that you are on the participants list. The course coordinator should contact you well in advance of a course.

[ About the ITSP ] Why do all credtis in my ITSP remain in the column 'Planned'?

The column 'Planned' always shows all credits in my ITSP, even if I have already passed courses. What is happening?

Because your ITSP is not linked to the course registration part of the SENSE website, credits for completed courses will remain visible in the column 'Planned'. It is ofcourse registered that you have completed a SENSE course, but this is not immediately visible in your ITSP. When you follow a course outside SENSE, you can fill in the date of completion of the course yourself in your ITSP. However, also in this case the credits for the course will remain visible in the column 'Planned'. When you are near your graduation, and you request a SENSE certificate, the Education desk will check whether you have completed all your courses. The SENSE team is aware of the fact that the ITSP on our website is not always functioning properly and could be more user friendly. Therefore we are working on an improved version now (Autumn 2010). Once this version is ready, we will inform all PhD students about its functioning and implementation.

[ SENSE Research ] How do I add my research project? by Ewa

I am a PhD student or SENSE Researcher and would like to see my research description on this website. How do I do this?

Once you are registered at the SENSE website as a PhD student you can go to the area with all your details. The link to that area is on the left in your menu, or go to http://www.sense.nl/roles/account In there, you will see a button "contribute". Click on this and fill in your details.

[ SENSE Research ] How do I add my photo to the website?

I want to show my photo together with my research project. How do I do this?

You can add your photo via the "My Details" page. In there, go to edit Profile and add the photo with the upload link. Your photo will be checked for size and viewability. Once approved, it is shown on your own menu, and on your research page.

[ About the ITSP ] I want to request the SENSE Certificate

I am nearing my PhD defence, and have added enough credits to my ITSP. How do I receive my certificate?

Your certificate can be awarded if you have an approved and updated ITSP, with enough credits. You can request the certificate by contacting the Education Desk via the link on the bottom of the page. The Education Desk will contact you when more details are needed.

[ FAQs ] How do I change my password? by Frauke Urban

I would like to change my password for this website

There are two options to do this: If you have lost your password, or would like a strong (random) one, then use the link "Lost your password?" in the menu on the left. If you would like to choose your own password, then login and go to your personal page via the link on the left "My Details". There, choose the option "edit profile".

[ SENSE Research ] I want to join the Research School SENSE as a PhD student

I want to join, but I do not currently work at one of the partner institutes. How do I join your Research School?

You can only join the Research School when you are a PhD student at one of the partner institutes. See our page that lists our partners. If you want to search for a PhD vacancy (in the Netherlands you will become an employee of an institute) you can search the website of Academic Transfer: http://www.academictransfer.nl/.

[ The SENSE e-network ] How can I find a SENSE researcher with specific knowledge?

Another way to get an answer to your questions, is to find a SENSE researcher that has the specific knowledge you are looking for. Then you can ask it directly via e-mail.

To find a researcher working on a specific topic, go to your own profile. In your profile you will see the research themes, methods and tools you have chosen
If you follow this links, you will see a list of SENSE researchers who are working on the same topic. If you click on a name, you will be directed to the profile of this researcher, with more specific information on the researcher’s work and contact-information.

[ The SENSE e-network ] I have a question about another research field. How can I find the answer?

Where can I post questions about a certain research field?

You can either find a SENSE researcher by searching the research projects by keywords, by "Research Themes, Methods, and Tools" or view the listings. When you are a SENSE PhD student you can login and go the the PhD forums. There, you can post your questions as well.

[ SENSE education ] I am looking for a course; the link contains: "Courses_ShowItem&hype_tbl=hypertable_courses&ID="

The link I use shows an error that the link is incorrect. Where do I find the course I look for?

Links that have the word "hypertable" in them are old links. Please update your bookmarks.
You can search courses via http://www.sense.nl/courses/

If you have the coursecode (eq S220) you can use the direct link: http://www.sense.nl/courses/course/[COURSECODE]

You can also use our search function at:
http://www.sense.nl/search

[ The SENSE e-network ] How does the PhD forum work ?

On the forum you can post any question where you would like to have the opinion of other PhD-students. The forum is especially suited for open questions or discussion topics with more contributors.

To get to the forum, you have to log in at the SENSE website. The menu on the left side of the site will change, and you will see the item PhD forum.
If you follow the link, you will come to the forum, which is divided in four ‘subfora’:

Research themes: anything you would like to ask about the content, so more disciplinary questions. For questions about your own research theme it might be better to ask your direct colleagues, but for questions about another research theme this is the place to go.
Research methods: anything you would like to ask about methods to do scientific research: statistics, modeling, fieldwork, questionnaires etc.
Research tools: anything you would like to ask about specific (software) tools.
Lounge: anything else you would like to share or ask, can be written in this subforum.

You can submit your own topics, answer on an old topic, and subscribe to a topic to receive alerts when somebody has posted on the topic.

[ The SENSE e-network ] How can I choose my own research themes, methods and tools ?

To make this a success, all SENSE members should choose their research themes, methods and tools.

When you follow the link to ‘edit profile’, you will see the next site. Here you can choose your research themes, methods and tools.

[ About the ITSP ] Does SENSE give credits for teaching activities of PhD students?

I'm involved in teaching activities in my department. Can this be part of my ITSP?

YES, for sure!
Teaching duties are not an obligatory part of a PhD study. However, teaching experience can be very valuable and also helps to develop your competencies. Therefore you can obtain credits for your teaching work. A general rule of thumb is that you should spend no more than 10% (=84 days) of your appointment on teaching. You may add the real time you spend on teaching activities in your ITSP under the heading “didactic skills” (1 ECTS = workload of 28 hours).