Portfolio and progress meetings

Portfolio
All Erasmus MC PhD candidates are required to include a portfolio on the final page(s) of the doctoral thesis. The portfolio is a list of all training activities done during and relevant for the PhD project (e.g., courses, workshops, seminars, (international) conferences, teaching). The portfolio also needs to include the obtained European Credits (EC)per training activity and the total amount of EC. Please find the format here.

EC (European Credits)
Our credit system is based on the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS). Erasmus MC PhD courses and workshops award EC for successful completion. For training activities, such as attendance of conferences, seminar presentationsorsupervision of students, a PhD candidate can calculate the amount of EC themselves:1 EC is equivalent to 28 hours of work (including preparation, self-study, examinations etc.). As a guide, Erasmus MC PhD board defined a general guideline for awarding EC:

• Attending a conference (with or without a poster presentation) [0.3 EC per day]
• Oral or poster presentation (conference, seminar etc.) [0.5 EC (max. of 5)]
• Attending seminar series, journal clubs (30 meetings of 1 hour each) [1 EC (max. of 2)]
• Supervision of Master students [5 hours per week]

A general guideline for allocating the recommended 30 EC’s over different activities:

Please note:

• PhD candidates who have completed a Research Master are still recommended to obtain 30 EC during their PhD project. Training or courses that were followed as part of a 2-year Research Master are by default not part of the PhD portfolio. PhD candidates that do the 1-year post-initial Research Master are allowed to includecoursesthat are relevant for their PhD projecton their PhD portfolio.The research project of the Master is never part of the PhD portfolio.
• MDs in residency (‘opleidingtot medischspecialist’) are allowed to include activities from their medical training,provided that they are related to their PhD research. Teaching implies all activities that are carried out in the MD or other curricula.
• Membership in a PhD associated committee, such as Promeras, PNN, the Erasmus MC PhD committee or any other scientific committeecan also be included in the portfolio.The PhD candidate should keep track of how much timeis spent on committeework, with the general rule: "1 EC is equivalent to 28 hours of work ". Please note that committee work should be substantial, and not organizational only. For questions whether or not committee work can be included in the portfolio, PhD candidates are recommended to contact horafinita@erasmusmc.nl.  

Erasmus MC EC guidelines
Erasmus MC Graduate School recommends PhD candidates to obtain 30 EC (European Credit) during their PhD trajectory. Please note that this isonly a  recommendation, not a requirement.

EC in Hora Finita
PhD candidates are advised to enter all training activities on their portfolio in Hora Finita. The section ‘Portfolio’ gives an overview of the current status of the obtained EC’s  (e.g., courses, workshops, seminars, international conferences, teaching). The system allows a PhD candidate to add additional training activities. When complete, an export of the portfoliointo a Word document canbe made, provided that all training activities are registered. A PhD candidate can also add additional training activities. Please find more information about this here.

Evaluation and progress meetings
Depending on the duration of the PhD trajectory, a PhD candidate will have progress meetings with their supervisor after 6, 9, 12, 24 and 36 months in order to discuss their progress. 

These progress meetings can be supported by these evaluation forms.¹ Please note that it is not mandatory to upload the evaluation forms to Hora Finitaaccount. 

¹This page is not accessible outside Erasmus MC Network.

Please find more information about evaluation and progress meetings with regards to Hora Finita here.