Training

STARS on the Web

A multifunctional web portal which holds all the training materials and also promotes the STARS PhD students and their projects to the wider world. We want to maximise the exposure of our student̵…

This will provide a lively feed from the STARS cohort around the UK. It will showcase achievements and provide the latest news from the STARS programme. To start, follow @STARScdt and #starsoil for mo…

Team Introduction and Start-up Meeting

To commence the STARS experience we hold a welcome meeting early in the first term. This is a 3 day-long meeting where all the PhD students, supervisors and STARS staff meet to get to know each oth…

An introduction to soil science: soil description, soil quality monitoring and assessment.

29th April – 3rd May 2019 Aimed at PhD students needing a grounding in soil science, this course is now in its 4th year. Previously only available to students within the STARS Centre for Doctora…

Statistical Methods for Soil Science

This 5-day course will be hosted by Cranfield University and British Geological Survey. The course will cover the following topics: An introduction to soil science statistics Design-based sampling, es…

Research Proposal Formulation and Publication Planning Workshop

This 3-day workshop will be hosted by the Univ of Nottingham and will build on the team Introduction and Start-up Meeting. Students will work in a collaborative workshop environment, facilitated by th…

Early Career Conference

STARS students will participate in the British Soil Science Society conference for Early Career Soil Scientists. This provides students with an opportunity to present their research in a friendly envi…

End of Year 1 BSSS Conference and Workshop

Students will present at the British Society of Soil Science Annual Meeting alongside a 1-day STARS Workshop. All students will produce posters for the BSSS meeting. At the end of both conference days…

Soils Journal Club

Part of the STARS training will be the ability to critically review scientific papers. Students will participate in a monthly journal club whereby one student each month selects a topical paper, which…

International Field Visit

In Year 2 we will spend a week on the islands of Tenerife and La Gomera getting hands-on with 8 of the Great Soil Orders of the world. This will look at soils we wouldn’t normally see in the UK …

Summer Schools

Based on training needs and cohort feedback, we will offer 4-day residential Summer Schools related to specific subject areas. These may include ‘new technologies for the soil-root interfaceR…

End of Year 2 Stakeholder, Industry and Society Workshop

This is a 4-day workshop where students will gain value from interaction with end-users in industry, government and civil society. The aim is to equip STARS students with skills applicable to the envi…

International Interdisciplinary Internships

Students and supervisors will work together to plan a fully funded internship programs focussed on an applied soil issue, embedded within an overseas collaborating Institute. We have established links…

The Joint Soil Science Experience

This aims to bring the 3rd year student cohort together for a 5-day intense soils research adventure to be held at the Rothamsted North Wyke Farm Platform. Students will work together to plan a short …

End of Year 3 International Conference

As part of widening the student experience we will take all the STARS students to an international conference (e.g. Annual European Geosciences Union (EGU) Conference in Vienna). This provides a shop …

British Society of Soil Science (BSSS)

All members of the STARS College will be automatically registered with BSSS so that they can feel fully engaged with the wider UK soil science community. This membership includes free access to the BS…

STARS

Training Opportunities