Training and Education Statement Form (TESF)

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At the end of the PhD trajectory, when the PhD candidate is about to or has just submitted their PhD thesis to the reading committee, the PhD candidate requests a Training and Education Certificate from the Graduate School. The Training and Education Certificate expresses that the PhD candidate has fulfilled the PE&RC Training and Education criteria and is thus:

  1. Function as an independent scientist, as shown by:
    1. Formulating scientific questions, based on social issues or scientific progress;
    2. Conducting original scientific research;
    3. Competence in communicating and discussing the objectives, results, and implications of the research in (peer reviewed) scientific journals, scientific meetings and to the general public;
  2. Integrate their work in a theoretical framework of the discipline as well as a broader area of research;
  3. Identify priority areas of research and to formulate questions and experimental hypotheses pertinent to this research;
  4. Relate and communicate the research objectives and results to societal needs and issues;
  5. Postulate concise propositions in scientific and societal areas.
Procedure and Approval

To obtain the Training and Education Certificate, the PhD candidate has to fill in the Training and Education Statement Form (TESF). In the TESF, the PhD candidate lists all training and education activities performed in relation to their PhD trajectory. The various training and education categories and their criteria in the TESF are the same in the TSP.
Please download the TESF here.

We recommend that the TESF is submitted simultaneously with the submission of the PhD thesis to the reading committee. Before submitting the final signed version for approval, the PhD candidate is advised to send a draft version to Claudius van de Vijver, who will check whether all requirements are met and whether any adjustments need to be made still. Once the TESF is checked and informally approved by Claudius, the PhD candidate must:

  1. Submit the final version of the TESF, signed by the PhD candidate and the promotor, as a scanned PDF-file to Claudius van de Vijver;
  2. Submit the final (unsigned) version of the TESF, as a WORD-file to Claudius van de Vijver.
  3. After approval, upload your TESF in the student registration Hora Finita (Wageningen PhD's only)

Subsequently, PE&RC Office will send the TESF to the chairman of the PE&RC Education Committee for approval. Once signed by the chairman of the PE&RC Education Committee, the certificate will be created by PE&RC office. PhD candidates that defend their thesis at Wageningen University will receive the official hard copy certificate immediately after the public defence of the thesis in the Aula (together with the degree). PhD candidates that defend their thesis elsewhere, will receive the official hard copy certificate by regular mail or they can come and collect it at PE&RC office soon after the defence. All PE&RC PhD candidates will also receive a digital overview of the training and education activities, to be included in the printed version of the PhD thesis. Note that after submission of the signed TESF, the procedure of approval can take up to 3 weeks.

Procedure and Approval for Vrije Universiteit PhD's

Please note that PhD's from VU follow a different route; Get you TESF signed by PE&RC a month before you intend to upload your thesis  After PE&RC approval of your TESF, you can fill in your portfolio in Hora Finita:

  1. Make a custom item of 30 EC and upload the signed TESF as proof of this item
  2. Ask for approval of your portfolio in Hora Finita Only with the PE&RC TESF approved you will be able to upload your thesis in Hora Finita.

Do not wait with this till the day that you want to submit your thesis, but do this at least a month in advance!