#DPClinic June - Future Proofing PhD Theses: showcasing the new ‘Preserving E-Theses Resource Pack’

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This #DPClinic session will focus on the topic of the preservation of PhD theses and share new resources that have been created to provide advice and guidance to students and staff working and studying in Higher Education Institutions.

As part of the Open Book Futures Project, the DPC, alongside Loughborough University, has been investigating challenges related to the preservation of PhD theses. It was clear from the scoping work that was carried out that there were areas of good practice in existing workflows for PhD preservation at some higher education institutions, however there were also gaps in provision and understanding.

The creation and submission of a PhD thesis is a huge undertaking for students, and long term preservation is often not seen as a primary concern. However, it is clear that some of the greatest benefits for preservation could be gained by considering the future of the digital content at an early stage in the creation process. The Open Book Futures project team needed to determine what resources would help staff who support doctoral students offer clear and appropriate guidance.

To address the gaps that were highlighted in the scoping work, the project has created a set of educational resources to help ‘future proof’ PhD theses – both supporting staff involved in the submissions process, and providing advice and guidance for students.

This session will provide a summary of some of the findings of the scoping work and introduce key elements of the new resource pack. There will be an opportunity for Q&A and an open discussion around how you might use these resources within your own institutions.

This session will be of interest to anyone working in a digital preservation role at a university as well as those staff involved with managing e-theses within repositories or supporting students through the submissions process. It is also open to anyone else interested in the topic of e-thesis preservation, including PhD researchers.

Who can use #DPClinic?

#DPClinic is available to everyone in the digital preservation community, DPC Members and non-members alike, provided all participants are respectful and supportive of one another and adhere to the DPC's Inclusion and Diversity Policy.

Click BOOK NOW below to register and receive the joining information.

Recordings 

All presentations will be recorded and made available to DPC Members and Supporters via this web page after the event (login to DPC website required).

Please note – DPC Members do not need to register in order to access the recordings after the event.

DPC Inclusion & Diversity Policy 

The DPC Community is guided by the values set out in our Strategic Plan and aims to be respectful, welcoming, inclusive and transparent - the same applies to #DPConnect sessions. We encourage diversity in all its forms and are committed to being accessible to everyone who wishes to engage with the topic of digital preservation, whilst remaining technology and vendor neutral. We ask all those who are part of this community and/or attending a #DPConnect session to be positive, accepting, and sensitive to the needs and feelings of others in alignment with our DPC Inclusion & Diversity Policy.