Transforming a doctoral summer school to an online experience: A response to the COVID‐19 pandemic
Authors: Cullinane Alison , McGregor Debra , Frodsham Sarah , Hillier Judith , Guilfoyle Liam 
Published: March 2022

For the last 28 years, one of the leading international science education organisations has regularly provided a week‐long summer school experience for doctoral students. In summer 2020, the COVID‐19 pandemic prevented international travel and close‐contact interactions between scholars. This required the transformation and relocation of learning interactions between mentors and doctoral students online through a virtual week‐long summer school. All doctoral participants, from across the five continents, were invited to reflectively comment on their educative experience after the online event. This paper consequently presents the perspectives of these science education PhD students who engaged with the transformed virtual summer school to consider how the range of varied online interactions maintained the learning opportunities for them and enabled their introduction to an established research community. The study indicates how the digital activities facilitated and maintained high‐quality learning exchanges through a varied array of intellectual activities involving both experienced and novice scholars. The findings demonstrate how successful academic outcomes can be achieved remotely while minimising international travel and significantly reducing financial outlay. This was achieved through creatively structuring a week‐long virtual experience and combining a series of synchronous and asynchronous learning opportunities for different groupings of participants within the international summer school community.

Practitioner notes

What is already known about this topic

Doctoral students often feel that studying for their research degree is a very solitary experience.

Supporting doctoral students to discuss their research with peers and more experienced others can address the feelings of isolation.

The pandemic restricting face‐to‐face interaction constrains how learning can unfold in online contexts.

It is possible to provide doctoral support through online means, however, the exact nature of such is not clearly defined.

What this paper adds

Clear evidence that doctoral learning communities [involving university students and tutors] can be successfully developed through online virtual environments.

That online working can afford and extend doctoral learning, develop beginning researcher identities and provide students the opportunity to become part of an international research community whatever their geographical setting and prior socio‐cultural experiences.

Clarity about the nature of online activities that ensure an appropriate blend of the kind of synchronous and asynchronous interactions that effectively support virtual online doctoral learning.

The Community of Practice COP theoretical framework can offer a useful way of looking at different dimensions of higher degree learning.

Implications for practice and/or policy

This paper provides advice for those who would like to develop their own virtual learning networks that bring together learners from universities and wider organisations to develop a community of learning.

That an appropriate blend of synchronous and asynchronous interactions can mediate and support doctoral students, aiding them to effectively become more knowledgeable members of an international research community within a short space of time.

That international virtual events can successfully achieve learning outcomes while also minimising overseas travel, significantly reducing financial expenditure and individual carbon footprints.