FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Discover the answers to our most commonly asked questions. If you have any further queries, please get in touch with us
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I understand that NATCOR courses are intended primarily for UK PhD students in their first and second years. Can others attend?
Yes they can. We are happy to welcome third (and even fourth) year students along with students from outside the UK. We will do our best to accommodate all students who wish to participate. However, if there is pressure on numbers, we will give priority to first and second year students from the UK. Our courses are also open to those in industry. However a slightly increased registration fee will be charged.
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I am taking a PhD in Operational Research but really only wish to take the courses which are close to the topic of my PhD. Is that OK?
You will, of course be able to take whichever courses you choose. But please realise that much of the purpose of NATCOR (and, indeed, the other five taught course centres) is to give greater breadth to the PhD experience. OR professionals, whether in academia or not, need to have a broad knowledge and skills base and NATCOR is aiming to provide that.
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Do I have to register for all NATCOR courses in a given year?
No you do not. You can register for individual courses. But we hope you will take the full suite of courses, especially if your PhD is in OR, and so derive maximum benefit from the breadth of NATCOR’s provision.
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Can you give me some idea of what a NATCOR course will be like?
You will find descriptions of our courses on the NATCOR website. Web-based materials will be made available to you in advance of the residential course to help you get up to speed before you start. The course itself will start after lunch on Monday and will finish before lunch on Friday. Each course will be given by leading experts in the area concerned and will have a mix of lectures, practical sessions and group work. During the course, there will be one or more exercises (which could include a group project) to give you feedback on your progress.
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What will it cost?
Details of our Course Fees and Cancellation Policy can be found on our fees & accommodation page
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What if I have other questions?
If you cannot find answers to your questions on the website, please feel free to contact NATCOR’s administrator (Lindsay Newby) or director (Guglielmo Lulli).
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I am not doing a PhD in Operational Research at all, but feel that it would be useful career-wise to take some of the NATCOR courses. Can I attend?
Yes you can. We welcome students and junior researchers from a variety of fields, such as mathematics, statistics, applied probability, computer science, quantitative finance and engineering
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How many ECTS credits is a typical NATCOR course worth?
NATCOR does not itself award ECTS credits, but your own institution may have the power to award you credits for the work that you have done. We estimate that, if a student reads all of the preliminary material as well as attending the course and doing the assessment, a week-long NATCOR course is worth five credits. It may however be that your own institution wishes you to do further work in order to be awarded those credits. If so, you are welcome to request an additional coursework exercise (see “Assessment”)
“I enjoyed the international aspect of NATCOR. It provided me with a great opportunity to interact with people outside my own department and gain insights from a large variety of OR problems.” Oliver Schaer