Bill Metcalf also runs planning workshops for PhD students.  These take the form of "Master Classes" during which there is a combination of tutorial and practical sessions for the students to formulate plans for their own work.

Experience shows that it is best to hold these classes four-to-six weeks into the PhD cycle.

Recent feedback indicates that the students value this approach.  When asked what they had learnt, they said:

• To get the aim in a few words.
• To focus on what the likely output was to be.
• How to get started with planning.
• Structuring the research.
• A clearer way to look at projects and objectives.
• Reassurance and getting more organised.
• To organise my ideas about a thesis structure.
• Time-scale and ramping up is most important. This woke me up!
• How important planning is.
• How important it is to know how to manage our time.
• Any project is manageable.