Sir, as a Foundation Dentist and Dental Core Trainee, the importance of building a strong portfolio has been brought up time and time again. However, throughout my undergraduate training, there was very little teaching about what a portfolio was or how to start creating one. The ability to build a strong portfolio should be facilitated first by learning opportunities at a university level, where there is increased access to academic support to develop these skills.

A 'good' portfolio consists of extracurricular posters, presentations, audits and publications, as well as academic achievements. Trying to understand how to carry out an audit worthy of publication and knowing how to get it published can be complicated, and young dentists will inevitably miss out on opportunities as a result of not knowing where to look for them. Talks and webinars about building portfolios and careers always have strong attendance from young dentists, demonstrating their lack of confidence in this area.

Being able to carry out high-standard research and quality improvement projects undeniably contributes to the development of knowledge and skills within dental specialties as a whole, and in providing guidance about this at an early stage, both progression within the field and personal careers are given more space to improve effectively. The understanding gained from early training regarding research methods, dissemination and real-life examples of the results of this contribution will help to prevent these pursuits from feeling like a 'tick-box exercise', and rather a way to develop as professionals.

I believe we should incorporate teaching about career progression into the dental curriculum, in order for there to be greater transparency around what this means and how you can try to pursue opportunities for growth. After graduating, most young dentists are encouraged to involve themselves in research and try to get published, especially if they are hoping to pursue specialty training. However, they are never taught how to collect data for an audit, or how to carry out a research project. There is an expectation for new graduates to have skills in this area, yet their undergraduate teaching is currently leaving them underprepared.

By providing guidance and teaching to our prospective dentists in how to carry out sound research, we will strengthen the skill set of our future graduates, contributing towards working as well-informed, evidence-based dentists.