Independence – managing your own time and projects
Critical thinking – being able to evaluate your work and that of others, making judgments about the value of information and drawing conclusions from data.
Problem solving – working without “a right answer” and devising strategies to work towards a solution
Contributing as a professional – presenting work to your peers, managing discussions and defending your position, having the confidence to put forwards ideas to senior staff
Initiative – having the confidence to make decisions and act on them, not waiting for approval to do basic tasks, but reporting back responsibly at appropriate times
You can find more information about skills for researchers
I agree with other colleagues here. My addition from my experience is that one needs workable academic writing skills to be able to communicate what one studies satisfactorily. So I think a lesson on academic writing may benefit beginners more or less.