Researcher Development Programme (RDP) course timetable
Tuesday 7 March 2017
10:00 |
Outcomes:
Feedback: “I got to know the procedure, approaches, common problems and solutions to the problems of PhD supervision, and [to understand that] supervision is a balancing act.” “The framework introduced to describe different aspects of supervising a research student was really useful.” |
Thursday 9 March 2017
11:00 |
|
14:00 |
It’s that time of year: the report is looming on the horizon and the reality of writing is here! Aimed at first-year PhD students, this course is designed to get you thinking and working effectively on your end-of-first-year report / Certificate of Postgraduate Studies. How do you start? What is expected? How do you make it work for you? These and many other important questions, hints and tips will be addressed in this half-day session.
Outcomes:
|
Tuesday 14 March 2017
10:00 |
Solving Research Problems Creatively
Finished
This two-hour course is intended to help you develop and feel more confident in your ability to think creatively. Participants are taken through a systematic two-part creative thinking process, exploring divergent and convergent thinking, as well as the 'rules' of brainstorming.
Outcomes:
|
14:00 |
Perhaps by virtue of being at the interface of the known and the unknown, research seems to be inherently stressful. This half-day course helps you to cope with the vagaries of research by focussing on how to be assertive and the "three C's of emotional resilience": Commitment, Challenge, Control. By the end of the course: participants will know and develop effective coping strategies and learn about how to increase their commitment, challenge and control of their research.
Outcomes:
|
Thursday 16 March 2017
10:30 |
The life of a postdoc can be inherently stressful, with making applications for research grants, publishing and maintaining a work life balance, as well as coping with the precariousness of temporary contracts or visa regulations. Postdocs need an ample supply of resilience to deal with the ups and downs of being a professional researcher. The aim of this workshop is to help you build emotional resilience by further developing coping strategies to overcome challenges. We will focus on what constitutes resilience, identifying your current coping strategies, and using theories of resilience to strengthen your ability to deal with whatever life and work throws at you, whilst maintaining a good level of wellbeing.
“I would like more courses like this! Thank you!” “Really good framework for applying it personally.” “Interacting in groups worked well while exploring real-life examples.” |
Friday 17 March 2017
09:00 |
The Art of Negotiation and Influence
Finished
When opportunities come along, do you feel confident about working with people to get what you need? This course gives you a practical insight into the application of professional communication to everyday life, learning how to persuade and influence others effectively. Improving your listening and communication skills is advantageous for both your personal and your professional life. This workshop is led by Richard Mullender, an external trainer who formerly worked for the Metropolitan Police as a hostage negotiator, and then as Lead Trainer at the National Crisis & Hostage Negotiation Unit in Scotland Yard. People trusted their lives to the skills he teaches in this course.
Outcomes:
|
Tuesday 21 March 2017
09:30 |
Scientific Writing
Finished
This one-day course focuses on the structure of good scientific writing. Including writing exercises as an integral part of the workshop, we will look at the practical process of writing, the nature of scientific publishing, and the importance of editing. The day will finish with a group editing session in which you apply the ideas you have learnt by editing each other's work. The course instructors are Mark Buchanan and Justin Mullins, two highly experienced scientific writers and editors. For the group editing session you will need to write a 300-word abstract about your work in advance, and bring it with you as a printout (see 'Prerequisites' below for details). REGISTRATION starts at 9.00am on the day. Please ensure you arrive on time as latecomers may be refused entry.
Outcomes:
|
Wednesday 22 March 2017
16:30 |
Engage in Learning Programme
Finished
Engage in Learning is a theory and practice informed supervisor development programme on how to build supportive learning relationships. The programme is aimed at supervisors of Cambridge students with a minimum of three to five years’ experience of teaching in higher education. Participants will explore challenges and approaches to building supportive supervisory relationships through dialogical learning activities — small group discussions, reflection exercises based on questions, film clips, case studies and dilemmas drawn from practice. Readings will be provided prior to each workshop. The programme will emphasise building on participants’ own experiences. Between each workshop participants will be asked to observe and keep a written log of specific experiences of supervision; these will be discussed in the subsequent workshop. Workshops (key topics covered)
26 January 2017
All workshops will be held at the Cambridge Centre for Teaching and Learning, 25 Trumpington Street, Cambridge, CB2 1QA. The map gives directions to PPD, where the Cambridge Centre for Teaching and Learning is located. |
Thursday 23 March 2017
10:00 |
Do the terms ‘coaching’ and ‘mentoring’ intrigue you? Do you want to understand how they can be part of your future progression? There are many opportunities and programmes across this university for postdocs to get involved in coaching and mentoring in different ways. The overall purpose is to help postdocs understand the importance of being coached and mentored, and/or being a coach or a mentor. This short workshop introduces these two methods to explore what they are and how they can be helpful to postdocs. It will also direct you to where you can access these opportunities at Cambridge University.
“Great trainer - very professional, supportive and helpful.” “This was a great coaching and mentoring session. I liked the interaction with other people.” “I like the approach to the topics covered. [There was] useful information that I would like to explore more to enhance my coaching and mentoring.” |
14:00 |
It’s that time of year: the report is looming on the horizon and the reality of writing is here! Aimed at first-year PhD students, this course is designed to get you thinking and working effectively on your end-of-first-year report / Certificate of Postgraduate Studies. How do you start? What is expected? How do you make it work for you? These and many other important questions, hints and tips will be addressed in this half-day session.
Outcomes:
|
Thursday 30 March 2017
09:30 |
|
10:30 |
|
11:30 |
|
13:30 |
Why this course might make a difference: Looking back at your experience of education you can probably remember those teachers and lecturers who were excellent. We remember the ones who were good because they have left a lasting impact on us; shaping both our learning in the past and our approach to teaching at Cambridge. Supervising undergraduate students at Cambridge can be one of the most rewarding activities for PhDs and Postdocs and this course is designed to make sure that you can offer your best and hopefully be one of those memorable teachers for someone else. A blended workshop incorporates personal reflection on teaching practice, discussion of real teaching scenarios, a chance to ask questions from an experienced supervisor and access to practical information about organising and carrying out your supervisions. This training is required by many colleges before you can carry out supervisions and is always a popular course. About the trainer:
If you have any specific questions you are welcome to contact him before the course on Ben.Murton@admin.cam.ac.uk |
|
|
14:30 |
|
15:30 |
|
Tuesday 4 April 2017
14:00 |
Postdocs: Self-Leadership
Finished
The first step toward confident leadership is assured and well-balanced self-leadership. Are you really aware of how you lead yourself every day? This workshop aims to inspire you to be a self-leader by developing strategies to extend your awareness and confidence to take action and design the professional outcomes you are looking for. We will encourage you to think about how to recognise patterns of your own behaviour that might hold you back so that you can have the understanding and tools to communicate yourself and your perspective with awareness and confidence. This will create a firm foundation on which to build your leadership of others. This workshop leads onto Postdocs: Leading Others. We recommend that you do these workshops after having first completed Postdocs: An Initial Guide to Leadership.
|
Tuesday 25 April 2017
16:30 |
Engage in Learning Programme
Finished
Engage in Learning is a theory and practice informed supervisor development programme on how to build supportive learning relationships. The programme is aimed at supervisors of Cambridge students with a minimum of three to five years’ experience of teaching in higher education. Participants will explore challenges and approaches to building supportive supervisory relationships through dialogical learning activities — small group discussions, reflection exercises based on questions, film clips, case studies and dilemmas drawn from practice. Readings will be provided prior to each workshop. The programme will emphasise building on participants’ own experiences. Between each workshop participants will be asked to observe and keep a written log of specific experiences of supervision; these will be discussed in the subsequent workshop. Workshops (key topics covered)
26 January 2017
All workshops will be held at the Cambridge Centre for Teaching and Learning, 25 Trumpington Street, Cambridge, CB2 1QA. The map gives directions to PPD, where the Cambridge Centre for Teaching and Learning is located. |
Wednesday 26 April 2017
14:30 |
How do you keep ideas flowing? Academia calls for researchers to generate original ideas and make novel contributions. Indeed, maintaining creativity is a key part of career progression. But how do you continue to come up with new ideas and questions or see fresh areas of research, especially while under the daily pressures of professional obligations? The purpose of this experiential workshop is first to explore the subject of creativity and then to try out and explore different ways of thinking and practices that might help facilitate the generation of more ideas. We will also look closely at the connection between creativity and risk-taking and the great potential of this link. This course is for postdocs wanting to understand and expand their own creative minds.
|
Thursday 27 April 2017
10:00 |
It’s that time of year: the report is looming on the horizon and the reality of writing is here! Aimed at first-year PhD students, this course is designed to get you thinking and working effectively on your end-of-first-year report / Certificate of Postgraduate Studies. How do you start? What is expected? How do you make it work for you? These and many other important questions, hints and tips will be addressed in this half-day session.
Outcomes:
|
Friday 28 April 2017
10:00 |
Perhaps by virtue of being at the interface between the known and the unknown, research seems to be inherently stressful. This workshop will help you to build your emotional resilience by focusing on the 6 Cs of emotional resilience: Coping, Commitment, Challenge, Control, Community and (self-)Care.
Outcomes:
|
14:00 |
Research can be fraught with the challenges of working with others. This workshop will help you to develop assertive communication strategies, to enhance your everyday interactions with others. We will look at the differences between assertive, aggressive and passive behaviour, and you will learn how to develop an assertive mindset and use assertive language appropriately in day-to-day conversation.
Outcomes:
|
Tuesday 2 May 2017
14:00 |
|