PPD Personal and Professional Development course timetable

This programme offers an introduction to management skills and is externally accredited by the Institute of Leadership & Management (ILM). It is highly participative and there is a strong emphasis on applying new learning to your work situation for the benefit of your team and your department

The course is primarily aimed at those who currently have management responsibilities for others (including managers, team leaders or supervisors) or equivalent responsibilities (e.g. for managing services, projects, resources). All participants must have the opportunity to meet the assessment requirements which are specified by the ILM – please see further details below

Please note that there is currently a waiting list for this programme. If you are interested in attending please complete the application form at the link below and send a signed paper copy to PPD. Your application will be considered and your name will be added to the waiting list if you are eligible. When a place becomes available we will contact you to confirm your place

Level 3 Award in First Line Management Application Form - your application to attend the programme will not be considered until it has been approved by you line manager - please ensure that you enter their email address correctly into the form.

If you are new to supervising graduate students at Cambridge (who are studying both for one-year courses or PhDs) the Board of Graduate Studies strongly recommends you to take part in some form of professional development. In collaboration with BGS, Personal and Professional Development offers training and support for newly-appointed supervisors of graduate students and for those new to the Cambridge system. The workshops, which run over lunchtime, are designed to consider reciprocal expectations and duties, as well as approaches to supervising, and to raise awareness of possible issues and where to go for support.

Managing and developing talent in your team is a key skill for any manager in order to create an environment for their team to perform to the best of their ability, both individually and as a group.

From adopting a strategic approach to developing talent in order to deliver objectives, to understanding key strategies for developing your team at each stage of the employee lifecycle, this interactive and participative workshop offers you the opportunity to consider how to develop strength in your team, enhance motivation and wellbeing as well as share your experiences with others.

Engage in Learning is a theory and practice informed supervisor development programme on how to build supportive learning relationships. It is aimed at supervisors of Cambridge students with a minimum of three to five years’ experience of teaching in higher education.

Participants will explore approaches and challenges to building supportive supervisory relationships through dialogical learning activities — small group discussions, reflection exercises based on experiences, 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)
A maximum of 12 participants will attend four two-hour-long workshops. Each workshop will be held between 12:30 to 14:30.


21 September 2017
Workshop 1
Building supportive relationships for learning: theory and context

• Attachment theory
• Mindfulness
• Institutional identity
• Communication

19 October 2017
Workshop 2
Empowering and facilitating growth

• Growth mindset
• Relational power
• Transformational learning
• Self-efficacy

23 November 2017
Workshop 3
Maintaining a supportive relationship

• Boundaries
• Balance
• Dialogical reflection

7 December 2017
Workshop 4
Engaging in learning together

• Synthesis of themes and topics

Prior to registration please make sure that you are available on each of those days.

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.

If you would like to refine your presentation skills, or address insecurities about any aspect of your speaking, these sessions are aimed at identifying the areas you need to focus on, be it at the micro level (elocution), the macro level (shaping an interesting presentation), or any point in between. During this one to one session, coaching will provide you with active practice, honest and constructive feedback, and practical tips to make you a more confident and effective communicator. Put yourself under the microscope, and you’ll be ready to step into the spotlight.

You may find it useful to have completed the Presentation Skills online learning module before attending the session.

It is possible to use this booking page to book one follow-up session for additional support. The course trainer will advise when this may be helpful. Please only book one session at a time.

If you would like to refine your presentation skills, or address insecurities about any aspect of your speaking, these sessions are aimed at identifying the areas you need to focus on, be it at the micro level (elocution), the macro level (shaping an interesting presentation), or any point in between. During this one to one session, coaching will provide you with active practice, honest and constructive feedback, and practical tips to make you a more confident and effective communicator. Put yourself under the microscope, and you’ll be ready to step into the spotlight.

You may find it useful to have completed the Presentation Skills online learning module before attending the session.

It is possible to use this booking page to book one follow-up session for additional support. The course trainer will advise when this may be helpful. Please only book one session at a time.

If you would like to refine your presentation skills, or address insecurities about any aspect of your speaking, these sessions are aimed at identifying the areas you need to focus on, be it at the micro level (elocution), the macro level (shaping an interesting presentation), or any point in between. During this one to one session, coaching will provide you with active practice, honest and constructive feedback, and practical tips to make you a more confident and effective communicator. Put yourself under the microscope, and you’ll be ready to step into the spotlight.

You may find it useful to have completed the Presentation Skills online learning module before attending the session.

It is possible to use this booking page to book one follow-up session for additional support. The course trainer will advise when this may be helpful. Please only book one session at a time.

If you would like to refine your presentation skills, or address insecurities about any aspect of your speaking, these sessions are aimed at identifying the areas you need to focus on, be it at the micro level (elocution), the macro level (shaping an interesting presentation), or any point in between. During this one to one session, coaching will provide you with active practice, honest and constructive feedback, and practical tips to make you a more confident and effective communicator. Put yourself under the microscope, and you’ll be ready to step into the spotlight.

You may find it useful to have completed the Presentation Skills online learning module before attending the session.

It is possible to use this booking page to book one follow-up session for additional support. The course trainer will advise when this may be helpful. Please only book one session at a time.

If you would like to refine your presentation skills, or address insecurities about any aspect of your speaking, these sessions are aimed at identifying the areas you need to focus on, be it at the micro level (elocution), the macro level (shaping an interesting presentation), or any point in between. During this one to one session, coaching will provide you with active practice, honest and constructive feedback, and practical tips to make you a more confident and effective communicator. Put yourself under the microscope, and you’ll be ready to step into the spotlight.

You may find it useful to have completed the Presentation Skills online learning module before attending the session.

It is possible to use this booking page to book one follow-up session for additional support. The course trainer will advise when this may be helpful. Please only book one session at a time.

If you would like to refine your presentation skills, or address insecurities about any aspect of your speaking, these sessions are aimed at identifying the areas you need to focus on, be it at the micro level (elocution), the macro level (shaping an interesting presentation), or any point in between. During this one to one session, coaching will provide you with active practice, honest and constructive feedback, and practical tips to make you a more confident and effective communicator. Put yourself under the microscope, and you’ll be ready to step into the spotlight.

You may find it useful to have completed the Presentation Skills online learning module before attending the session.

It is possible to use this booking page to book one follow-up session for additional support. The course trainer will advise when this may be helpful. Please only book one session at a time.

This course will review and explain the process of getting a diagnosis of a specific learning difficulty (SpLD) from the first observation of a difficulty to the point at which support is in place. It will focus on dyslexia the areas of difficulty experienced by students with such diagnoses and how proposed adjustments are helpful. Factors to consider when recommending a student for an assessment will also be discussed.

The course is a useful precursor to either Teaching Students with Specific Learning Difficulties (Briefing) or Specific Learning Difficulties: What Administrators Need to Know (Briefing).

The rights and responsibilities outlined in the Data Protection and Freedom of Information Acts increasingly impact upon the University’s academic and administrative work. This course explores the key concepts in the Data Protection Act 1998 and illustrates how the ‘data protection principles’ affect various day-to-day working scenarios. It introduces the fundamental aspects of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and details the ways in which the University handles responses to individual requests under both Acts. Finally, it outlines various records management and information security measures that can aid compliance with the legislation and lead to a more efficient working environment.

If you are new to supervising graduate students at Cambridge (studying both for one-year courses or PhDs) the Board of Graduate Studies strongly recommends you to take part in some form of professional development. In collaboration with BGS, Personal and Professional Development offers training and support for newly-appointed supervisors of graduate students and for those new to the Cambridge system. The workshops, which run over lunchtime, are designed to consider reciprocal expectations and duties, as well as approaches to supervising, and to raise awareness of possible issues and where to go for support.

The Divestment Working Group was set up by the Council in May 2017, following interest from the wider University, to consider the question of divestment from businesses involved in fossil fuel extraction. The Working Group is running two Town Hall style meetings to invite members of the University to participate in the discussion.

We all experience difficulties and challenges in our lives, and we may often feel out of our depth and overwhelmed by the pressures whether it is work demands, life’s transitions, traumatic events, bereavements, relationship problems and so on. Stress builds up when we can’t get our needs met, and when we feel we don’t have the resources, capabilities, insights or understandings to feel prepared to respond in the best way to these.

This course will offer the possibility of exploring ways in which we can build resilience in the face of stress and make a difference. It will also introduce you to the key concepts of resilience building in order to manage stress as well as incorporating some empowering tools to deal with this.

This participative workshop will identify where barriers could exist for disabled students. It will provide an opportunity to discuss best practice and any concerns relating to your area of work. The session will focus on practical strategies and advance planning to create more inclusive learning environments.

What do supervisions contribute to student learning at Cambridge? This session will provide an interactive introduction to supervising, including aims and objectives of supervisions, different approaches to supervisions, the roles and responsibilities of the supervisor and ways of dealing with common problems. Given the breadth of supervisions, this course is not subject specific.