Researcher Development Programme (RDP) course timetable

Leadership is a word that seems to be ubiquitous in universities these days, but keeping a handle on all its possible meanings is becoming ever harder: research leadership, team leadership, institutional leadership, thought leadership, educational leadership, ethical leadership, inclusive leadership…

Likewise, employers beyond academia repeatedly tell us that they’re seeking researchers who can be self-motivating, proactive, strategic; can build productive relationships with colleagues at all levels of seniority; are able to create consensus and shared understanding; know how to mentor and guide as well as take direction…

So, if leadership is being talked about everywhere and yet is also very hard to define, how can you as a PhD student identify your own leadership practice and your future potential?

This interactive workshop will combine practical insights with key leadership theories in order to explore the ways in which you’re already acting as a leader; to examine how ‘follower’ behaviours have a crucial role in shaping good leadership; and to consider leadership in a variety of contexts.

The session will be led by Jen Wade, a highly experienced trainer who has been leading her own business for more than ten years, working with a diverse range of organisations across the academic, public, and commercial sectors.

Outcomes:

• Review a range of definitions of, and styles of, leadership.
• Recognise your current strengths and future potential as a leader.

Let’s face it; being a researcher can be stressful! Not only are you managing the ups and downs of life in the lab, but you are probably balancing work and life and also have one eye on the future and what comes after your PhD…

This workshop is designed to help you build emotional resilience. You probably already have some strategies in place so we will reflect on the highs and lows you have already experienced, look at some of the theories of resilience and consider how we can better support your coping and wellbeing.

• Understand what resilience is
• Consider why researchers need to be resilient
• Identify when we have been resilient
• Be aware of the three Cs of stress hardiness
• Start to develop our resilience toolkits

We’ll be looking at the what, why and how of public engagement and introducing researchers to some of the ways to plan an effective public engagement project. Topics: • The what: definitions of public engagement, who are the public, what activities count as engagement, what are the goals? • The why: University commitment to PE, REF, Funders • The how: the Logic Model approach to planning PE, practical considerations, moving engagement online and opportunities at the University.

Course structure: Monday 10am-11am: Introduction to PE Wednesday 10am-11am: Evaluation and online PE tips and hints and opportunities at the University Thursday 2pm-4pm: Do you have any questions? 1:1 advice sessions (not mandatory to attend!)

Money, money, money… Securing funding for Public Engagement projects is as a struggle professional staff and researchers are often all too familiar with. Understanding the perspective of the funding bodies can help to increase your success rates and to build up long-term collaborations with the funders. Dr Rebecca Jones, Public Engagement Manager at the Cambridge Wellcome Stem Cell Institute and former PE Manager for Wellcome trust, will share her experience from working on both sides of the equation. The session is aimed at professional staff and researchers working on public engagement funding applications or pathways to impact sections. This training is now going to be on MS teams: Email dam74@cam.ac.uk if you'd like to take part.

The RD team are offering one-to-one meetings online over the coming weeks for all postdocs. These meetings will be tailored to your individual needs and provide an opportunity to consider and discuss topics relating to learning, skills and personal development. This is not an exhaustive list but topics may include a variety of issues including:

• Managing your time whilst working from home
  

• Collaborating effectively

• Maintaining resilience and coping strategies

• Reflecting on and identifying your key areas for development

Each meeting will last for up to 45 minutes and, given the present circumstances relating to Covid-19, will be conducted online using Teams or Zoom.

Further joining details will be contained in your booking confirmation email, please ensure you read these and carry out the pre-requisite instructions prior to your appointment.

If you do not have a Raven account to make this booking, please contact the Researcher Development Team directly to make a booking.

Dr Sonja Tomaskovic continues to offer one-to-one support to PhD students across all STEMM disciplines. However, given the present circumstances relating to Covid-19, one-to-one support will be provided virtually or online using either Skype, Teams or Zoom.

Please bear in mind that topics for discussion should relate to researcher or personal development, and/or advice relating to the management of your PhD project.

Upon booking, you will receive a booking confirmation email. Please refer to the joining instructions in the email for further information regarding your one-to-one session.

You are beginning one of the most exciting, yet challenging programme of your academic career. You have entered a new lab, with a new supervisor, new lab colleagues and a new project. Where do you start? How do establish productive working relationships, get up to speed with literature and establish a project that will be worthy of a PhD at the end? This half day workshop will explore what it means to do a PhD, think about how to establish meaningful student-supervisor relationships and plan for a productive PhD project.

The RD team are offering one-to-one meetings online over the coming weeks for all postdocs. These meetings will be tailored to your individual needs and provide an opportunity to consider and discuss topics relating to learning, skills and personal development. This is not an exhaustive list but topics may include a variety of issues including:

• Managing your time whilst working from home
  

• Collaborating effectively

• Maintaining resilience and coping strategies

• Reflecting on and identifying your key areas for development

Each meeting will last for up to 45 minutes and, given the present circumstances relating to Covid-19, will be conducted online using Teams or Zoom.

Further joining details will be contained in your booking confirmation email, please ensure you read these and carry out the pre-requisite instructions prior to your appointment.

If you do not have a Raven account to make this booking, please contact the Researcher Development Team directly to make a booking.

Dr Sonja Tomaskovic continues to offer one-to-one support to PhD students across all STEMM disciplines. However, given the present circumstances relating to Covid-19, one-to-one support will be provided virtually or online using either Skype, Teams or Zoom.

Please bear in mind that topics for discussion should relate to researcher or personal development, and/or advice relating to the management of your PhD project.

Upon booking, you will receive a booking confirmation email. Please refer to the joining instructions in the email for further information regarding your one-to-one session.

Dr Christian Gilliam continues to offer one-to-one support to PhD students across the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences. However, given the present circumstances relating to Covid-19, one-to-one support will be provided virtually or online using either Skype, Teams or Zoom.

Please bear in mind that topics for discussion should relate to researcher or personal development, and/or advice relating to the management of your PhD project.

Upon booking, you will receive a booking confirmation email. Please refer to the joining instructions in the email for further information regarding your one-to-one session.

Dr Sonja Tomaskovic continues to offer one-to-one support to PhD students across all STEMM disciplines. However, given the present circumstances relating to Covid-19, one-to-one support will be provided virtually or online using either Skype, Teams or Zoom.

Please bear in mind that topics for discussion should relate to researcher or personal development, and/or advice relating to the management of your PhD project.

Upon booking, you will receive a booking confirmation email. Please refer to the joining instructions in the email for further information regarding your one-to-one session.

Dr Christian Gilliam continues to offer one-to-one support to PhD students across the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences. However, given the present circumstances relating to Covid-19, one-to-one support will be provided virtually or online using either Skype, Teams or Zoom.

Please bear in mind that topics for discussion should relate to researcher or personal development, and/or advice relating to the management of your PhD project.

Upon booking, you will receive a booking confirmation email. Please refer to the joining instructions in the email for further information regarding your one-to-one session.

Getting published is a central part of being a researcher. Peer-reviewed publications allow researchers to communicate their research to the broader research community, and thus, make a contribution to the body of work within their field.

This workshop is divided into two interrelated components. The first concerns the question of ‘high impact’, whilst the second concerns the process of peer-review and manuscript preparation.

It is possible to attend this as an individual workshop, although we would recommend that you try to attend the series starting with Getting published I: Writing for publication

Please note: This course does not offer bespoke or 1-1 support for manuscript preparation.

Dr Sonja Tomaskovic continues to offer one-to-one support to PhD students across all STEMM disciplines. However, given the present circumstances relating to Covid-19, one-to-one support will be provided virtually or online using either Skype, Teams or Zoom.

Please bear in mind that topics for discussion should relate to researcher or personal development, and/or advice relating to the management of your PhD project.

Upon booking, you will receive a booking confirmation email. Please refer to the joining instructions in the email for further information regarding your one-to-one session.

Dr Christian Gilliam continues to offer one-to-one support to PhD students across the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences. However, given the present circumstances relating to Covid-19, one-to-one support will be provided virtually or online using either Skype, Teams or Zoom.

Please bear in mind that topics for discussion should relate to researcher or personal development, and/or advice relating to the management of your PhD project.

Upon booking, you will receive a booking confirmation email. Please refer to the joining instructions in the email for further information regarding your one-to-one session.

Dr Christian Gilliam continues to offer one-to-one support to PhD students across the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences. However, given the present circumstances relating to Covid-19, one-to-one support will be provided virtually or online using either Skype, Teams or Zoom.

Please bear in mind that topics for discussion should relate to researcher or personal development, and/or advice relating to the management of your PhD project.

Upon booking, you will receive a booking confirmation email. Please refer to the joining instructions in the email for further information regarding your one-to-one session.