Postdoc Academy course timetable
January 2024
| Thu 11 |
Do you find it difficult to stay on track in the pursuit of your career aspirations? Or would you like to improve your ability to set achievable goals? In this one-hour interactive masterclass, you will:
By the end of this session, you should have developed at least one goal that will lead to progress within your overall career plan and strategies for holding yourself accountable. The session will give you protected time, space and support to develop your goals. |
| Wed 17 |
Do you worry about conflict and disagreement in your team? Do you use strategies to avoid conflict? Do you want to better understand how groups and teams function in order to improve your productivity? Conflict and disagreement are a natural and inevitable part of group development. What’s important is how this is dealt with. In this workshop, you will have the opportunity to:
This workshop is for anyone who works as part of a team and wants to better understand how teams function, or if you are an aspiring team leader looking for strategies to manage teams. |
| Thu 18 |
This short, interactive workshop will introduce you to practical tools that will help you test and refine how you are articulating your research vision. We will not generate ideas for new research projects in the session but, rather, explore what makes a potential research topic compelling. We will also explore how you can assess whether your ideas add up to a vision that is bold, exciting, coherent, and – hopefully – fundable. This session would benefit researchers at the initial stages of developing a proposal for funding, and may work well as preparation for one of our sessions on Writing Fellowship Grants with Impact. We will not review specific funding schemes or application materials in this workshop. |
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Virtual Writing Retreats
Finished
Do you have a deadline coming up or a piece of writing that’s long overdue? Or maybe some data analysis that keeps slipping to the bottom of your to-do list? Our online retreats give you time, peace, and space to think and write. Each session will provide a friendly and constructive environment in which to meet like-minded peers, discuss challenges, and work in a focused way using the Pomodoro technique. These virtual retreats are being hosted collaboratively across several institutions to encourage researchers across career stages and institutions to come together in a sustainable writing environment. The retreats will take place several times per month throughout the academic year and you can attend as many as you like (within booking limits for each session). |
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| Mon 22 |
Do you struggle to stay focused and be as productive as you would like? There are many factors that can distract you from maximising your productivity such as stress, procrastination and competing priorities. The aim of Protect Focus is to help you establish protective habits that optimise focus and manage distractions using simple techniques proven by science to help postdocs:
After the session we will be supporting you with a range of mini sessions you can drop into over the next 4 weeks. PLEASE NOTE: You must complete the facilitator's Zoom registration form to access your personalised meeting link. See joining instructions for further details. |
| Tue 23 |
Pensions Explained for Postdocs
Finished
In this session, you will learn about:
The session will be delivered by Head of Group Pensions at the University of Cambridge, and there will be ample opportunity for asking questions. |
| Wed 24 |
Creativity is a critical part of research, helping people look at old problems in new ways. In this practical workshop for postdocs, we will explore:
To get the most out of the session, think of a particular problem or challenge in your research that you would like to work on creatively in the workshop. You might find the breakthrough you’ve been looking for! |
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Virtual Writing Retreats
Finished
Do you have a deadline coming up or a piece of writing that’s long overdue? Or maybe some data analysis that keeps slipping to the bottom of your to-do list? Our online retreats give you time, peace, and space to think and write. Each session will provide a friendly and constructive environment in which to meet like-minded peers, discuss challenges, and work in a focused way using the Pomodoro technique. These virtual retreats are being hosted collaboratively across several institutions to encourage researchers across career stages and institutions to come together in a sustainable writing environment. The retreats will take place several times per month throughout the academic year and you can attend as many as you like (within booking limits for each session). |
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| Fri 26 |
Virtual Writing Retreats
Finished
Do you have a deadline coming up or a piece of writing that’s long overdue? Or maybe some data analysis that keeps slipping to the bottom of your to-do list? Our online retreats give you time, peace, and space to think and write. Each session will provide a friendly and constructive environment in which to meet like-minded peers, discuss challenges, and work in a focused way using the Pomodoro technique. These virtual retreats are being hosted collaboratively across several institutions to encourage researchers across career stages and institutions to come together in a sustainable writing environment. The retreats will take place several times per month throughout the academic year and you can attend as many as you like (within booking limits for each session). |
| Mon 29 |
Do you struggle to stay focused and be as productive as you would like? There are many factors that can distract you from maximising your productivity such as stress, procrastination and competing priorities. The aim of Protect Focus is to help you establish protective habits that optimise focus and manage distractions using simple techniques proven by science to help postdocs:
After the session we will be supporting you with a range of mini sessions you can drop into over the next 4 weeks. PLEASE NOTE: You must complete the facilitator's Zoom registration form to access your personalised meeting link. See joining instructions for further details. |
| Tue 30 |
Our core values define what is most important to us, but few of us spend time consciously exploring these. Understanding whether our goals, aspirations, decisions and actions align with our values can help us to identify what motivates us. This can also help us understand when and why we experience joy or frustration in our day-to-day lives. In this one-hour interactive masterclass, you will be given time and space to:
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Postdoc Welcome Event
Finished
The Postdoc Academy provides welcome events specific to postdocs joining the University of Cambridge - these are open to postdocs affiliated with the University, Colleges and University Partner Institutes. These sessions include presentations from the Postdoc Academy, PdOC, Careers Service and HR, followed by a Q&A and then themed networking. You will be given information on how to navigate life as a researcher in Cambridge and then have the opportunity to network with other new postdocs and University services. During the session, postdocs will learn about:
If you have any questions or problems with signing-up, please email welcome.pda@admin.cam.ac.uk. |
February 2024
| Thu 1 |
Virtual Writing Retreats
Finished
Do you have a deadline coming up or a piece of writing that’s long overdue? Or maybe some data analysis that keeps slipping to the bottom of your to-do list? Our online retreats give you time, peace, and space to think and write. Each session will provide a friendly and constructive environment in which to meet like-minded peers, discuss challenges, and work in a focused way using the Pomodoro technique. These virtual retreats are being hosted collaboratively across several institutions to encourage researchers across career stages and institutions to come together in a sustainable writing environment. The retreats will take place several times per month throughout the academic year and you can attend as many as you like (within booking limits for each session). |
| Mon 5 |
Do you struggle to stay focused and be as productive as you would like? There are many factors that can distract you from maximising your productivity such as stress, procrastination and competing priorities. The aim of Protect Focus is to help you establish protective habits that optimise focus and manage distractions using simple techniques proven by science to help postdocs:
After the session we will be supporting you with a range of mini sessions you can drop into over the next 4 weeks. PLEASE NOTE: You must complete the facilitator's Zoom registration form to access your personalised meeting link. See joining instructions for further details. |
| Wed 7 |
Virtual Writing Retreats
Finished
Do you have a deadline coming up or a piece of writing that’s long overdue? Or maybe some data analysis that keeps slipping to the bottom of your to-do list? Our online retreats give you time, peace, and space to think and write. Each session will provide a friendly and constructive environment in which to meet like-minded peers, discuss challenges, and work in a focused way using the Pomodoro technique. These virtual retreats are being hosted collaboratively across several institutions to encourage researchers across career stages and institutions to come together in a sustainable writing environment. The retreats will take place several times per month throughout the academic year and you can attend as many as you like (within booking limits for each session). |
| Thu 8 |
Funders of academic research and employers of researchers are increasingly valuing individuals with entrepreneurial spirit and a broader set of skills that can be used to innovate and create impact from research. Researchers with these skills are at an advantage when applying for permanent academic positions, securing research funding, or pursuing commercialisation opportunities. This interactive session will introduce you to:
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| Mon 12 |
Virtual Writing Retreats
Finished
Do you have a deadline coming up or a piece of writing that’s long overdue? Or maybe some data analysis that keeps slipping to the bottom of your to-do list? Our online retreats give you time, peace, and space to think and write. Each session will provide a friendly and constructive environment in which to meet like-minded peers, discuss challenges, and work in a focused way using the Pomodoro technique. These virtual retreats are being hosted collaboratively across several institutions to encourage researchers across career stages and institutions to come together in a sustainable writing environment. The retreats will take place several times per month throughout the academic year and you can attend as many as you like (within booking limits for each session). |
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Do you struggle to stay focused and be as productive as you would like? There are many factors that can distract you from maximising your productivity such as stress, procrastination and competing priorities. The aim of Protect Focus is to help you establish protective habits that optimise focus and manage distractions using simple techniques proven by science to help postdocs:
After the session we will be supporting you with a range of mini sessions you can drop into over the next 4 weeks. PLEASE NOTE: You must complete the facilitator's Zoom registration form to access your personalised meeting link. See joining instructions for further details. |
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| Thu 15 |
This workshop will introduce you to a range of core project management principles which you can apply within your research projects to more effectively plan and monitor your activities. In this 3-hour online session, you will:
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Virtual Writing Retreats
Finished
Do you have a deadline coming up or a piece of writing that’s long overdue? Or maybe some data analysis that keeps slipping to the bottom of your to-do list? Our online retreats give you time, peace, and space to think and write. Each session will provide a friendly and constructive environment in which to meet like-minded peers, discuss challenges, and work in a focused way using the Pomodoro technique. These virtual retreats are being hosted collaboratively across several institutions to encourage researchers across career stages and institutions to come together in a sustainable writing environment. The retreats will take place several times per month throughout the academic year and you can attend as many as you like (within booking limits for each session). |
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| Fri 16 |
Virtual Writing Retreats
Finished
Do you have a deadline coming up or a piece of writing that’s long overdue? Or maybe some data analysis that keeps slipping to the bottom of your to-do list? Our online retreats give you time, peace, and space to think and write. Each session will provide a friendly and constructive environment in which to meet like-minded peers, discuss challenges, and work in a focused way using the Pomodoro technique. These virtual retreats are being hosted collaboratively across several institutions to encourage researchers across career stages and institutions to come together in a sustainable writing environment. The retreats will take place several times per month throughout the academic year and you can attend as many as you like (within booking limits for each session). |
| Fri 23 |
Virtual Writing Retreats
Finished
Do you have a deadline coming up or a piece of writing that’s long overdue? Or maybe some data analysis that keeps slipping to the bottom of your to-do list? Our online retreats give you time, peace, and space to think and write. Each session will provide a friendly and constructive environment in which to meet like-minded peers, discuss challenges, and work in a focused way using the Pomodoro technique. These virtual retreats are being hosted collaboratively across several institutions to encourage researchers across career stages and institutions to come together in a sustainable writing environment. The retreats will take place several times per month throughout the academic year and you can attend as many as you like (within booking limits for each session). |
| Tue 27 |
In today's diverse workplaces, speaking the same language is just the beginning. Our cultural backgrounds profoundly shape how we connect, collaborate and influence, impacting team performance. This session will explore the varying facets of diversity and experience that contribute to cultural differences, and the vital role of intercultural competence in inclusive leadership. It will help you to:
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| Wed 28 |
How can you make your research proposition stand out in a competitive funding landscape? In the business and start up world, the Business Model Canvas tool is used to help companies work out how they will create, deliver and capture value. The research canvas is an adaptation of this and helps researchers plan and present their case for applying for research funding. In this workshop, you will learn to use the Research Canvas. You will also have the opportunity to submit your research canvas after the workshop for personalised feedback. This workshop will:
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Virtual Writing Retreats
Finished
Do you have a deadline coming up or a piece of writing that’s long overdue? Or maybe some data analysis that keeps slipping to the bottom of your to-do list? Our online retreats give you time, peace, and space to think and write. Each session will provide a friendly and constructive environment in which to meet like-minded peers, discuss challenges, and work in a focused way using the Pomodoro technique. These virtual retreats are being hosted collaboratively across several institutions to encourage researchers across career stages and institutions to come together in a sustainable writing environment. The retreats will take place several times per month throughout the academic year and you can attend as many as you like (within booking limits for each session). |