Postdoc Academy course timetable

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:

• learn about some key theories on group/team development
• examine strategies to address disagreement in a way which enables you to achieve your team’s goals
• look at some real-world conflict scenarios and apply strategies
• work on a situation from your own context and get feedback.

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.

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).

This short, interactive session will introduce the fundamental principles of Lean - a methodology which prioritises continuous improvement and respect for people.

Lean is a philosophy and way of working which removes waste from activities and ensures that emphasis is given to tasks that provide added value. Originally developed by Toyota, it is now widely used across many sectors including the NHS and Higher Education.

During this masterclass for postdocs, you will:

• gain a high-level understanding of continuous improvement tools and techniques, and how you can apply them
• develop skills to identify and remove waste in your day-to-day activities to become more effective and efficient.

In this session, you will learn about:

• The State Pension system in the UK
• Private Pensions in the UK
• The Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS)

The session will be delivered by Head of Group Pensions at the University of Cambridge, and there will be ample opportunity for asking questions.

PLEASE NOTE: Registration for this event is now closed.

This event is for postdocs near the mid-point of their current contract at Cambridge and has been designed specifically for this key career stage to help you position yourself for the next step in your career (in academia or otherwise).

This interactive online session will cover:

• What next - reflecting on your professional development and identifying what you would like to achieve during the rest of your contract.
• How could you get there - sharing ideas for how to achieve your development goals, focus on key professional development topics, and where to find information and support across the University.
• Action planning - gain tools to ensure you know when and how to take the next steps during your remaining time as a postdoc.
• Q&A - informal discussion with the facilitators and other participants.

Please also complete this form when you make a booking so that we can tailor the session to suit the needs of participants. Your booking will be approved upon our receipt of this form.

PLEASE NOTE: Registration for this event is now closed.

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.

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).

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).

As you progress in your career, you will have to navigate the transition from being managed and supervised by others, to taking on leadership of projects and people for the first time.

Using our own experience of leadership, along with discussion and theories, we will look at a variety of aspects of successful leadership within the research and innovation context.

This workshop will provide an opportunity for you to:

• think about your aims in terms of leadership
• take stock of your own leadership attributes and experience
• identify how to further develop your research and innovation leadership potential.

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).

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).

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).

In the increasingly competitive field of fellowship funding, your applications need to stand out immediately.

During this online masterclass for early career researchers, you'll learn key considerations for preparing a strong fellowship application. 

The session will explore:

• desirability, feasibility and viability
• what’s important to the funder
• elements of successful applications
• how to plan for impact.

It will consist of a 60-minute talk, followed by 30 minutes for you to ask questions.

Would you like to focus better on the work that is important to you? Do you find you have too many distractions and struggle to prioritise?

In this 1-hour online session, you will learn techniques to help you:

• enhance your focus on your most important work
• reduce distraction and prioritise more effectively
• establish daily habits to relieve stress, reduce self-criticism and strengthen resilience
• create space to recognise your achievements each day.

The session is followed by a 4-day Nudge Course. This provides one technique per day to help you convert the techniques you’ve learned into useful habits.

For 48 hours following the session, you will also have the opportunity to contact Joy, a mental health nurse with over 40 years’ experience. Joy will offer a confidential listening ear and signpost you to further support.

A must-attend virtual session with information tailored to postdocs in Cambridge, whether University-based or employed by Colleges or Research Institutions.

At this event, you will be given information about:

• Your contract
• Professional development and the Careers Service
• How to connect to the wider postdoc community at Cambridge
• You will also meet representatives from various University services who may be helpful to you while you are working in Cambridge.

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).

Resilient Leadership in Action is a nationally recognised, practical training programme delivered online in collaboration with several other institutions (including hosts King's College London and University College London). This programme offers a unique opportunity to reshape your ideas about being a leader and expand your leadership skills, supported by experienced coaches and fellow researchers from different disciplines and institutions.

The programme will also help you to:

• understand the impact of leadership styles on those being led
• influence people towards a common goal/purpose
• receive feedback on your own leadership styles and identify how these can be developed further
• engage with researchers from a variety of disciplines, backgrounds and career stages.

What happens during the course?

This course will support you to develop a range of leadership skills through the act of applying them, rather than focusing on leadership theory.

Activities The course is based around seven activities, the first six of which are designed to explore a different aspect of leadership and provide a practical insight into how leadership works. In the final activity, you will address a leadership activity that you can continue beyond the course.

You will work with others in teams of six with a coach to help you make sense of the activities.

• Session 1: Leading Problem Solving
• Session 2: Activity Review, Contracting and Values
• Session 3: Leading Public Engagement
• Session 4: Leading Strategy Development
• Session 5: Leading Creative Production
• Session 6: Resilient Decision Making and Leadership Presence
• Session 7: Leading Multiple Tasks
• Session 8: Leading Crisis Management
• Session 9: Leading Your Vision Presentations and Conclusion

Buddies and home groups Throughout the course you will work alongside your "buddy", who is another course participant. Together you will share your experiences and provide mutual support, developing key co-coaching skills in the process.

You will also have a “home group” where you consolidate your learning.

Resilient leadership Underlying everything is the Resilient Leaders Elements, a framework you can use to support your learning.

Application deadline is XXX

Resilient Leadership in Action is a nationally recognised, practical training programme delivered online in collaboration with several other institutions (including hosts King's College London and University College London). This programme offers a unique opportunity to reshape your ideas about being a leader and expand your leadership skills, supported by experienced coaches and fellow researchers from different disciplines and institutions.

The programme will also help you to:

• understand the impact of leadership styles on those being led
• influence people towards a common goal/purpose
• receive feedback on your own leadership styles and identify how these can be developed further
• engage with researchers from a variety of disciplines, backgrounds and career stages.

What happens during the course?

This course will support you to develop a range of leadership skills through the act of applying them, rather than focusing on leadership theory.

Activities The course is based around seven activities, the first six of which are designed to explore a different aspect of leadership and provide a practical insight into how leadership works. In the final activity, you will address a leadership activity that you can continue beyond the course.

You will work with others in teams of six with a coach to help you make sense of the activities.

• Session 1: Leading Problem Solving
• Session 2: Activity Review, Contracting and Values
• Session 3: Leading Public Engagement
• Session 4: Leading Strategy Development
• Session 5: Leading Creative Production
• Session 6: Resilient Decision Making and Leadership Presence
• Session 7: Leading Multiple Tasks
• Session 8: Leading Crisis Management
• Session 9: Leading Your Vision Presentations and Conclusion

Buddies and home groups Throughout the course you will work alongside your "buddy", who is another course participant. Together you will share your experiences and provide mutual support, developing key co-coaching skills in the process.

You will also have a “home group” where you consolidate your learning.

Resilient leadership Underlying everything is the Resilient Leaders Elements, a framework you can use to support your learning.

Application deadline is XXX

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).

Are your breaks average or excellent?

Join this 30-minute session to:

• learn the science behind which type of breaks optimise mental performance and stress management
• identify your biggest barriers to taking effective breaks and how to overcome them
• plan a week of daily restorative breaks tailored to your routine and work habits

The science is clear - restorative breaks make it significantly easier to focus, manage your workload and recover from stress.

PLEASE NOTE: You must complete the facilitator's Zoom registration form to access your personalised meeting link. See joining instructions for further details.