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Do you get the results you want from your communication with others at work? Are you able to talk with confidence in meetings and interviews? Do you have a high level of impact when speaking in public?

This individually focused and completely confidential one-to-one coaching session will help you refine your presentation skills, help you speak more confidently as an emerging leader in your research field, and develop new approaches to your communication in a wide range of professional situations.

Constructive feedback will give you insight into your speaking style, how you come across to others, and how well your ideas are communicated. Coaching will focus on your individual requirements ranging from practical points about elocution and vocal projection, to holding the attention of a room, to structuring a compelling presentation.

Good relationships not only make work easier but can also enhance our everyday lives. Throughout this workshop we will look at what to monitor so your relationships stay healthy and fulfilling, how to have necessary difficult conversations, and how to start new relationships and teams on the right foot. Whether you’re managing a small team or working with just one other person, this workshop is for you.

The Speaker: Katie D’Arcy is a freelance trainer and careers coach. She has over 10 years’ experience working with PhDs and Postdocs across all disciplines, having previously worked in both Researcher Development and the Careers Service at the University of Cambridge. Her clients now include Cambridge, Imperial College London, several UKRI research groups, UCU, and individual researchers for one-to-one coaching.

Be sure to check out the other sessions in our Postdocs Masterclass series in the "Related Courses" section below!

Collaboration can be one of the most rewarding aspects of a research career: bringing exciting perspectives and opportunities, enhanced productivity, access to resources and enduring relationships. It can also lead to some of our biggest challenges as we collaborate between disciplines, cultures, languages and hierarchies.

This session will be presented by Dr Tracey Stead, a leadership coach and facilitator specialising in working with researchers and facilitating the formation and development of research collaborations. Over the last 12 years she has worked with hundreds on researchers and research groups to write guidance on research collaborations, coach research leaders, facilitate research sandpits and networking events, and establish new and review existing collaborations.

In this interactive session, Tracey will share lessons learnt from the many researchers she has worked with, who have had both positive and negative experiences of collaboration. What do they wish they had known or done at the beginning? What advice would they give? How do they manage things now?

The session will have two parts:

A talk that will introduce advice and ideas on: Finding and making yourself visible to potential collaborators Establishing a collaborative relationship: what needs to be agreed? Keeping a collaboration on track and performing well

An opportunity for you to ask your own questions about research collaboration in a 45 min Q&A.

Do you consider yourself a good influencer or negotiator? When is it appropriate to negotiate and what are some of the key principles and skills that can enhance your influencing skills?

This interactive and participatory session will introduce you to key principles of influencing and negotiation that can be applied in day-to-day workplace situations and interactions and provide an opportunity to practice some of these skills in the session.

By the end of this session participants will:

• explore key principles of influence
• identify the difference between asking and negotiating
• gain practical techniques for communicating with influence
• identify the appropriate negotiating style for your context.

The Speaker: Daniela Bultoc is a Winner of the Times Higher Education Awards and recognised at a UK national level in three consecutive years for outstanding support for researchers and academics, a communities of practice expert, professional trainer and coach, Daniela is a highly regarded international researcher developer consultant who seeks to support and inspire researchers and academics to reach their potential in academia and beyond.

Be sure to check out the other sessions in our Postdocs Masterclass series in the "Related Courses" section below!

In the increasingly competitive field of fellowship funding, applications need to stand out immediately to capture reviewers’ interest and to maximise the chance of being funded.

This accelerated session, aimed at early career researchers, highlights key considerations in preparing a strong fellowship application. 

The session explores:

•  desirability, feasibility and viability – planning your project
•  what’s important to the funder
• how applications are assessed
• writing style - how to get noticed
• project, person, place, partners – elements of successful fellowships
• how to plan for impact – ‘so what’ , ‘now what’

The session will have two parts:

• A talk that will last for 45-60 mins
• An opportunity for you to ask your own questions a 30 min Q&A.  

The Speaker: Richard Henning Brodersen, Research Development Manager, Research Operations Office Richard leads the pre-award team for the School of Technology at Cambridge University. He has over 10 years’ experience supporting and co-writing research funding applications including fellowships, research grants and industry collaborations for a wide range of funders across the arts, humanities and sciences. Prior to working in higher education Richard had a successful career in financial consultancy and in the further education sector.

Be sure to check out the other sessions in our Postdocs Masterclass series in the "Related Courses" section below!

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, the Careers Service and 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.

Postdocs: Researcher Development & Support (one-to-one sessions)

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

• 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.