All Postdoc Academy courses

Powerful presentation skills can be critical in winning support for your ideas, establishing partnerships, spreading your message, or simply getting a job.

This highly interactive workshop series covers the secrets of public speaking, from a compelling opening and the magic of storytelling, to the effective use of body language and interactions to help your talk come alive.

The two half-day workshops will include:

The Essentials of Presentations

• How to open well and impress from the outset.
• Crafting an ending that leaves your words ringing in the ears of an audience.
• Being clear on your narrative for concise and effective storytelling.
• Adapting your message for any audience.

Visuals

• How much information to put on a slide.
• Effective use of images.
• Elegant use of data to convince rather than overwhelm.

The Magic of Storytelling

• The impact of stories over facts.
• How to tell a compelling story.
• The pillars of persuasion - credibility, emotion and logic.

Advanced Presentation Skills

• How to use character, authenticity and body language to your advantage.
• Turning your talk into a captivating dialogue.
• Using signposting and soundbites to make your most important points stand out.
• Dealing with nerves.

Team working is a critical part of successful research and innovation. But working with others can be challenging when they don’t think or behave in the way we do.

In this half-day workshop, we will explore fundamental aspects of team working, including why having people in your teams who think and behave differently to you is essential for success.

We will look at different theories around teamwork and globally recognised tools, including LEGO Serious Play and Belbin Team Roles.

At the end of this workshop, you will understand:

• why teams don’t need well-rounded people
• how conflict between working styles can be turned to an advantage
• why our expectations of team members (including leaders) can set them up to fail
• and when choosing people to work with, why we need to look beyond their eligibility and consider their suitability.

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.

Please note: It is important that when you book this course, on the booking confirmation page, select Add to Calendar to start importing the appointment to your calendar.

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.

Communicating your work well, through both writing and presenting, are important skills in any successful research career.

Writing well doesn’t come naturally to most people - feeling comfortable writing powerful papers is something we can learn through theory and practice. Dr Anna Ploszajski's career is living proof of that!

In this workshop, you will gain the skills you need to write confidently and engagingly to any future audience, be they professionals or the public.

It will cover:

• how to tailor your message to your audience
• how to structure like a creative story
• practical tips on using English language to increase the impact of your words.

No prior experience of writing is required – this training is for everyone from folks who detest writing, to regular communicators looking to step up their game to the next level.

Please note: it is important that when you book this course, on the booking confirmation page, select Add to Calendar to start importing the appointment to your calendar.

This interactive and participatory webinar session aims to provide researchers with the space to focus on themselves, review where they are now and gain a renewed perspective on their next steps and goals. Participants will have the opportunity to reflect on what helps them be at their best, what motivates them and how to bounce ‘forward’ with resiliency in times of uncertainty.

By the end of the session, participants will:

• Explore techniques to refocus, re-energise and build resiliency
• Gain clarity on their motivations, immediate steps and long-term goals
• Build stronger and meaningful connections in a supportive environment
• Identify what helps them be at their best.

The speaker: Daniela Bultoc is 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. She is also a Senior Fellow Researcher Developer - a prestigious recognition conferred by Vitae for her contributions to supporting and developing researcher development practices and policy development in the Higher Education (HE) sector. With 14 years experience of working in HE, Daniela is a highly regarded professional and international researcher developer consultant who seeks to support and inspire individuals and teams reach their potential in their chosen career paths.

The Postdoc Academy is reopening its hot-desking space to postdocs on a trial basis, at our quiet working space at the Postdoc Centre, Eddington. Your patience and understanding is appreciated as we look to reopen this facility in a safe manner alongside our team returning to the workplace.

Please read the below notes carefully before booking:

• Before booking a hot-desking space at Eddington, please complete the short online induction form here:

https://bit.ly/HotDeskingPdA (Any previous inductions completed for the Postdoc Centre @ Eddington are no longer valid)

• Postdocs can book one of four hot-desks available, in 1hr 45 minute slots
• Postdocs can book a maximum of two time slots per day
• Time slots for the next week's sessions are released for booking on Wednesdays, at approximately 3pm
• The days on which hot-desking is available may vary week by week
• Your booking will be checked by a member of our team before approval, and you will then be sent a confirmation email containing any further information needed
• Please book your session at least one working day in advance

In the face of escalating disruption, cultivating effective self-leadership and personal mastery has become vital for sustained performance and wellbeing.

As the pace of change intensifies, which qualities and abilities are needed to navigate the challenges ahead? Which insights, tools, practices and skills will help unleash a quantum leap in your personal and professional effectiveness?

Taking responsibility for your self-development is one of the greatest acts of leadership. As CEO-turned-Harvard scholar Bill George affirmed, ‘You cannot manage other people unless you manage yourself first’.

Expanding our field of perception, overcoming limiting beliefs, managing emotional reactivity and cultivating healthy, collaborative relations are increasingly vital skills to thrive in changing times.

Cutting-edge practices, especially transformative approaches and those that promote awareness in the heat-of-the-moment, can play a crucial part in helping accomplished professionals to act in increasingly skilful, resourceful and life-enhancing ways.

This online, interactive, experiential session is a valuable opportunity to bring a key professional challenge, discover fresh perspectives and explore breakthrough solutions for constructive action. It will provide simple yet profound tools for achieving new insights, leaving you better equipped to achieve sustainable breakthroughs in self-leadership, workplace functioning, research innovation and academic results.

Dedicating quality time in a safe, supportive space to cultivate your essential self-leadership capacities through inquiry and reflection can help you engage with your work in more powerful, rewarding and visionary ways.

Join us for a short training with a big impact adding lasting value to your self-leadership and career journey.

About the speaker:

Beth Meriam is an award-winning published researcher (PhD Cambridge), consultant and mentor-coach to pioneering leaders and high performers worldwide. She is a sought-after expert in optimising human potential and catalysing positive change.

Drawing on over 20 years of experience in 60 countries across 5 continents, Beth has designed and led a wide range of interventions including: World Bank, UK Govt., Unilever, SWIFT, Telefónica, UNESCO, Airbnb, BNP Paribas, and leading global business schools (IMD, Columbia, ESADE). She is a Windsor Leadership Facilitator-Mentor-Coach, a Henley Business School doctoral Mentor-Supervisor and a Taos Institute Global Associate (USA).

Her contributions have received numerous prestigious accolades, including Cambridge ‘Honorary Student’, The James Littlejohn Prize and 14 education, social responsibility and enterprise awards.

If you have ever doubted your ability or thought "I just got lucky this time", “I worry that others will discover how little I know” or “I only got that praise because people were being kind", this is an indication that you have experienced Imposter Syndrome. The imposter voice is one of many that come from our ‘inner critic’ and is very common amongst researchers. It presents itself as a feeling of inadequacy that persists even in the face of evidence that the opposite is true. It is frequently experienced, often by high-performing people, as a feeling of self-doubt and intellectual fraudulence. The good news is that it is completely normal, and sometimes even useful! The bad news is that it may result in you missing out on opportunities or creating the wrong impression with others. During this short masterclass you will: Understand where imposter syndrome comes from and why we have it, reflect on where and how your inner critic might limit your progress, learn of some different approaches for managing your inner critic and imposter feelings.

The speaker: This session will be presented by Dr Tracey Stead, a leadership coach and facilitator specialising in working with researchers.

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

In this webinar, we will explore three approaches to better manage your workload by being able to:

• Challenge or ‘push back’ taking on additional work
• Negotiate how new workload is managed
• Say no when requested to engage in additional work that we cannot or do not want to take on

Saying ‘no’ becomes a necessary professional skill to support consistency and quality of your research outputs whilst taking care of your wellbeing. However, it is not always possible, hence being in quote marks.

This training will explore the options to avoid ‘just saying yes’. With plenty of time for questions and discussion on the practicalities how to implement the three approaches introduced.

This workshop will help you manage your own workload and is also useful if you are managing others.

The speaker: Caroline Broad (@broadtraining) gained her twenty years’ experience facilitating teams and delivering skills training with a focus on developing the skills of career researchers and University staff in STEM. Caroline loves working with people who have a depth of knowledge and a passion for their work. She starts with the assumption that everyone is naturally resourceful and capable and delivers value by developing an individual’s self-awareness, alongside an introduction to tools and theories that are directly applicable to their roles. Caroline is a certified practitioner in Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) and Belbin Team Roles, is a Mental Health First Aider, C-Me profiling and Resilience Tools consultant. She facilitates an Action for Happiness Happy Café in her town and delivers the Exploring What Matters course focusing on wellbeing and resilience.

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, then an opportunity for you to ask your own questions a 30 min Q&A.   

Speaker Info: 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!

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, then an opportunity for you to ask your own questions a 30 min Q&A.   

Speaker Info: 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.

Do you want to talk with more confidence in meetings and interviews? Or have more impact when speaking in public?

This confidential one-to-one coaching session will help you to:

• refine your presentation skills
• speak more confidently as an emerging leader in your research field
• develop new approaches to your communication in a wide range of professional situations.

You will get constructive feedback on your speaking style, how you come across to others, and how well your ideas are communicated.

Coaching will focus on your individual requirements – these can include practical points about elocution and vocal projection, holding the attention of a room, and structuring a compelling presentation.

Postdocs drop-in sessions offer the opportunity for postdocs to come together, hear about the services that offer support for their partners and families, and learn from one another in a safe space.

The sessions are informal and designed to offer people the chance to share their experiences and challenges. Participants are encouraged to continue conversations and network with their fellow participants.

Join this masterclass to explore some of the leadership myths which may impact your motivation to take on leadership roles in a research environment and beyond. We will first focus on demystifying leadership and finding diverse approaches more suited to the current climate. We will then identify relevant leadership frameworks and strengths which can help us find our authentic leadership approach in-line with our values and purpose. This masterclass aims to support you in your leadership journey and development.

The masterclass will include an interactive session with the chance to ask questions and share observations in a small group or through a Q&A.

This is part of the Postdocs Masterclass series - you may also be interested in Collaborations in Research:https://www.training.cam.ac.uk/opda/event/3828502

Join this masterclass to identify the role of resilience, bravery, courage, and compassion to help you manage your research in an uncertain world. We will first explore how stressors, increased demands and high level of change can impact our drive, motivation, and outputs. We will then identify frameworks and coping strategies which can help us adapt and get things done. We will draw on research and best practice to develop our resilience and bravery and help us succeed in a human and compassionate way.

This masterclass aims to help you get prepared for the year ahead and manage transitions in your projects, career pathways or research environment. The masterclass will include an interactive session with the chance to ask questions and share observations in a small group or through a Q&A.

This is part of the Postdocs Masterclass series - you may also be interested in: https://www.training.cam.ac.uk/opda/event/3763017

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.

Have you ever struggled with other colleagues’ styles of communication? Have you ever wondered why some people seem to use more formal language, or are more direct than others? Culture plays a big part in how we communicate: research in the 21st century is global, and research teams are intercultural. At the University of Cambridge postdocs are the most diverse group by nationality, representing almost 100 countries. Communicating across cultures means more than learning a foreign language. It takes conscious discipline to think about one’s own cultural assumptions and to try to make sense of others’.

This two-hour workshop will give you tools to help identify where national culture might be having an influence on your professional and social interactions, where common misunderstandings can occur, and how to address potential challenges, especially when most of it is now happening online. The content of the session is informed by research from intercultural studies and refers to culture as a framework of shared values, attitudes and behaviours. It explores the nature of generalisations and the relationship between culture and personal values. Join this workshop to learn more about the importance of cultural competence in interactions - find out more about the impact of cultural (national, regional, interdisciplinary etc.) differences on management styles, team dynamics, communication and more.

About the Speaker: Kasia graduated from the Technical University of Dresden where she gained a master’s degree in German as Foreign Language, French and Polish. As a result of her first-hand experience of seeing academic performance and work relationships flourish through greater appreciation of the different perspective of how we see the world, she helps students, researchers and staff fully embrace the potential of Cambridge’s international diversity through training and coaching. This involves design and delivery of talks, lectures and workshops for specific audiences (undergraduate and graduate students, researchers, visitors and staff) and supporting individuals on a one-to-one basis by helping them develop agile interpersonal skills. Outside the University, she works as a trainer and coach which enables her to bring the practical experience from training in the international corporate world into academia.

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!

This event is for postdocs near the mid-point of their current contract at Cambridge. The deadline for registering is 12th January 2022.

The session has been designed specifically for postdocs at this key career stage and the aim is help you to position yourself for the next stage of your career (in academia or otherwise). The session provides an opportunity for you to reflect on your professional development activities so far and share experiences with others at a similar stage. The session will include information, guidance and tools to support and empower you in your next steps by focusing on future goals and how you can use the remainder of your time to work towards them.  

This interactive online session will be broken down into 3 sections: 

1. Reflecting on your professional development activities to date and identifying further development you would like to achieve during the rest of your contract.

2. Sharing ideas of how to achieve your development goals with other mid-contract postdocs whilst focusing on key professional development topics specific for postdocs and sources of information, advice and support across the university.

3. Gaining tools to start action planning to ensure you know when and how to take the next steps during the remaining time as a postdoc.

These 3 sections will be covered in the first hour of the session. The final half hour will be open for those who wish to ask related questions and engage in informal discussion with the facilitators and other participants.

The event will be facilitated by members of the Postdoc Academy Researcher Development Team and Postdoc Careers Service.    Please book here, via UTBS, and complete this form  so that we can learn a bit about you and where you are in your career planning/professional development journey in advance of the event. This will help us to tailor the session to suit the current needs of participants. Your registration for this session will be approved upon our receipt of this form. The deadline for registering is 12th January 2022.

This event is for postdocs near the mid-point of their current contract at Cambridge.

The session has been designed specifically for postdocs at this key career stage and the aim is help you to position yourself for the next stage of your career (in academia or otherwise). The session provides an opportunity for you to reflect on your professional development activities so far and share experiences with others at a similar stage. The session will include information, guidance and tools to support you in your next steps by focusing on future goals and how you can use the remainder of your time to work towards them.  

This interactive online session will be broken down into 3 sections: 

1. Reflecting on your professional development activities to date and identifying further development you would like to achieve during the rest of your contract.

2. Sharing ideas of how to achieve your development goals with other mid-contract postdocs whilst focusing on key professional development topics specific for postdocs and sources of information, advice and support across the university.

3. Creating an individual action plan to ensure you know when and how to take the next steps during the remaining time as a postdoc.   These 3 sections will be covered in the first hour of the session. The final half hour will be open for those who wish to ask related questions and engage in informal discussion with the facilitators and other participants.

The event will be facilitated by members of the Postdoc Academy, the Postdoc Researcher Development Team and Postdoc Careers Service. By the end of the session, you will have created your own set of actions to help guide you in your next steps.    Please complete this form: https://forms.office.com/r/dc6Fn39Q9U so that we can learn a bit about you and where you are in your career planning/professional development journey in advance of the event. This will help us to tailor the session to suit the current needs of participants. Your registration for this session will be approved upon our receipt of this form

This event is open to you if you are at the mid-point of your postdoc contract at Cambridge. The aim is help you to position yourself for the next stage of your career (in academia or otherwise) at a key point in your postdoc journey by reflecting on your professional development activities so far and giving you some guidance and tools to support you in reaching your future career goals. The event will be facilitated by members of the Postdoc Academy, the Postdoc RD Team and Careers Service. You will also meet staff members from other University services who offer resources for postdocs. At the end of the session, you will have a set of actions to help guide you in your next steps.

Please complete this form: https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=RQSlSfq9eUut41R7TzmG6ZPfIemFCGBMhayWndtGTfJURTdDTEhaOU9LOFdUUFYxVEpaN0QzSFcxUC4u so that we can learn a bit about you and where you are in your career planning/professional development journey in advance of the event so that we can tailor the session accordingly. Your registration for this session will be approved upon our receipt of this form.

The “Networking and Profile Building” virtual workshop series was created as a collaboration between Queen’s University Belfast, Queen Mary University London, University of Cambridge, King’s College London, University of Nottingham, Imperial College London, University of Glasgow and University of Cardiff. Participants will learn effective tools for successfully growing and nurturing their networks and will have the opportunity to put their skills into practice with researchers from the above listed universities, as well as with a number of other guest professionals, as part of the training.

The five sessions, running between 28th January and 22nd February, were designed to be complementary and are meant to be attended as a series. Visit this website for further details about the five sessions:

• Session 1: Introduction to the principles of networking
• Session 2: Building confidence to network and taking first steps
• Session 3: Networking Session hosted on Kumospace
• Session 4: Collaboration & partnering
• Session 5: Social media for networking (Twitter, LinkedIn)

Registration closes on 3rd January 2022.