All Postdoc Academy courses

Would you like to get some more teaching experience? The Open University (the UK’s largest distance-learning University) would like to offer Cambridge postdocs the opportunity to gain experience tutoring on their courses. They can offer:

• Flexible teaching opportunities to suit your workload and preferences
• The chance to support students from a diverse range of backgrounds
• Training and support to teach through a variety of media, which is becoming increasingly valued on the academic job market.

Come along and find out more about what is on offer, and how you can get involved. Jane Jones, Associate Dean at the Open University, will lead the session, which will include input from former Cambridge postdocs who have taken up this experience.

Bring along your favorite/local dish to share (max. 2 portions) and enjoy all kinds of food from all around the world!

In December 2019, the University of Cambridge officially signed the new Researcher Development Concordat. The ‘Concordat’ sets out a series of responsibilities and working practices designed to create a healthy and supportive culture for research, and to increase the appeal and sustainability of research careers in the UK.

The new Concordat is structured in to three principles: Environment & culture, employment and professional & career development. Within each principle there are obligations for institutions, managers of researchers and researchers themselves, and, for the first time, funders of research.

At this open meeting, Liz Simmonds, chair of the University’s Concordat Working Group, will present further detail about the Concordat and its likely benefits and implications, and will update on progress of the working group towards an institutional implementation plan. This will be followed by a Q&A session.

The Concordat will have an impact across the whole institution, and so this session will be useful for academic staff, research staff, and professional services staff who support postdocs.

Would you like to lead tough conversations with confidence, credibility and ease?

Do you know that navigating the minefield of high-stakes situations skilfully can transform your work and life for good?

Conflicts are an inescapable part of life. They are a make-or-break factor in relationships, a workplace ecosystem and in supporting (or limiting) career success.

Learning how to resolve disagreements in effective, productive ways is a must for any serious professional. Unfortunately, many talented research practitioners make the mistake of repeating performance-limiting reactive patterns based on avoidance or attack.

By attending this training, you can equip yourself with the vital clarity, confidence and skills to succeed.

• Learn how to manage conflict constructively and make the most of challenging situations.
• Disagree in a way that actively improves relationships, trust, teamwork and creativity, and enhances your leadership qualities, professionalism and credibility.

This single critical skill can unlock lifelong benefits, including:

• Higher job and life satisfaction
• Reduced stress
• Enhanced decision-making
• Increased productivity and efficiency
• Greater personal and team engagement
• Better group cohesion
• Stronger, more trustable relationships
• Lower legal risks
• And much more.

Join us for an invaluable opportunity to take your career and life to the next level. Packed with evidence-backed insights and user-friendly skills, this interactive, experiential workshop will be a safe, supportive and welcoming atmosphere for inter-professional dialogue and peer-learning.

You will learn simple, actionable approaches that will enable you to enhance productive outcomes of conflict while reducing the likelihood of escalation or harm. Understanding your conflict style and knowing which approaches work in each scenario will give you a critical edge.

Step out of your habitual reactions into a whole new world where you expand your understanding and make refreshing new discoveries about what is possible for yourself and others.

NOTE: All activities are entirely voluntary and no one will feel pressured to participate in any of the exercises.

Are you interested in pursuing a lectureship and/or long-term career at the University of Cambridge? Then you may be interested in contributing to discussions about a review of the Employer Justified Retirement Age (EJRA) as one of the main aims is to provide opportunities for lectureships for early career researchers.

A Retirement Policy and EJRA Review Group was set up by Council last year to consider whether the University’s current EJRA has been successful in meetings its aims and whether the terms of the University’s Retirement Policy remain fit for purpose.

The group now wishes to give members of the University community an opportunity to hear about its findings and recommendations, ahead of a final version being considered by the University Council in April, and a full report being published after that meeting. A ballot of the Regent House on the report’s recommendations is scheduled for June 2024.

To ensure that postdocs and early career researchers are able to contribute to these ongoing discussions, members of the postdoc community are invited to a dedicated online session.

Speakers will include:

• Professor Richard Penty, Chair of the EJRA Review Group
• Dr Nino Läubli, Postdoctoral Research Associate, Dept of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology and member of the EJRA Review Group

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.

Research ethics is critical when working with human participants. Unethical research may put participants at risk or damage the validity of your findings. During this workshop, you will learn the principles underpinning ethical research and how to manage issues like seeking informed consent, recruiting vulnerable people, balancing participants’ interests with societal obligations, respecting participant autonomy and reacting to unexpected events. Using case studies and group discussion, this course will explore best practice for working with human participants for you to share your experiences and learn from others

Using personal data in academic research can create a range of legal and ethical challenges. This session will provide a short overview of the key things that researchers must do to ensure that their research remains ethical and legal. On this course, you will learn what constitutes personal data, the principles of processing personal data and re-using personal data and how to comply with the data protection legislation in research. Using case studies and group discussion, this course will explore best practice for working with personal data and provide opportunities for you to share your experiences and learn from others.

Using personal data in academic research creates a range of legal and ethical challenges for the researcher. This session will provide a short overview of the key things that researchers must do to ensure that their research remains ethical and legal. On this course, you will learn what constitutes personal data, the principles of processing personal data and re-using personal data and how to comply with the data protection legislation in research.

Using case studies and group discussion, this course will explore best practice for working with personal data and provide opportunities for you to share your experiences and learn from others. The session will also provide the opportunity for a Q&A on topics of interest to attendees.

You may also wish to attend the first course in this series, Ethics of Research Involving Human Participants, which will be held on 2nd December at 10am (register here: https://www.training.cam.ac.uk/opda/event/3685586).

The instructor is Dr Rhys Morgan, Research Governance and Integrity Officer, or Dr Sinead Healy, Research Governance Facilitator, of the Research Strategy Office (RSO).

Postdocs are invited to an interactive and engaging discussion with the Director of the Centre for Entrepreneurial Learning. This is a rare opportunity to have a conversation with someone who has successfully navigated the worlds of academia and industry.

Academic Writing Month, or ‘Writefest’, encourages researchers across career stages and institutions to come together in the spirit of collaboration and to foster a supportive, safe, and sustainable writing environment. Working within that collaborative ethos, the University of Cambridge and King’s College London are pleased to invite you to a new panel event that explores the different stages of the publishing cycle and provides a forum for doctoral and early career researchers to bring their questions to an expert panel including:

• Sam Stranks - University Lecturer in the Department of Chemical Engineering & Biotechnology and the Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge; Associate Editor at Science Advances; Editorial Advisory Board at ACS Energy Letters
• Meagan Simpson - Editor for Anthropology at Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group
• Liz Colquhoun - Global Head of Portfolio for Heritage and Library & Information Science Journals at Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group
• Marina Picciotto - Professor of Psychiatry, Yale University; Editor-in-Chief at The Journal of Neuroscience
• Rosalind Galt - Professor in Film Studies, King's College London

The event will feature a discussion between our panellists and plenty of time for questions from the virtual floor.

• What are the considerations a researcher needs to take for thinking about the appropriate vehicle for an output when in draft stage?
• What are editors and publishers looking for, and what are the pressures on them?
• What are the benefits of sharing our various perspectives?
• What are the transitions between an idea in its infancy and a book on the shelf?

An official welcome from the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs (OPdA), there will be a brief interactive presentations from the Careers Service and Personal and Professional Development (PPD) whose principal role is to support the University's research staff.

An official welcome from the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs (OPdA). This event consists of two sessions so as to give postdocs an opportunity of attending either a morning OR an afternoon session as best suits. Both sessions will include brief interactive presentations from the OPdA, Careers Service and Personal and Professional Development (PPD) whose principal role is to support the University's research staff.

Introductory forum on Impact, specifically user engagement, focused on enhancing awareness of media relations, public engagement and policy engagement.

The seminar will provide you with a roadmap of practical steps and issues to consider when submitting a research ethical application for review by a University research ethics committee. It will provide an overview of the research ethics structure at Cambridge and signpost the relevant guidelines and sources of support. It will take you through the application journey from who should apply for ethical review, how to prepare and submit an application to what factors research ethics committees consider during their review.

The instructor is Dr Rhys Morgan, Research Governance and Integrity Officer, or Dr Sinead Healy, Research Governance Facilitator, of the Research Strategy Office (RSO).

Good practice in research: authorship and publication ethics

Have you ever faced any issues related to authorship within your research group or making a submission to a journal? Using case studies and group discussion, this course will explore best practice in authorship and publication from deciding how authorship of a paper is decided to managing the challenges that can arise when working with publishers or editors. Discussions will include ‘grey areas’, common issues and navigating a fictional authorship dispute, and you will be given the opportunity to share your experiences and perspectives.

Have you ever faced any issues related to authorship within your research group or making a submission to a journal? - Who gets to be an author? - How do you start a conversation on authorship with your research team? - What approaches can be used to resolve an authorship problem? - How are mistakes handled in a published paper? - In what circumstances will a paper be retracted from a journal?

Publishing research, and getting fair credit for publishing, can lead to difficulties and pitfalls (especially if you’re unsure about how to best manage various aspects of the process).

Using case studies and group discussion, this course will explore best practice in authorship and publication from deciding how authorship of a paper is decided to managing the challenges that can arise when working with publishers or editors. Discussions will include ‘grey areas’, common issues and pitfalls, and you will be given the opportunity to share your experiences and perspectives.

The instructor is Dr Rhys Morgan, Research Governance and Integrity Officer, or Dr Sinead Healy of the Research Strategy Office (RSO).

Please note this is now a virtual session.

Have you ever faced any issues related to authorship within your research group or making a submission to a journal?

• Who gets to be an author?
• How do you start a conversation on authorship with your research team?
• What approaches can be used to resolve an authorship problem?
• How are mistakes handled in a published paper?
• In what circumstances will a paper be retracted from a journal?

Using case studies and group discussion, this course will explore best practice from how authorship of a paper is decided to managing the challenges that can arise when working with publishers or editors. Discussions will include ‘grey areas’, common issues and pitfalls, and you will be given the opportunity to share your experiences and perspectives.

This talk will take place on Friday 27th September at 13:00 in room AG03b Exams hall, Student Services Centre

Topics covered:

• Mission and values of the University
• Principles informing governance at Cambridge
• Overview of governance bodies
• Senior University offices and officers
• Key governance bodies: Regent House, Council, General Board, Board of Scrutiny
• Key governance resources: Statutes and Ordinances, Reporter, Governance hub

The Postdoc Academy has reopened its hot-desking space to postdocs for quiet working at Postdoc Centre, Eddington and we are now offering slots in the early morning and in the evening. Your patience and understanding is appreciated as we continue to reopen this facility in a safe manner.

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

• Postdocs can book one of six hot-desks available, in 1hr 45 minute slots
• Your booking will be checked by a member of our team and upon approval your University card will be activated for access to the postdoc centre at the time of your booking(s).
• Please book your session at least one working day in advance in order for your card to be activated.
• If you do not have a University card, please note this in the 'special requirements' section of the booking form, and we will provide information on access when we confirm your booking.
• If you don't have a CRSid, please complete the following form to request your booking: https://www.postdocacademy.cam.ac.uk/forms/utbs-external-booking
• 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

If you have recently started peer reviewing, or are ready to get involved, the OSC invites you to this unmissable session, where you will pick up tips and best practices from PLOS, publishers of the world's largest multi-disciplinary peer-reviewed journal.

This session provides valuable career advice to science postdocs from the speaker's own experience, expressed with a good deal of humour.

Postdoctoral Researchers are typically employed on relatively short-term contracts, and are funded by so-called 'soft money' to carry out a specific project for a PI. This creates an immediate tension. The specific project will have research objectives and deliverables that must be met to satisfy whoever is funding the work, and the PI will be assessed on whether these goals have been met. However, a postdoctoral researcher will often have their own research interests and also career objectives. A really successful postdoctoral project is one in which everyone's goals are met. The talk will cover a little about Dr Flewitt's own experience of this process from the perspective of both sides and try and draw out some general thoughts for discussion.

With ever developing complexities in the UK’s immigration system, Graeme Ross, the University’s Head of Immigration for staff matters, conducts termly briefing sessions for non-UK postdocs holding UK visas. These commonly cover the ‘basic’ work visas, such as Skilled Worker and Global Talent, and how to switch into or extend these in order to remain in the UK. However additional guidance on applications for dependents and Indefinite Leave to Remain/Settlement is also covered. There will be an opportunity to ask questions about other immigration matters; not all of these may be answered on the day but would be followed up individually as needed.

Following the UK government’s announcement of a ‘new’ visa route, known as the Global Talent Visa, Graeme Ross, the University’s Head of Immigration for staff members, will conduct a presentation on what this means for postdocs and how to apply for this visa. There will also be a short presentation on other relevant visa routes, such as dependant visas and Indefinite Leave to Remain/Settlement, and an opportunity to ask questions about other immigration matters.

With ever developing complexities in the UK’s immigration system, Graeme Ross, the University’s Head of Immigration for staff matters, conducts termly briefing sessions for non-UK postdocs holding UK visas.

These commonly cover the ‘basic’ work visas, such as Skilled Worker and Global Talent, and how to switch into or extend these in order to remain in the UK.

However additional guidance on applications for dependents and Indefinite Leave to Remain/Settlement is also covered.

There will be an opportunity to ask questions about other immigration matters; not all of these may be answered on the day but would be followed up individually as needed.

Please note this session is held online via Teams.

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

GSK, the science-led global healthcare company, is running a forum for networking and sharing information about what unique skills postdocs have, by virtue of their roles, and how these are mutually beneficial.

Please note this session is now running as a virtual/online session. Joining instructions will be emailed closer to the time.

People love stories. They entertain, they help us to remember. This short interactive session is aimed at researchers looking to improve the effectiveness of their communication. It will introduce the importance of working out who your audience is and what they want to know. It will also explore how storytelling is as relevant to research communication as it is to fairy tales. We all have to communicate our research and ideas, why not do it through stories?

The session will be delivered by the Academic Director for STEM, Institute of Continuing Education.

Please note that if you are not eligible for a University of Cambridge Raven account you will need to book by linking here.

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.

Please note that if you are not eligible for a University of Cambridge Raven account you will need to book by linking here.

Once you have booked a provisional place on this course, you will need to email the organiser Dr Rahuman Sheriff, sheriff AT ebi.ac.uk with your CV and cover-letter explaining why you would like to participate, with “MOL-workshop” in the subject line by 18th September 2019.

Computer models are increasingly used by researchers as well as pharmaceutical industry to investigate molecular mechanisms disease initiation, progression and therapy. Systems modelling of biochemical pathways deregulated in disease condition offers mechanistic insights into the pathology; helps to elucidate mechanisms behind dug action and predict dose required for treatment and thereby greatly facilitates fundamental research and drug discovery. Such modelling requires background in both molecular biology and mathematics.

This workshop will train postdocs from life science and mathematics to communicate and work together to learn to build and analyse computational models using user-friendly open source software. Participant will explore selected computational models from a recent publication, freely available in BioModels repository (www.ebi.ac.uk/biomodels/).

Speakers:

Lourdes Cucurull-Sanchez PhD Director, Quantitative Clinical Pharmacology GSK Medicines Research Centre, Gunnels Wood Road, Stevenage, Hertfordshire, SG1 2NY, UK

Prof. Jasmin Fisher PhD, FRSB Professor of Computational Biology UCL Cancer Institute Faculty of Medical Sciences, Paul O’Gorman Building 72 Huntley Street, London WC1E 6DD

Alfonso Martinez Arias PhD Professor of Developmental Mechanick Department of Genetics University of Cambridge Cambridge CB2 3EH

Tutors:

Rahuman Sheriff PhD, Thawfeek Varusai PhD and Krishna Tiwari EMBL-EBI, Cambridge, UK

Learn how to sell your research to the media. You will pick up some tips on best media practice and how to spark interest in your specialism.

This event is for postdocs at the approximate mid-point (1-2 years) of a typical postdoctoral tenure in Cambridge (up to 5 years*). It 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.

This booking is provisional and will be approved once you have submitted the full registration form. The form has been designed to help you think about your experiences in Cambridge so far in advance of the session. The data you provide will help us to better understand the challenges, needs, and aspirations of postdocs at this stage of their careers.

The deadline for registration and booking is 12pm on 26 February.

*If you have been a postdoc for more than 5 years and this session is of interest, please get in touch: development.pda@admin.cam.ac.uk

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

The session 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).

You will have the opportunity to reflect on your professional development activities so far and get guidance to support you in working towards your future goals.

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.

The booking deadline is 22 March 2023.

“At Cambridge, we recognise that world-leading research depends on the connections researchers make to share ideas, pose new questions, challenge assumptions and form collaborations.”

Cambridge has a range of networks to promote interdisciplinary working and connect researchers across the university. These networks provide a range of opportunities for postdocs, from meeting new people and establishing collaborations, to developing and funding their own interdisciplinary projects. We have created this event to give postdocs a chance to find out about the importance of interdisciplinary research at Cambridge and the lively network of cross-School initiatives at the University.

For further information please see the short video: What impact will your next connection have?

Speakers: This event will be chaired by the Postdoc Academy Researcher Development team. There will be a general presentation introducing all of the SRNs/IRCs followed by individual presentations from Stephanie Norwood (Synthetic Biology IRC), Maria Bargues Ribera (Cambridge Infectious Diseases), Margarida Dias Rodrigues (Centre for Physical Biology), Francesca Re Manning (Global Food Security IRC ), and Sara Serradas O’Holleran (Global Challenges SRI). We will also be joined by postdocs who will talk about their experiences with these groups. Presentations will last for around 40 mins total with an opportunity for Q&A for the final 20 mins.

This seminar, facilitated by the Head of Research Information at the Research Strategy Office, outlines online tools that can be used to enhance networking and online presence. The software overview includes Symplectic Elements (a publication retrieval tool and Research Information Management System), Altmetrics (a social media analysis tool) and Research Professional (a funding information database).

Join the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs [OPdA] at their flagship Postdoc Centre @ Eddington for lunch with the Head of OPdA, Karina Prasad, and Assistant Head, Liz Simmonds. Over lunch, Karina and Liz will give a brief overview of the OPdA and how it can support you in your role. This will include the OPdA’s current initiatives, work on the Concordat, and other areas with a connection to HR and support for postdocs. There will also be an opportunity to have your questions answered.

Do you know what to look out for when choosing an Open Access publisher or a data repository?

It's important to get these decisions right to be at the forefront of the trend towards Open Research, ensuring that you build a strong profile and embrace the changes that are expected from researchers.

Practicing Open Research will help you to:

• Be cited more often
• Secure grants
• Spark collaborations
• Make your findings more reproducible

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 Pensions at the University of Cambridge, and there will be ample opportunity for asking questions.

Please note that if you are not eligible for a University of Cambridge Raven account you will need to book by linking here.

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

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.

Do you sometimes feel worn down or worked up? Would you like to develop habits that help you navigate life with greater confidence and happiness?

This course is designed specifically for researchers to explore tools for enhancing self-awareness, managing stress and unwanted thoughts, and embracing enjoyment and positive change.

It provides guided opportunities to think about:

• how we relate to our body, thoughts and feelings
• finding connection with others, nature and time
• practical ways to change our habits and patterns of thinking.

The six workshops explore concepts from various traditions and provide opportunities for focused self-reflection, enhanced using meditation skills.

These skills are for complete beginners and provide new approaches for those with more experience. No previous experience is required.

World-leading research depends on the connections researchers make to share ideas, pose new questions, challenge assumptions, and form collaborations.

Cambridge has a range of networks, initiatives, and centres to promote interdisciplinary working and connect researchers across the University.

This event will give postdocs a chance to find out about these networks and the opportunities they offer – from meeting new people and establishing collaborations, to developing and funding your own interdisciplinary projects.

You can find a list of the featured networks below.

For a brief introduction about these interdisciplinary networks, please see the short video: What impact will your next connection have?

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.

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

Collaboration is highly valued in research today and is responsible for many of the most important modern advances in knowledge and understanding.

This webinar aims to help you plan and maintain your research collaboration successfully, so both you and your collaborators can enjoy and benefit from the journey.

In this 2-hour online masterclass, we’ll consider:

• the advantages and barriers to a collaborative approach
• what drives successful collaborations
• the ‘rules’ and process of planning, establishing, managing and working together
• partnerships outside of academia
• what you can do if things aren’t working out.

This session will require your input so you should have your camera and microphone on and come prepared to be an active participant.

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.

Collaboration is highly valued in research today and is responsible for many of the most important modern advances in knowledge and understanding.

This webinar aims to help you plan and maintain your research collaboration successfully, so both you and your collaborators can enjoy and benefit from the journey.

In this 2-hour online masterclass, we’ll consider:

• the advantages and barriers to a collaborative approach
• what drives successful collaborations
• the ‘rules’ and process of planning, establishing, managing and working together
• partnerships outside of academia
• what you can do if things aren’t working out.

This session will require your input so you should have your camera and microphone on and come prepared to be an active participant.

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:

• reflect on your personal values and what is important to you
• consider how you can better satisfy these values in your work and personal life
• support (and receive support from) your peers.

Would you like to be more deliberate about what you say yes to, and become more confident at saying no?

In this interactive 90-minute masterclass, you will gain insights into:

• creating a strategic approach to saying yes
• negotiating your workload
• building confidence to say no to requests.

You will have the opportunity to explore how you can apply the theory in practice, and to discuss the challenges of saying no in an academic setting.

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.

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 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.

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:

• examine how to define the scope of a research project, including the delivery of outputs, impact and knowledge exchange
• discuss how to engage and manage the expectations of stakeholders to enable smooth project delivery
• explore how your planning and monitoring of research projects is shaped by your methodologies and the expectations of funders
• learn to use key planning, risk management and monitoring tools to effectively manage research projects
• identify your own challenges in managing research projects and discuss ways to overcome them.

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.

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.

How much could a high quality break help you recharge, reduce stress, and improve your focus?

During this 30-minute session, you will:

• join a 5-minute guided Mini Mindfulness practice - recharge your mind
• plan a 'Deep Work' focus hour for this week - protect time for quality focus
• plan a high quality restorative break for the next 24 hours - find valuable perspective.

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

Explore agile ways to respond to uncertainty and increase your research impact in this 90-minute online masterclass.

Research projects can often be complex and unpredictable. This training will support you to develop your own decision making in this uncertain environment.

The session will focus on four types of agility for research impact:

• environment scanning
• stakeholder/partner engagement strategies
• responding to complex problems effectively and efficiently
• developing an agile mindset.

It will include interactive elements, with the opportunity to reflect on your own practice and share your experiences.

The session will be delivered by Natacha Wilson from Cambridge Insights.

Do you know when it is appropriate to negotiate, and how to do this effectively? Would you like to improve your skills in communicating with influence?

This interactive session will introduce you to key principles of influencing and negotiation that can be applied in workplace situations.

In this 90-minute session, you will:

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

You will have the opportunity to practice some of these skills in the session. To make the most of this session, we recommend that you come prepared to participate in discussions and activities.

Do you know when it is appropriate to negotiate, and how to do this effectively? Would you like to improve your skills in communicating with influence?

This interactive session will introduce you to key principles of influencing and negotiation that can be applied in workplace situations.

In this 90-minute session, you will:

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

You will have the opportunity to practice some of these skills in the session. To make the most of this session, we recommend that you come prepared to participate in discussions and activities.

Have you ever walked into a meeting and questioned your right to be there? Or taken on a new job and then felt you weren’t really the right person for it?

For many people, this is a common life experience and one which can be quite debilitating if left unchecked. This session focuses on identifying the set behaviours that are often referred to as ‘imposter syndrome’, and the implications they can have for yourself and your work environment.

During this session, you will:

• find out more about ‘imposter syndrome’ and its prevalence among researchers and academics
• identify the impact it can have on you and your work
• learn about different ways to overcome it and thrive by being at your best.

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.

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:

• plan your calendar for the week ahead to protect dedicated focus hours for the most important work
• recap on the neuroscience of focus and plan your 'flow state ritual'
• plan a daily 'Restorative Break', to relieve stress, reduce self-criticism and strengthen resilience
• learn how to strengthen relationships to increase your confidence and protect from feelings of isolation.

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.

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:

• learn to apply a well-established goal-setting technique (SMART goals) that will support you in realising your career aspirations
• have the opportunity to discuss and develop your long- and short-term goals with support from your peers
• acquire strategies for holding yourself accountable.

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.

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.

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.

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

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
• and how to plan for impact.

It will consist of a 60-minute talk and an opportunity to ask questions.

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) leads the pre-award team for the School of Technology at the University of Cambridge. 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.

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:

• creativity as a way of operating rather than a talent
• tools and techniques to boost your creative confidence
• how to apply creative thinking to your own research questions.

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!

Many believe that emotional intelligence (EQ) is a better predictor of success in the workplace than IQ. The good news is that EQ can be developed and improved over time.

In this two-part interactive workshop, you will gain an understanding of the key skills needed to develop your emotional intelligence – managing your own emotions and the emotions of others.

Through activities and discussions, you’ll reflect on your default behaviour in workplace situations and explore your strengths and areas for further development.

In this second 2-hour session, you will gain insights into:

• social awareness: understanding the emotions of others, empathy and active listening, managing relationships
• relationship management: effective communication, motivating and influencing others.

Book a space on part one of this workshop here

Although parts one and two can be attended separately, we recommend participating in both.

Once your attendance has been confirmed, you will be invited to attend an optional follow-up group coaching session to enhance and consolidate your learning. This virtual session is scheduled for 14:00-15:30 on Monday 20th March.

Many believe that emotional intelligence (EQ) is a better predictor of success in the workplace than IQ. The good news is that EQ can be developed and improved over time.

In this two-part interactive workshop, you will gain an understanding of the key skills needed to develop your emotional intelligence – managing your own emotions and the emotions of others.

Through activities and discussions, you’ll reflect on your default behaviour in workplace situations and explore your strengths and areas for further development.

In this first 2-hour session, you will gain insights into:

• self-awareness: understanding and managing your emotions, recognising triggers, and managing stress
• self-regulation: developing emotional self-control.

Book a space on part two of this workshop here

Although parts one and two can be attended separately, we recommend participating in both.

Once your attendance has been confirmed, you will be invited to attend an optional follow-up group coaching session to enhance and consolidate your learning. This virtual session is scheduled for 14:00-15:30 on Monday 20th March.

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.

Would you like to be more deliberate about what you say yes to, and become more confident at saying no?

In this 90 minute interactive workshop, you will gain insights into:

• creating a strategic approach to saying yes
• negotiating your workload
• building confidence to say no to requests.

You will have the opportunity to explore how you can apply the theory in practice, and to discuss the challenges of saying no in an academic setting.

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

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:

• understand the different layers that contribute to ‘culture’ and the role of cultural intelligence for leaders
• recognise how international and other types of cultural diversity can impact team dynamics
• cultivate inclusive leadership skills to foster collaboration and synergy among diverse teams
• be comfortable asking questions and starting conversations to address cultural differences in a more productive way.

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:

• what an entrepreneurial mindset is and how all researchers can adopt and develop this to pursue their interests
• the frameworks and tools that are used in the startup world to create compelling business opportunities
• how you can adapt these to support innovative research, create impact, and secure grant or fellowship funding
• how to create your personal "elevator pitch" to introduce yourself and create new opportunities at networking events or to future employers.

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.

Most people experience self-doubt at some point in their life. We may not feel as competent or knowledgeable as others perceive us to be, or we may attribute our success to luck.

Such thoughts and emotions are sometimes referred to as impostor phenomenon. Research suggests it is common amongst high achieving individuals such as those working in academia.

This 3-hour workshop will provide a safe and confidential space to explore your own and others’ experiences of imposter phenomenon, and why these feelings can arise.

It will also equip you with a range of different approaches to help manage feelings of self-doubt.

By the end of the workshop you will have:

• understood what imposter phenomenon is and why you might experience it
• explored its impact on your life and career
• identified strategies for managing self-doubt.

Most people find it challenging to take decisions and action under uncertain conditions.

But there are practical ways to cope with uncertainty, using simple techniques which we can practise and implement in our daily lives.

Using these skills, we can make uncertainty work to our advantage, fuelling creativity, problem solving and teamwork.

This workshop is an opportunity to experience uncertainty in a safe environment and become comfortable thinking on your feet. We will borrow tools from improvisation theatre and cognitive sciences to help you experiment and learn strategies to harness uncertainty to your benefit.

Feedback from postdocs who attended the training in July 2021:

• “Really great experience. Mostly, I think it helps a lot with confidence and also with tuning your listening skills and your respect for what others say and do. You can't predict things and need to embrace them as they come, and this is so useful in both personal and work life.”
• “I liked the positive messages it gave for approaching my research - sometimes it’s best not to overthink but go with the obvious, or if things go wrong (even repeatedly) just forget about them and keep trying something new.”

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:

• demonstrate the utility of an entrepreneurial tool in a research context
• enable you to implement a tool for planning and presenting your research
• give you opportunities to share your ideas and receive feedback from peers and facilitators.

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.

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

Presenting well doesn’t come naturally to most people - feeling comfortable giving strong presentations 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 speak 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 body language to increase the impact of your words.

No prior experience of presenting is required – this training is for everyone from folks who detest presenting, 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.

Being able to effectively manage your workload in a proactive and realistic way is key to a successful research career.

Understanding task and relationship management techniques can help you better balance the demands on your time as a postdoc, as well as reducing your stress.

In this interactive half-day workshop, you will learn practical techniques that you can implement to consistently improve your day-to-day productivity.

By the end of this session, you will be able to:

• manage your activities more proactively through planning and negotiation
• feel more confident in how to prioritise, make decisions, and say no
• better manage your email and meeting habits.

Bring your productivity issues to the workshop ready for some practical troubleshooting!

Being able to effectively manage your workload in a proactive and realistic way is key to a successful research career.

Understanding task and relationship management techniques can help you better balance the demands on your time as a postdoc, as well as reducing your stress.

In this interactive half-day workshop, you will learn practical techniques that you can implement to consistently improve your day-to-day productivity.

By the end of this session, you will be able to:

• manage your activities more proactively through planning and negotiation
• feel more confident in how to prioritise, make decisions, and say no
• better manage your email and meeting habits.

Bring your productivity issues to the session ready for some practical troubleshooting!

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

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.

This practical course on networking and research profile building offers participants the opportunity to learn effective tools for successfully growing and nurturing their networks and to put their skills into practice with researchers from other universities, as well as with a number of other guest professionals.

The six sessions (running in pairs on Tuesdays between 4th and 18th October) were designed to be complementary and are meant to be attended as a series. Visit this website for further details about the six 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)
• Session 6: Wrap-up and guest speaker (new!)

This course 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 and postdocs will have the opportunity to network with early career researchers from across these institutions.

Registration closes on 18th September 2022.