Researcher Development Programme (RDP) course timetable

Meetings can be very important and they can also be very frustrating. This workshop is aimed at everyone who attends meetings and feels a need to make them more effective. The workshop includes presentation and discussion but is largely made up of group exercises, most in the form of meetings, revealing the main learning points.

Topics covered include:

• Meetings as a personal development platform
• Understanding and practising the meeting process
• Techniques for coming to an objective decision
• Dealing with different personality types
• The role of the Chairman

By virtue of being at the interface between the known and the unknown, Research seems to be inherently stressful. The overall aim of this half-day course is, therefore, to help you build your emotional resilience by focussing on its 4 Cs: Coping, Commitment, Challenge, Control. By the end of the course: participants will know and develop effective coping strategies and learn about how to increase their commitment, challenge and control of their research.

Whether you’re new to presenting and looking to speak at your first conference, wanting important tips to finesse your delivery, or presenting to a wider audience, the overall aim of this course is to help you be a more effective presenter. Amongst the topics covered, participants will learn:

• How to structure the introduction of the presentation using the A-B-C-D model
• How to create a presentation appropriate for the audience
• How to handle nerves, both in the run-up to the presentation and on the day

Please note: this course was formerly titled 'Selling Skills'.
If you have already attended this course under its former name it may not be necessary to attend this course again.

You are in Cambridge because you have something to offer. This workshop helps you to make the most of the opportunities presented to you. It focuses on face to face interactions, it is not a course on using social media. The skills taught are selling and marketing abilities. This quick moving workshop is delivered in a participative style with individual and group exercises to reveal key points.

Topics covered include:

• Clarifying who your target audience is and how to find them
• The reasons that people would be interested in your proposition
• How to present your ideas in a way that resonates with the other party
• A structure for face to face discussions with potential stakeholders
• Developing the right attitude

Whether you’re new to presenting and looking to speak at your first conference, wanting important tips to finesse your delivery, or presenting to a wider audience, the overall aim of this course is to help you be a more effective presenter. Amongst the topics covered, participants will learn:

• How to structure the introduction of the presentation using the A-B-C-D model
• How to create a presentation appropriate for the audience
• How to handle nerves, both in the run-up to the presentation and on the day

This interactive and intensive one-day course, based on the programme developed by Vitae, is intended for PhD students in their first year. You will look at practical ways to increase your effectiveness and meet the challenges of your PhD. The programme covers:

• Looking at your PhD as a project
• Working with other people
• Managing your relationship with your supervisor

A one day master class in communication from two external trainers who have previously been employed as hostage negotiators and detectives in the Metropolitan Police Force. Participants will gain a practical insight into how professional communicators communicate, and how it can be applied in everyday life.

At the end of the session participants will:

• Know how to persuade and influence effectively
• Understand how to have greater impact when communicating
• Have practiced the fundamental tools of professional communicators

Topics:

• Levels of communication
• Trust
• Stages of active listening
• Non-judgemental language
• Achieving win/win
• Building rapport
• Dos and don’ts

This course will help you to review research manuscripts more quickly and effectively.

By learning how to review research manuscripts for journals you will:

• gain a core skill that every STEMM researcher should have
• free up more time for your own research
• develop a better understanding of how to write your own manuscripts
• "But how long should you spend reviewing a manuscript? And what should you write in your review? Find out in this workshop with the results from a survey of 80 editors of international peer-reviewed journals."

Topics covered:

• how the peer-review system works
• about your responsibilities as reviewers
• what editors expect in a review
• how to critically evaluate a research manuscript
• what to include in written comments to editors and authors
• how long you should spend reviewing a manuscript
• practical methods for reviewing a manuscript quickly.

Whatever you plan to do next, you need to be totally clear why you’re making that choice. You need to able to 'sell' your unique story, and translate the value of your life experience so far, to your future employer. This workshop will give you the energy and tools to help you do that.

This practical and reflective workshop, designed for PhD students and post docs, will be led by Alastair Creamer, career coach and is co-founder of 'Eyes Wide Opened', which helps people create and maintain fulfilling working lives. He has been described in industry as 'a catalyst for change' and promises to change the way you think with his creative approach to preparing yourself for a career that suits you.

This interactive and intensive one-day course, based on the programme developed by Vitae, is intended for PhD students in their first year. You will look at practical ways to increase your effectiveness and meet the challenges of your PhD. The programme covers:

• Looking at your PhD as a project
• Working with other people
• Managing your relationship with your supervisor

This course is most effective to 1st year researchers who are at least 3-4 months into their PhD.

It’s that time of year, the report is looming on the horizon and the reality of writing is here!

Aimed at 1st year PhD students this course is designed to get you thinking and working effectively on your end of first year report/CPGS. How do you start? What’s expected? How do you make it work for you? These and many other important questions, hints and tips will be addressed in this half day session.

Why this course might make a difference:

Looking back at your experience of education you can probably remember those teachers and lecturers who were excellent. We remember the ones who were good because they have left a lasting impact on us; shaping both our learning in the past and our approach to teaching at Cambridge. Supervising undergraduate students at Cambridge can be one of the most rewarding activities for PhDs and Postdocs and this course is designed to make sure that you can offer your best and hopefully be one of those memorable teachers for someone else.

A blended workshop incorporates personal reflection on teaching practice, discussion of real teaching scenarios, a chance to ask questions from an experienced supervisor and access to practical information about organising and carrying out your supervisions.

This training is required by many colleges before you can carry out supervisions and is always a popular course.

About the trainer:

The course trainer is Dr Ben Murton who has over 12 years of teaching experience in Cambridge and was an undergraduate here as well. He is now a College Teaching Associate at St John's, a tutor on the Teaching Associates Programme and offers supervision coaching for Life Sciences supervisors.

If you have any specific questions you are welcome to contact him before the course on Ben.Murton@admin.cam.ac.uk

This course is most effective to 1st year researchers who are at least 3-4 months into their PhD.

It’s that time of year, the report is looming on the horizon and the reality of writing is here!

Aimed at 1st year PhD students this course is designed to get you thinking and working effectively on your end of first year report/CPGS. How do you start? What’s expected? How do you make it work for you? These and many other important questions, hints and tips will be addressed in this half day session.

This interactive and intensive one-day course, based on the programme developed by Vitae, is intended for PhD students in their first year. You will look at practical ways to increase your effectiveness and meet the challenges of your PhD. The programme covers:

• Looking at your PhD as a project
• Working with other people
• Managing your relationship with your supervisor

This workshop will examine how you can make the most of conferences as an environment to strategically network and build research connections. “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know” is an old cliché, but it’s particularly true in research where over (reportedly) 90% of jobs go to a candidate who is already known to the employer prior to the recruitment process.

GRADschool is an intensive 3 day course that can change the course of your life!

GRADschool bookings are made by completing the application form.

The deadline for applications is 10am on 14th March 2016

For details about this activity and links to the application for please read all the information at http://www.ppd.admin.cam.ac.uk/information-research-students/gradschool-research-students

GRADschool is an intensive 3 day course that can change the course of your life!

GRADschool bookings are made by completing the application form.

The deadline for applications is 10am on 14th March 2016

For details about this activity and links to the application for please read all the information at http://www.ppd.admin.cam.ac.uk/information-research-students/gradschool-research-students

GRADschool is an intensive 3 day course that can change the course of your life!

GRADschool bookings are made by completing the application form.

The deadline for applications is 10am on 14th March 2016

For details about this activity and links to the application for please read all the information at http://www.ppd.admin.cam.ac.uk/information-research-students/gradschool-research-students

This course will be delivered by the University’s Research Governance and Integrity Officer and will introduce researchers to research integrity and ethics at Cambridge. The course will:

• explore the issue of research misconduct in academia and facilitate discussion of why and how it occurs
• explain the recent research integrity agenda and examine how this effects researchers
• discuss some of the challenges to the integrity of research and ask what individuals, groups and institutions can do to tackle them
• introduce the University’s research ethics system
• use case studies and discussion exercises to examine key issues

This course is designed for those who would like to build their confidence and competence by learning the key ingredients of preparing and delivering effective oral presentations, with opportunities to practise what has been preached. During this interactive session, participants will learn about the theories behind effective preparation and presentation.

Participants will then prepare and deliver a short presentation. There will be an opportunity to reflect on strengths and “what could be improved” and also to receive immediate feedback from the audience.

The speeches will be recorded, and excerpts replayed toward the end of the workshop.

This course is designed for those who would like to build their confidence and competence by learning the key ingredients of preparing and delivering effective oral presentations, with opportunities to practise what has been preached. During this interactive session, participants will learn about the theories behind effective preparation and presentation.

Participants will then prepare and deliver a short presentation. There will be an opportunity to reflect on strengths and “what could be improved” and also to receive immediate feedback from the audience.

The speeches will be recorded, and excerpts replayed toward the end of the workshop.

The overall aim of these one-to-one sessions is to help you identify the skills you would like to develop to be more effective both during and after your PhD. Topics covered include: evaluating your current skill levels; identifying the areas you wish to focus on to create a tailored development plan.

The overall aim of these one-to-one sessions is to help you identify the skills you would like to develop to be more effective both during and after your PhD. Topics covered include: evaluating your current skill levels; identifying the areas you wish to focus on to create a tailored development plan.

The overall aim of these one-to-one sessions is to help you identify the skills you would like to develop to be more effective both during and after your PhD. Topics covered include: evaluating your current skill levels; identifying the areas you wish to focus on to create a tailored development plan.

The overall aim of these one-to-one sessions is to help you identify the skills you would like to develop to be more effective both during and after your PhD. Topics covered include: evaluating your current skill levels; identifying the areas you wish to focus on to create a tailored development plan.

The overall aim of these one-to-one sessions is to help you identify the skills you would like to develop to be more effective both during and after your PhD. Topics covered include: evaluating your current skill levels; identifying the areas you wish to focus on to create a tailored development plan.

The overall aim of these one-to-one sessions is to help you identify the skills you would like to develop to be more effective both during and after your PhD. Topics covered include: evaluating your current skill levels; identifying the areas you wish to focus on to create a tailored development plan.

The overall aim of these one-to-one sessions is to help you identify the skills you would like to develop to be more effective both during and after your PhD. Topics covered include: evaluating your current skill levels; identifying the areas you wish to focus on to create a tailored development plan.

The overall aim of these one-to-one sessions is to help you identify the skills you would like to develop to be more effective both during and after your PhD. Topics covered include: evaluating your current skill levels; identifying the areas you wish to focus on to create a tailored development plan.