Researcher Development Programme (RDP) course timetable

What are transferable skills, why are they important and how do you know which ones to develop? This course gives you the chance to find out the answer to all these questions and more. It is also your chance to have input into the types of training you would like to spend your time on and speak to the people who could help develop them.

What are transferable skills, why are they important and how do you know which ones to develop? This course gives you the chance to find out the answer to all these questions and more. It is also your chance to have input into the types of training you would like to spend your time on and speak to the people who could help develop them.

What are transferable skills, why are they important and how do you know which ones to develop? This course gives you the chance to find out the answer to all these questions and more. It is also your chance to have input into the types of training you would like to spend your time on and speak to the people who could help develop them.

What are transferable skills, why are they important and how do you know which ones to develop? This course gives you the chance to find out the answer to all these questions and more. It is also your chance to have input into the types of training you would like to spend your time on and speak to the people who could help develop them.

Managing a project, such as your research project, is a key skill in being an effective researcher. Yet project management is often poorly understood, which in turn can lead to projects running out of time and money, and overworking people.

The overall aim of this blended online and face-to-face course is to give you the foundational project management knowledge you need to complete your research project and the opportunity to embed the learning. Through online topics and goals, by the end of the course, participants will know how to:

• Plan a project
• Implement a project
• Define a project
• Manage yourself effectively
• Run effective project meetings
• Identify and manage risks to your project
• Work well with others
• Cope when things go wrong
• Close a project

This course complements the supervising training and information your Department will provide. It is a course that consists of: online material introducing the basics of undergraduate teaching in Cambridge; a face-to-face workshop, that is based on discussions and group activities; and follow-up online material that consolidates what you have learned so far.

By the end of this course you will know:

• the purpose of supervisions at Cambridge
• how to deal with common supervision scenarios
• how to provide effective feedback
• the practicalities of starting to supervise

Topics covered:

Stage 1 – Online

• Introduction to supervising (including what supervisions are, format, preparing for them)
• Background information for those who need it (British education system, Cambridge undergraduate system)

Stage 2 - Face-to-face workshop

• Role of a supervisor
• Dealing with different supervision scenarios
• Departmental information

Stage 3 – Online

• Summary of what you have learnt
• Practical tips and advice
• Resources for ongoing support and information

Building and maintaining a professional reputation is an essential skill for researchers at any stage of their careers. This course will help researchers to develop assertive communication strategies to enhance their professionalism through everyday interactions with others.

By the end of the course, you will:

• Understand the benefits of being assertive
• Know what assertiveness looks and sounds like
• Enhance your skills in communicating assertively

Topics covered:

• how to develop an assertive mind-set
• the difference between assertive, aggressive, indirectly aggressive and passive thinking and behaviour
• guidance on how to use assertive language in day-to-day conversation
• identifying your rights and responsibilities

The Teaching Associate Programme (TAP) is a year-long programme which supports early career researchers who have some responsibility for teaching and learning. TAP is accredited by the Higher Education Academy (HEA), and, if you successfully complete all elements of the programme, you will become an Associate Fellow of the HEA. Applications are open to researchers from any discipline who can confirm both that they have the minimum prior experience of teaching or supporting learning within higher education and that they will have some teaching during the programme. In this way, the programme enables you to reflect on your own current practice, to explore ideas and approaches for enhancing your teaching, and to think about your future development as a higher education professional.

There is an introductory session, plus 4 days of complusory training, which you must complete, but otherwise the programme has a high level of flexibility and participants are expected to plan their TAP work to fit around other activities. Help and support is available throughout the year to enable students to achieve this, and to get the best from the programme.

This course complements the supervising training and information your Department will provide. It is a course that consists of: online material introducing the basics of undergraduate teaching in Cambridge; a face-to-face workshop, that is based on discussions and group activities; and follow-up online material that consolidates what you have learned so far.

By the end of this course you will know:

• the purpose of supervisions at Cambridge
• how to deal with common supervision scenarios
• how to provide effective feedback
• the practicalities of starting to supervise

Topics covered:

Stage 1 - Online

• Introduction to supervising (including what supervisions are, format, preparing for them)
• Background information for those who need it (British education system, Cambridge undergraduate system)

Stage 2 - Face-to-face workshop

• Role of a supervisor
• Dealing with different supervision scenarios
• Departmental information

Stage 3 - Online

• Summary of what you have learnt
• Practical tips and advice
• Resources for ongoing support and information

What are transferable skills, why are they important and how do you know which ones to develop? This course gives you the chance to find out the answer to all these questions and more. It is also your chance to have input into the types of training you would like to spend your time on and speak to the people who could help develop them.

What are transferable skills, why are they important and how do you know which ones to develop? This course gives you the chance to find out the answer to all these questions and more. It is also your chance to have input into the types of training you would like to spend your time on and speak to the people who could help develop them.

What are transferable skills, why are they important and how do you know which ones to develop? This course gives you the chance to find out the answer to all these questions and more. It is also your chance to have input into the types of training you would like to spend your time on and speak to the people who could help develop them.

What are transferable skills, why are they important and how do you know which ones to develop? This course gives you the chance to find out the answer to all these questions and more. It is also your chance to have input into the types of training you would like to spend your time on and speak to the people who could help develop them.

What are transferable skills, why are they important and how do you know which ones to develop? This course gives you the chance to find out the answer to all these questions and more. It is also your chance to have input into the types of training you would like to spend your time on and speak to the people who could help develop them.

What are transferable skills, why are they important and how do you know which ones to develop? This course gives you the chance to find out the answer to all these questions and more. It is also your chance to have input into the types of training you would like to spend your time on and speak to the people who could help develop them.

What are transferable skills, why are they important and how do you know which ones to develop? This course gives you the chance to find out the answer to all these questions and more. It is also your chance to have input into the types of training you would like to spend your time on and speak to the people who could help develop them.

Why this course might make a difference: Beginning a PhD can be a daunting experience for many people. It is the transition from being taught to having responsibility for your workload and deadlines.

How do you make a start? Are there specific requirements? What can you expect from your supervisor? These and many other questions will be addressed during the course.

By the end of this course, you will:

• make a draft of your research proposal
• plan a year ahead
• have an action plan (next three months) on what will you do and strategies for carrying it out

Topics covered:

• Defining your research project
• PhD timeline
• You and your supervisor
• Planning and managing your PhD
• PhD skills

What are transferable skills, why are they important and how do you know which ones to develop? This course gives you the chance to find out the answer to all these questions and more. It is also your chance to have input into the types of training you would like to spend your time on and speak to the people who could help develop them.

What are transferable skills, why are they important and how do you know which ones to develop? This course gives you the chance to find out the answer to all these questions and more. It is also your chance to have input into the types of training you would like to spend your time on and speak to the people who could help develop them.

This introductory workshop will examine the processes of preparing and giving lectures. It will encourage you to consider what makes a good lecture and what lecturing is for. The workshop is interactive: it is a chance to exchange experiences and ideas with peers and to think of feedback and evaluation.

*Please note that this course is not aimed at PhD students*

This course complements the supervising training and information your Department will provide. It is a course that consists of: online material introducing the basics of undergraduate teaching in Cambridge; a face-to-face workshop, that is based on discussions and group activities; and follow-up online material that consolidates what you have learned so far.

By the end of this course you will know:

• the purpose of supervisions at Cambridge
• how to deal with common supervision scenarios
• how to provide effective feedback
• the practicalities of starting to supervise

Topics covered:

Stage 1 - Online

• Introduction to supervising (including what supervisions are, format, preparing for them)
• Background information for those who need it (British education system, Cambridge undergraduate system)

Stage 2 - Face-to-face workshop

• Role of a supervisor
• Dealing with different supervision scenarios
• Departmental information

Stage 3 - Online

• Summary of what you have learnt
• Practical tips and advice
• Resources for ongoing support and information

This course is aimed at those who would like guidance on how to demonstrate effectively in practical sessions run in Life Sciences. It is available to those who are new to demonstrating or just want to brush up their skills. How are practicals run? What makes a good demonstrator? How do you get the most out of the students during their practical? What is the purpose of a practical? Find out the answer to these questions and more.

This introductory workshop examines the processes of preparing and giving lectures. It will encourage you to consider what makes a good lecture and what lecturing is for. The workshop is interactive: it is divided into two parts and begins with a presentation by an experienced lecturer after which you will have the opportunity to exchange experiences and ideas with peers.

*Please note that this course is not aimed at PhD students*

This course complements the supervising training and information your Department will provide. It is a course that consists of: online material introducing the basics of undergraduate teaching in Cambridge; a face-to-face workshop, that is based on discussions and group activities; and follow-up online material that consolidates what you have learned so far.

By the end of this course you will know:

• the purpose of supervisions at Cambridge
• how to deal with common supervision scenarios
• how to provide effective feedback
• the practicalities of starting to supervise

Topics covered:

Stage 1 – Online

• Introduction to supervising (including what supervisions are, format, preparing for them)
• Background information for those who need it (British education system, Cambridge undergraduate system)

Stage 2 - Face-to-face workshop

• Role of a supervisor
• Dealing with different supervision scenarios
• Departmental information

Stage 3 – Online

• Summary of what you have learnt
• Practical tips and advice
• Resources for ongoing support and information

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.

What are transferable skills, why are they important and how do you know which ones to develop? This course gives you the chance to find out the answer to all these questions and more. It is also your chance to have input into the types of training you would like to spend your time on and speak to the people who could help develop them.

What are transferable skills, why are they important and how do you know which ones to develop? This course gives you the chance to find out the answer to all these questions and more. It is also your chance to have input into the types of training you would like to spend your time on and speak to the people who could help develop them.

What are transferable skills, why are they important and how do you know which ones to develop? This course gives you the chance to find out the answer to all these questions and more. It is also your chance to have input into the types of training you would like to spend your time on and speak to the people who could help develop them.

What are transferable skills, why are they important and how do you know which ones to develop? This course gives you the chance to find out the answer to all these questions and more. It is also your chance to have input into the types of training you would like to spend your time on and speak to the people who could help develop them.

What are transferable skills, why are they important and how do you know which ones to develop? This course gives you the chance to find out the answer to all these questions and more. It is also your chance to have input into the types of training you would like to spend your time on and speak to the people who could help develop them.

What are transferable skills, why are they important and how do you know which ones to develop? This course gives you the chance to find out the answer to all these questions and more. It is also your chance to have input into the types of training you would like to spend your time on and speak to the people who could help develop them.

What are transferable skills, why are they important and how do you know which ones to develop? This course gives you the chance to find out the answer to all these questions and more. It is also your chance to have input into the types of training you would like to spend your time on and speak to the people who could help develop them.