Postdoc Academy course timetable

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.

This session will run again in Easter Term. If you would like to be notified of future iterations of this session, please add yourself to the waitlist or register your interest.

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

Are you unsure how state pensions work in the UK, what the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) is, or how making international moves affects your pension as a postdoc?

Then join us for this information session for postdocs, delivered by the University’s Head of Group Pensions.

The session will cover:

• the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS)
• the State Pension system in the UK
• private pensions in the UK.

There will also be plenty of time for you to ask questions.

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

Queer Postdocs in Action is a set of interactive talks organised collaboratively by LGBTQ+@Cam and the Postdoc Academy. We will explore what it means to be a queer postdoc at Cambridge and if our queerness shapes or does not shape our research in any ways.

These sessions will provide interactive dialogue with postdocs from various fields to look at the similarities and differences in our experiences and build a community of queer researchers at Cambridge.

The first session will include:

• a panel discussion with members of the Q+ Network, Postdoc Academy and PdOC
• guidance on how to begin interacting with those networks and the wider University community
• optional LGBTQ+ Network social drinks at The Mill pub afterwards.

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

Do you have a deadline coming up or a piece of writing that’s long overdue? Or maybe some data analysis that keeps slipping to the bottom of your to-do list?

Our online retreats give you time, peace, and space to think and write. Each session will provide a friendly and constructive environment in which to meet like-minded peers, discuss challenges, and work in a focused way using the Pomodoro technique.

These virtual retreats are being hosted collaboratively across several institutions to encourage researchers across career stages and institutions to come together in a sustainable writing environment.

The retreats will take place several times per month throughout the academic year and you can attend as many as you like (within booking limits for each session).

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.

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.

This session runs termly. If you would like to be notified of future iterations of this session, please add yourself to the waitlist or register your interest.

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.

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.

This session will run again in Easter Term. If you would like to be notified of future iterations of this session, please add yourself to the waitlist or register your interest.

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

Join fellow academics for an engaging session that will elevate your ability to think critically and navigate challenging decision making in academia with confidence.

Learn practical strategies to analyse complex problems, confidently make sound decisions, and enhance your research impact. The workshop will employ logical thinking practice and bring to light common thinking fallacies and assumptions that can undermine quality decision making.

We will focus on three key areas:

• thinking fallacies and bias
• challenging assumptions
• strategic decision making frameworks.

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

Do you have a deadline coming up or a piece of writing that’s long overdue? Or maybe some data analysis that keeps slipping to the bottom of your to-do list?

Our online retreats give you time, peace, and space to think and write. Each session will provide a friendly and constructive environment in which to meet like-minded peers, discuss challenges, and work in a focused way using the Pomodoro technique.

These virtual retreats are being hosted collaboratively across several institutions to encourage researchers across career stages and institutions to come together in a sustainable writing environment.

The retreats will take place several times per month throughout the academic year and you can attend as many as you like (within booking limits for each session).

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

Do you have a deadline coming up or a piece of writing that’s long overdue? Or maybe some data analysis that keeps slipping to the bottom of your to-do list?

Our online retreats give you time, peace, and space to think and write. Each session will provide a friendly and constructive environment in which to meet like-minded peers, discuss challenges, and work in a focused way using the Pomodoro technique.

These virtual retreats are being hosted collaboratively across several institutions to encourage researchers across career stages and institutions to come together in a sustainable writing environment.

The retreats will take place several times per month throughout the academic year and you can attend as many as you like (within booking limits for each session).

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.

These informal sessions give you the opportunity to talk to members of the Postdoc Academy, helping you to figure out how you can begin interacting with us and the wider University community.

There will be the opportunity to ask questions within the small group or speak to us one-to-one.

These sessions provide:

• an introduction to our services, programmes and resources
• guidance on interacting with the wider community, including college affiliations
• signposting to the relevant areas of the University for any advice you may need
• connections to members of the Postdoc Academy team.

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

Do you have a deadline coming up or a piece of writing that’s long overdue? Or maybe some data analysis that keeps slipping to the bottom of your to-do list?

Our online retreats give you time, peace, and space to think and write. Each session will provide a friendly and constructive environment in which to meet like-minded peers, discuss challenges, and work in a focused way using the Pomodoro technique.

These virtual retreats are being hosted collaboratively across several institutions to encourage researchers across career stages and institutions to come together in a sustainable writing environment.

The retreats will take place several times per month throughout the academic year and you can attend as many as you like (within booking limits for each session).

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

This workshop offers a practical guide to communicating research to the broadest possible audiences via the mainstream media.

Sarah Collins and Jacqueline Garget from the University’s Research Communications team will take you behind the scenes of the processes and tactics used to get University research reported nationally and internationally in newspapers, online news sites, radio and TV - from identifying a potential news story, to responding to emerging coverage.

We will cover:

• how University press officers work
• what makes for an effective media release
• using assets including images
• distributing releases and pitching to journalists
• what to expect from any coverage
• giving media interviews and how to get your message across effectively.

The session will include practical tasks as well as an opportunity to ask questions and share experiences. It will be co-hosted by CCTL and the Postdoc Academy.

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

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.

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.