Browse or search for courses

How to support students’ skills for giving constructive feedback, especially when it is difficult to hear

Being able to deliver feedback to peers is a key management skill and something engineering students report finding difficult, due to the relational and emotional implications. This experiential activity provides students with emotional management strategies and a first, low-stakes opportunity to apply them when both giving feedback and responding to feedback received. This workshop is designed to target the development of the following skills:

• Formulating feedback to be “heard” by others by attending to their emotional response.
• Managing your emotions when receiving and responding to feedback.

There will be refreshments at 9am and 10.30am, followed by another workshop on Supporting students to develop coaching and peer teaching skills and a sandwich lunch at 12pm.

About the trainer

Joelyn de Lima is a scientist & pedagogical advisor at the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL). Trained in the biological sciences, she transitioned to being a discipline-based education researcher. Currently her research and practice are focused on enhancing the higher educational experience for students. Her background has given her a unique blend of perspectives – in terms of culture (She has lived, worked, and taught on 3 continents), theoretical grounding (natural sciences and education), and practice (research & teaching, formal & informal education).

Join to practice your British Sign Language skills in a friendly environment.

Please note this course is not credit-bearing and so cannot be used as part of a Tripos.

“Pronouncing someone’s name correctly can make people feel valued, honoured and respected — and mispronouncing their name creates real problems.” Gerardo Ochoa

This session will explore Chinese names. How to pronounce them. What it says about the person. The stories behind names. The focus will be on pronunciation but you will also be welcome to share your own experience and tell your stories.

We will focus on how to overcome listening difficulties and discuss a range of effective active listening strategies for academic, professional and social settings, tapping into CUED contexts.

• NB. Please read ATTENDANCE section below before signing up for this course.

We will focus on refining participants' language for correspondence, focusing on native-speakers norms and choice of words as well as register for formal versus casual correspondence

• NB. Please read the Attendance section below before signing up for this course.

Challenging conversations are opportunities to embrace. Why? Because they are catalysts for better connection and understanding. Often, they’re exactly what you need to advance in your life or career. Suitable for both non-native and native English speakers, this session provides a toolkit to help you navigate difficult dialogues with confidence and clarity, manage conflict with sensitivity, and set healthy boundaries with integrity and respect.

• NB. Please read Attendance section below before signing up for this course.

This interactive online workshop provides guidance and feedback on the language and strategies of successful negotiation.

• NB. Please read Attendance section below before signing up for this course.

This online interactive workshop provides guidance and feedback on sharing your research clearly and effectively in spontaneous and prepared situations.

• NB. Please read Attendance section below before signing up for this course.

This workshop provides strategies, tips and feedback on presenting yourself with maximum impact in spoken situations, with advice also provided for written self-presentations.

• NB. Please read Attendance section below before signing up for this course.

In today's rapidly changing world, we need a new mindset and specific skills to navigate new challenges caused by disruption. This workshop will address the qualities needed to thrive in 'the new normal'—a landscape defined by volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity (VUCA). The secret is to turn challenges into opportunities, but how?

Join our workshop to:

• Gain a clear understanding of what VUCA is and explore practical ways to leverage it to your advantage.
• Identify the core skills necessary to navigate the VUCA environment successfully.
• Develop a practical plan tailored to your own growth and adaptation in this in this dynamic environment.

Learn how to navigate the complexities of today's world - join us for an interactive online session.

This is not a webinar. This is an interactive workshop and you will be expected to contribute to the session.

To participate you must have your webcam switched on.

In today's globalised world, effective communication in English transcends the boundaries of native and non-native speakers. It's a shared journey, and English-speaking individuals—whether native or proficient—have a pivotal role to play in fostering inclusivity.

Join our workshop to:

• Engage in an experiment highlighting the challenges of using English as a universal language of communication.
• Dive into the concept of accent bias.
• Develop a heightened cultural awareness of the subtle nuances between direct and indirect communication styles, and gain valuable tips and techniques to excel in international settings.

This is not a webinar. This is an interactive workshop and you will be expected to contribute to the session.

To participate you must have your webcam switched on.

Did you know that long before we developed languages, humans relied exclusively on non-verbal signals to understand each other? Even today, our unconscious brains are finely tuned to these cues, shaping our first impressions within seconds. Whether you're presenting, interviewing for a job, or working in a team, becoming aware of how you come across can be the key to success.

Join our workshop to:

• Gain a deep understanding of the fundamentals of non-verbal communication.
• Explore how non-verbal cues vary across cultures and discuss different preferences.
• Discover the art of using body language to project confidence, build rapport, and increase your presence-both in physical and virtual interactions.

This is not a webinar. This is an interactive workshop and you will be expected to contribute to the session.

To participate you must have your webcam switched on.

Most students and researchers will experience culture shock in some form when interacting with people from all over the world in Cambridge. While we all speak the same language, the unwritten rules of social norms can make our interactions challenging. If you have recently moved to the UK, you might feel lost or disoriented. If you come from the UK but are not accustomed to interacting with people from different cultural backgrounds, you might also struggle. International diversity is key to Cambridge's success, so embracing culture clash as part of the journey is important.

Join our workshop to:

• Gain a better understanding of the cultural integration process.
• Learn about culture shock and what you can do to navigate it.
• Discuss the positives of diverse cultures as part of your unique experience at Cambridge.

Get ready to overcome culture shock and join us for an interactive online session.

This is not a webinar. This is an interactive workshop and you will be expected to contribute to the session.

You must have your webcam switched on.

Do you think your future career opportunities are solely determined by luck and being in the right place at the right time? Think again! Learning the art of strategic networking is one of the most crucial factors in shaping your career. It’s never too early (or too late) to start!

Join our workshop to:

• Master the optimal mindset for increasing your 'luck' through relationship building.
• Explore various strategies for growing and maintaining a powerful network.
• Create a personalized plan for elevating your networking game to the next level.

Register now and open the door to a brighter professional future.

This is not a webinar. This is an interactive workshop and you will be expected to contribute to the session.

To participate you must have your webcam switched on.

In today's fast-paced world, remote work has become the new norm, presenting unique challenges for engineers. To excel in this environment, you need the right skills. Building psychological safety is especially challenging when working across cultures, making it crucial to learn how to create an inclusive environment where every voice is heard and valued, all while achieving your team's goals.

Join our workshop to:

• Delve into the importance of psychological safety and rapport building.
• Learn techniques to foster trust and connection among team members in a virtual setting.
• Explore the intercultural aspects of remote collaboration, as diverse teams often encounter unique communication and cultural challenges.

This is not a webinar. This is an interactive workshop and you will be expected to contribute to the session.

To participate you must have your webcam switched on.

In today's competitive landscape for future engineers, technical skills alone won't make you stand out. Recruiters now prioritise 'soft' skills, such as collaboration, communication, time management, and resilience. These skills are challenging to teach and showcase.

Join our workshop to:

• Understand what soft skills are and why they matter during your time at Cambridge University and in your future career.
• Learn how to recognize your unique soft skills and effectively present them to future employers and within the academic context.
• Gain practical guidance on leveraging your strengths and improving areas of development in soft skills.

Unlock the potential of your soft skills to excel both at Cambridge University and in your future engineering career and join us for an interactive online session.

This is not a webinar. This is an interactive workshop and you will be expected to contribute to the session.

To participate you must have your webcam switched on.

Have you ever struggled with other students' or colleagues' styles of working? Have you wondered why some people seem to be more direct than others, some don’t seem to be interested in socialising, or perhaps others are more relaxed about deadlines? Culture, and not only the national aspect of it, plays a significant role in how we learn to communicate and collaborate. Adjusting to cultural communication norms is more about shared values and expectations than speaking the same language. It requires a specific set of awareness, attitudes, and skills.

Join our workshop to:

• Discuss cultural preferences for working.
• Develop self-awareness of your working preferences.
• Learn strategies for developing the right skills that will help you develop cultural intelligence.

This is not a webinar. This is an interactive workshop and you will be expected to contribute to the session.

To participate you must have your webcam switched on.

This course is designed for learners who have very limited or no previous knowledge of British Sign Language (BSL). The course aims to enable individuals to understand and use BSL effectively for purposes of practical communication with deaf or hard of hearing people, to develop understanding of the BSL sentence syntax and to learn more about a Deaf Culture.

Please note this course is not credit-bearing and so cannot be used as part of a Tripos.

This course is designed for non-native speakers of English and covers a variety of spoken language, ranging from the more formal language needed for seminars, discussions and conferences, to the more informal everyday language used in the office or the student house, or in wider social settings, whether online or face-to-face. The course, wherever possible, will take into account the needs and wishes of the participants. This is an opportunity to meet people and to practise your spoken English online in an informal and relaxed environment.

• NB. Please read Attendance section below before signing up for this course.

This course, which is for non-native speakers, will cover important aspects of English pronunciation for effective academic, professional and social interaction. We will meet together as a group for approximately one hour a week and will schedule 30-minute individual supervisions (after the group sessions between 11.30am-1pm) for personalised input to accompany the course's group input.

• NB. Please read the Attendance section below before signing up for this course.

This workshop addresses common writing errors of Engineers related to structure, style and accuracy. It forms part of CLIC's Lent term series of online masterclasses designed to assist CUED Research students in refining key areas of their writing.

• NB. Please read the Attendance section below before signing up for this course.

Blogs and online articles are becoming ever more important as a shop window to spread word of your work.

They can draw attention to the great things you’re doing, generate income, build partnerships and establish you as a leader in your field.

The statistics say organisations and their staff with blogs produce significantly more potential new opportunities and collaborations than those without.

This 90 minutes, highly interactive workshop teaches you all you need to know to write beautiful and highly beneficial blogs, from the importance of a title, to lovely layouts, and even smartphone photography.

Trainer bio

Simon Hall leads a course in writing, public speaking and storytelling skills at the University of Cambridge, and is a Senior Research Associate at Jesus College, Cambridge.

He also runs his own business communication agency, Creative Warehouse.

Simon has 20 books published, ranging from business and communication to crime fiction.

Previously, he was a broadcaster for 20 years, mostly as a BBC Television, Radio and Online News Correspondent.

This workshop focuses on effective editing strategies for Engineering writing. It forms part of CLIC's Lent term series of online masterclasses designed to assist CUED Research students in refining key areas of their writing. Classes include:

• Avoiding common errors in academic writing
• Unpacking journal articles for vocabulary use
• Self-editing skills
• Review of the tenets of academic writing for Engineers
• Writing for blogs

• NB. Please read the Attendance section below before signing up for this course.

This workshop focuses on how to exploit journal articles to improve quality and word choice in Engineering writing. It forms part of CLIC's Lent term series of online masterclasses designed to assist CUED Research students in refining key areas of their writing. Classes include:

• Avoiding common errors in academic writing
• Unpacking journal articles for vocabulary use
• Self-editing skills
• Review of the tenets of academic writing for Engineers
• Writing for blogs

• NB. Please read the Attendance section below before signing up for this course.

The focus is on structure, logical flow, the effective development of ideas, accuracy and critical analysis. This course is mainly aimed at non-native English speakers but native speakers are welcome to attend.

• NB. Please read the Attendance section below before signing up for this course.