Department of Engineering course timetable

Do you want to increase the probability of completing your PhD on time and be happier doing it? In this workshop, Dr Sue Jackson will share and discuss these 'secrets' with the aim of allowing you to reflect on what you can easily do to help yourself achieve this aim. If you haven't already been to this workshop as part of your RCC, do come along.

So, you’ve got an important presentation coming up and you want make the right impression.

Whether you’re new to presenting, looking to speak at your first conference, or wanting important tips to finesse your delivery or presenting to a wider audience, this is the course for you.

The course is in two parts:

The pre-workshop information covers: how to prepare an effective presentation: the essential questions that guide all good talks; different, appropriate methods to structure it; tips for making the most of powerpoint; ways to overcome nerves and present with confidence. As you go, you will apply this learning to create a 5 minute presentation.

In the supportive environment of the face-to-face workshop, you will deliver your 5 minute talk to a group of 10 people in the first session. Then in the second session you will receive 25 minutes 1-2-1 coaching with the trainer to work on one or more specific aspects of presenting, linked to the pre course material and the feedback you receive from the group.

This session, delivered by the Department's Library and Information Services, will focus on the literature search, helping you to develop a systematic search strategy and make best use of the print and electronic resources available to you. Please bring a laptop as you will have the opportunity to conduct some initial searching on platforms such as Web of Knowledge and Scopus and will learn how to keep up to date with current research throughout the course of their research project.

Julian Peck and Alexandra Bolton from Cambridge Enterprise, will provide you with some of the vocabulary and ideas behind intellectual property (copyright, patents, confidentiality agreements) in the context of University Research. A useful starting point, which could prevent you making costly mistakes in the future.

This session will take students through the nuts and bolts of putting together journal articles and conference posters as well as managing their online profiles and tracking the impact of their research. It will give an overview of the peer review process and help students meet their funder Open access and research data requirements. This session deliberately excludes subject-specific advice such as which journal or conferences to choose, which is more appropriately provided by supervisors. It will however highlight resources such as Sherpa/Romeo and journal impact factors that provide information that may help reach these decisions.

In this popular talk given by Prof. Tim Wilkinson, you will get all the essentials for understanding the full process of getting your papers published from submission to publication. Recommended for all graduates.

This session will take students through the nuts and bolts of putting together journal articles and conference posters as well as managing their online profiles and tracking the impact of their research. It will give an overview of the peer review process and help students meet their funder Open access and research data requirements. This session deliberately excludes subject-specific advice such as which journal or conferences to choose, which is more appropriately provided by supervisors. It will however highlight resources such as Sherpa/Romeo and journal impact factors that provide information that may help reach these decisions.

This one hour lecture, given by Dr Stephan Hofmann, Reader in Nanotechnology, provides a useful guide to starting out in research for a PhD and developing your own approach to produce a successful outcome.

This session, given by the Library's Information Service will help you quickly and easily identify the information that will be of most value and relevance to your own research. It will also provide an introduction to referencing, reference management and avoiding plagiarism. If you bring a laptop, by the end of the session, you will also have started to put together your own data management plan, addressing how you will organise, preserve and make your data available (or limit availability!) in accordance with funding requirements and ethical considerations.

Staff from the Department's Library and Information Services will take you through the nuts and bolts of putting together journal articles and conference posters as well as managing your online profiles and tracking the impact of your research. It will give an overview of the peer review process and help students meet their funder Open access and research data requirements. This session deliberately excludes subject-specific advice such as which journal or conferences to choose, which is more appropriately provided by supervisors. It will however highlight resources such as Sherpa/Romeo and journal impact factors that provide information that may help reach these decisions. Bring a laptop.

Moodle can be much more than just a home for lecture notes. In this 30 to 45 mins session we will look at some of the other tools in Moodle that you could make use of: collecting and grading assignments, encouraging collaborative working between your students and scheduling events and supervisions. Come with questions, the participates will direct what we look at.

Thinking of using your Moodle course to supplement your teaching? We will look at course structure, how to add people, how to add content and how to talk to your students. We will also offer a refresher on copyright and Moodle. Come with questions, we will tailor the session to what you want to know.

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.

Aimed at 1st year PhD students this course is designed to get you thinking and working effectively on your end of first year report. 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 session.