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This interactive workshop is designed for people who already have some experience of presenting and the basic principles involved, but would like to develop their skills in this area to a higher level. There is a particular focus on presenting online

During the workshop, you will be given time to design and deliver a short (5-10 minutes) online presentation to a small audience comprised of your fellow researchers.

This course is designed for students with some presentation experience and/or for students that have completed the Basic Presentation Skills course.

Learn how to create and deliver an effective presentation.

Most postgraduate researchers benefit from giving presentations about their research by gaining feedback, sharing their ideas and/or findings, and raising their profile in the research community. Therefore, learning how to present your research effectively is an important skill to develop during the course of your doctorate.

This session will take your evaluation thinking to the next level, as it will explore the evaluation process in detail. The session will look at how to identify and measure key metrics, how to analyse data and how to write evaluation reports. You will discover how to plan event and activity specific evaluation and explore question formation by using evidence informed approaches to uncover what can (and can’t) be asked. The group session will be followed by the opportunity for a one-to-one 15-minute consultation with the trainer to work through problems, situations or ideas specific to your project.

The training will be led by engagement consultant Jamie Gallagher. Jamie is an award-winning freelance communicator and engagement professional with ten years’ experience in the delivery and evaluation of quality engagement projects. Working across dozens of institutions and subject areas he has helped improve the reach, profile and impact of research engagement in almost every discipline. As a specialist in evaluation, Jamie provides consultancy services to charities and universities helping them to demonstrate their impact and understand their audiences and stakeholders. Jamie is also a science communicator and can often be found on TV, radio or stage making research accessible.

We live in visually over-saturated society. How can we use visual information to help communicate an idea with impact and effectiveness? Animation can be a powerful tool to convey a message and to capture your audiences attention and interest. It allows huge leaps in time/ concept because we have accepted the visual language of cinema, we are soaked in it, so a car can become a dinosaur and a tennis ball a mitochondria. Animation allows a whole concept to be encapsulated and transmitted without the barrier of language, across cultures.

This course will introduce you to a range of animation and storytelling techniques using simple exercises to get you started on animating your own research, and feel more confident in working with visual material. The trainer will work with you personally to develop your new creative skills and to get started with your very own research visualisation.

The course will be led by Sally Stevens. Sally is an artist and animator based in Bristol, UK. Her moving image work encompasses 2D animation techniques including hand-drawn and paper cut-out, as well as video editing. She is interested in the use of animation in relation to performance, in visual analogy as a scientific tool, and has a fascination with composition and with the timing of things. She has a background in illustration and music, and has worked with theatre, orchestras and music groups to produce visual material for live events as well as video. She studied Animation MA at the Royal College of Art and since graduating has worked as a freelancer in London and Bristol, for clients including The Jersey Maritime Museum, The School of Life, the Disney Channel, M&C Saatchi, and Sound UK.

This course will give an introduction to Public and Patient Involvement. You will find out about local support available in the region to help plan, deliver and build PPI into research, that will improve research for patients and services users and carers. This course will be delivered by Dr Amanda Stranks, PPI/E and Communications Strategy Lead NIHR Cambridge BRC Communications and PPI/E Department.

Improvised comedy, better known simply as “improv”, describes a wide variety of theatrical forms which all share the key characteristic that content, scenes, and characters are creating spontaneously by the performers. Successful improvisors embody a set of core skills, summarized by the phrase “Yes, and…”, which can be readily taught and learnt, and which can be used by practicing scientists and science communicators to provide a framework for more effective communication and collaboration. Although born in very different contexts, improv’s core skills embody the values underpinning the shift to more participatory and dialogic forms of public engagement in the UK in recent decades.

This training is an unashamedly entertaining and enjoyable introduction to improv for scientists hoping to do better when undertaking challenging intellectual tasks in front of others and when interacting with others when you wish to be—and wish to be seen to be—responsive to their perspectives and opinions. The training is not about being funny or making people laugh, but is instead about the underlying skills which lead to successful improv, and no one should be put off for a fear of “not being funny enough”.

As a highly interactive training, everyone must be minimally comfortable talking in front of others in order to get the most out of the course.

Have you ever wanted to get creative with your research – to discover how writing can bring a new perspective to your research? How your words can engage with new audiences about the academic research that you are passionate about?

This training will enable you to develop creative ways by which you can engage with the public, providing you with the resources to be more confident in developing, and sharing, creative writing responses to your area of research.

The course will introduce creative writing for poetry and prose, and textual writing for exhibition / display. It will discuss developing writing for performance and for publication and work with you to bring out the creative responses that lay within your own work. There will be the opportunity to receive written feedback throughout the week, to share your work at a final showcase, and to discuss your work in a 1-to-1 session with the course tutor on Wednesday 14th July (if requested in advance).

The training will be led by David Cain. David’s most recent book, Truth Street, was shortlisted for the prestigious Forward Prizes for Poetry (2019). David brings his writing experience together with a passion for pubic engagement - he currently leads the delivery of the Cambridge Festival.

You don’t think you are creative? Think again! This course is all about discovering easily accessible methods of visual storytelling to make your research more engaging. Visualisations are key to successful research story telling (and often research processes itself). They can help engage wide audiences effectively as well as communicate research quickly and intuitively to a wide range of audiences. This course will introduce you to a range of illustration techniques using simple exercises to get you started on illustrating your own research, and feel more confident in working with visual material. No previous knowledge or special equipment required.

The trainer will work with you personally to develop your new creative skills and to get started with your very own research visualisation.

The course will be led by Sally Stevens. Sally is an artist and animator based in Bristol, UK. Her moving image work encompasses 2D animation techniques including hand-drawn and paper cut-out, as well as video editing. She is interested in the use of animation in relation to performance, in visual analogy as a scientific tool, and has a fascination with composition and with the timing of things. She has a background in illustration and music, and has worked with theatre, orchestras and music groups to produce visual material for live events as well as video. She studied Animation MA at the Royal College of Art and since graduating has worked as a freelancer in London and Bristol, for clients including The Jersey Maritime Museum, The School of Life, the Disney Channel, M&C Saatchi, and Sound UK.

A thorough awareness of issues relating to research ethics and research integrity are essential to producing excellent research. This session will provide an introduction to the ethical responsibilities of researchers at the University and explore issues of good research practice, research integrity and research misconduct. It will be interactive, using case studies to better understand key ethical issues and challenges in all areas.

The course will:

• explore the issue of research misconduct in academia and facilitate discussion of why and how it occurs
• explain the University and national expectations around research integrity 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

The course will be delivered by the Research Governance Team in the Research Strategy Office.

A recommended course by the Researcher Development Programme as part of the University of Cambridge's subscription to LinkedIn Learning.

The course can be accessed here.

A curated collection of recommended courses by Researcher Development as part of the University of Cambridge's subscription to LinkedIn Learning.

The collection can be accessed here.

A curated collection of recommended courses by Researcher Development as part of the University of Cambridge's subscription to LinkedIn Learning.

The collection can be accessed here.

A curated collection of recommended courses by Researcher Development as part of the University of Cambridge's subscription to LinkedIn Learning.

The collection can be accessed here.

A curated collection of recommended courses by Researcher Development as part of the University of Cambridge's subscription to LinkedIn Learning.

The collection can be accessed here.

A recommended course by the Researcher Development Programme as part of the University of Cambridge's subscription to LinkedIn Learning.

The course can be accessed here.

Managing a project is a key skill for an effective researcher, yet project management is often poorly understood.

This can lead to projects running out of time or money, or overworking people. This online course gives you the foundational project management knowledge needed to complete your research project successfully, as well as the opportunity to implement and thereby embed this knowledge.

Outcomes:

• Understand how to define, plan and implement a project
• Know how to manage yourself and others effectively
• Be able to identify and plan for risks and cope with challenges

How to Access the Course

In order to enrol onto Managing a Research Project, you will need an enrolment key. Please use the appropriate key for your School.

Postgraduate School of Life Sciences: PSLS-mrp20
Physical Sciences and Technology: SPST-mrp20
Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences: AHSS-mrp20

You can access the course and enrol at the following link: https://www.vle.cam.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=135202

Finding time in your diary as well as the motivation to fulfill all of your academic writing commitments can be challenging. One way to help you to focus on whatever writing task you need to complete is to attend a writing retreat. This online writing retreat is designed to provide you with clearly structured sessions for writing, useful techniques to get you started and mindfulness activities to ease you through the more emotional aspects of writing. You will also be asked to set specific, achievable writing targets for the retreat, which you will share with other attendees. The process of declaring your targets in this way helps to motivate you to actually achieve them.

You've got interesting research to share, but is anyone listening?!

Presenting your research is an essential skills for a researcher, be it with your peers, at a major conference, or even to a room full of schoolchildren. This online toolkit covers a whole range of performance and presentation techniques for you to work through and incorporate into your presentations, in your own time. From crafting a story to handling the dreaded Q&A, there’s guaranteed to be something there to help you improve your presentations.

If you particularly struggle with the performance aspects of giving a presentation and don't feel comfortable talking in front of others, then you may also like to attend the Better Presentations workshop.

Outcomes:

• Understand how to create a compelling presentation
• Know some practical tips for giving an engaging performance
• Understand how to continue improving with each presentation

How to Access the Course

In order to enrol for the Presentation Skills Toolkit, you will need an enrolment key.

Please use the appropriate key for your School.

Life Sciences: PSLS-pst20
Physical Sciences and Technology: SPST-pst20
Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences: AHSS-pst20

You can access the course and enrol at the following link: https://www.vle.cam.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=129841

This beginner’s course is designed to get you thinking about presenting with impact. Giving presentations is an essential skill for a researcher, be it in your department, at a major conference, or in your next job interview! You know your subject but sometimes issues of performance and clarity stop you being your best.

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

Before attending this online session you will have to prepare a 5 minute presentation. You will deliver your presentation to the rest of the participants and receive feedback.

For this event we are joined by Rach Maggs, a trainer, facilitator and coach with around 17 years experience of working with PhD researchers at all stages. She’ll be looking at the basics of assertiveness:

What it is and isn’t.

What assertive behaviours look like.

How “ just being a bit more assertive” needs a little thought.

And a few hints and tips so you can start to develop your own assertiveness skills

An interactive and informal session looking at:

• Your own assertiveness – where are you starting from and what do you want to work on?
• The assertive and the unassertive you – when do you behaviour differently and why?
• Some theory and hints and tips that will help you to work your assertiveness.
• Putting it into practice
• Actions to move your assertiveness forwards.

Creativity is a critical part of research, helping people look at old problems in new ways and facilitating leaps in thinking that seem logical in hindsight but are far from it in the moment. In this practical online session we will look at exercises, tools and techniques that can boost your creative confidence so you can apply it to your own research. Although not essential, participants are asked to think of a particular problem or challenge in their research before the workshop so they can practice some of the tips and techniques - who knows, it could be the breakthrough you’ve been looking for!

Are you completely overwhelmed by the reading that you have to do? Would you like to be able to scan long documents for the important points?

This online course can help you to make the most of the time available to you by ensuring that your reading isn't slowing you down, and that you are reading strategically. You can complete the course at your own pace.

Outcomes:

• Identify what holds back your personal reading speed
• Practise techniques for improving your speed
• Learn how to read articles strategically

How to Access the Course

In order to enrol for the Reading Efficiency Toolkit, you will need an enrolment key. Please use the appropriate key for your School.

Postgraduate School of Life Sciences: PSLS-ret20
Physical Sciences and Technology: SPST-ret20
Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences: AHSS-ret20

You can access the course and enrol at the following link: https://www.vle.cam.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=134122

This course seeks to provide you with an overview of the principles, responsibilities and importance of research integrity. We will cover what research misconduct looks like, how it can be avoided and reported, and where you can find help for maintaining and promoting integrity in your research work.

This course is not intended to replace discipline specific or more comprehensive integrity training, but rather to provide the minimum level of knowledge that all employees and research students engaged in research at the University of Cambridge are expected to possess. It is particularly suitable for new staff or PhD students, and anyone wishing to develop their awareness of research integrity.