Graduate School of Life Sciences course timetable
March 2025
| Mon 3 |
Introduction to Fellowships What is a Fellowship? Why are they useful? What could a Fellowship mean to your career? How do you create a successful application? Introducing Narrative CVs for researchers – how to share your professional and personal research contributions so that others will care as much as you do. |
| Tue 4 |
This session will look at UK copyright and the context of copyright of the university. In addition, participants will gain an understanding of maintaining rights, and getting permission for reusing things in their work. |
| Thu 6 |
This session introduces participants to the concept of research data, all the forms that it can take as well as negotiating the management of different data depending on their type. Topics such as effective storage, handling sensitive data, and developing best practice approaches to avoid data loss during a project will be covered. The session will also explore how to create a data management plan (DMP) and the support available, as well as providing an overview of useful tools and services both within the University of Cambridge and beyond. |
| Mon 10 |
What are you good at vs what are you good for What are you good at vs What are you good for? How to share the benefits of your research effectively with those who can benefit from and influence your impact. Establishing why your research is a good fit so you can position it successfully with the best host institution / programme / funder. |
| Mon 17 |
Persuasive Research Presentations and Pitches Using the Research Canvas and Pitching Canvas to design and deliver an impactful message. These are useful, interactive tools to help you articulate your ideas, persuade your audience and outline the benefits of your skills, your research and your impact. |
| Tue 18 |
Introduction to Policy
Finished
Led by "Sense About Science," participants will gain an understanding of how to approach writing a policy brief and why it needs to be different from an academic paper. We will provide a policy briefing template and guide ECRs through how they should approach each section – key findings, context, policy recommendations, plus language and tone – to get maximum engagement from policy makers. The second session is made up of group work and discussions so that participants can start thinking practically about how to approach policy engagement in their domain. We will work through policy engagement exercises, for example a zooming out exercise (what issues can you comment on, where can you lend your voice) and stakeholder mapping exercises (identify your policy maker and opinion-forming audience). Depending on the mix of participants, we will decide whether participants will be grouped according to research topic or kept in mixed groups. |
| Wed 19 |
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| Tue 25 |
Making the most of Networking
Finished
In this fun and interactive session Dr Steve Cross will help you develop the ways you talk about your work, and the ways you connect with people who might be able to help you. We'll look at how networking can make your working life easier and more rewarding, and come up with some strategies that suit you and your interests. |
| Mon 31 |
Fellowship Interview Guidance What happens in a Fellowship interview? What questions can you expect? What answers are they looking for? Explaining and establishing your development needs to make the most of your Fellowship to your best advantage. |
April 2025
| Fri 4 |
Being a researcher can be stressful, with managing the ups and downs of your PhD, balancing work and life and also having one eye on the future and what comes after you finish… This workshop is designed to help you build your resilience. You probably already have some strategies in place so we will reflect on the highs and lows you have already experienced, learn about 3 Cs of resilience (Commitment, Challenge, Control) and consider how we can better support your coping and wellbeing. In addition we will explore the role of procrastination and how this can impact our sense of resilience, looking at tools and techniques to overcome procrastination to improve wellbeing and resilience. |
May 2025
| Fri 2 |
Getting published is a central part of being a researcher. Peer-reviewed publications allow researchers to communicate their research to the broader research community, and thus, contribute to the body of work within their field. This is the first of a series of 6 workshops and will help doctoral researchers to identify suitable journals to submit their work to, along with understanding the submission process, open access, and copyright. |
| Fri 9 |
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A strong introduction sets the stage for your research by establishing its significance, outlining key questions, and engaging your readers. This workshop will guide doctoral researchers in crafting compelling introductions that provide a clear rationale for their studies, effectively positioning their work within the existing literature. |
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| Fri 16 |
The methods section is crucial for ensuring transparency and reproducibility in research. This workshop will help doctoral researchers structure their methods effectively, provide sufficient detail for replication, and justify their choices, ensuring clarity and rigor in their writing. |
| Fri 23 |
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| Thu 29 |
Publishing your research
Finished
This session will cover all the essential information needed to create an effective publication strategy. This includes choosing your professional name, considering what you actually want to publish, and how to choose where to publish, including a look at how to responsibly use journal metrics. We will also discuss the publication process and demystify things such as peer review and copyright transfer agreements, before exploring open access and Creative Commons. Participants should leave the session feeling confident that they know how create a good publication strategy for their research, with increased understanding of the topics covered |
| Fri 30 |
The discussion section is where researchers interpret their findings, connect them to existing work, and highlight their significance. This workshop will support doctoral researchers in developing well-structured discussions that critically engage with their results, acknowledge limitations, and propose future directions. |
June 2025
| Thu 5 |
How to use metrics responsibly
Finished
Metrics have become omnipresent in research assessment, but are often flawed and used irresponsibly. This session explores the guidelines in place to help researchers use metrics more responsibly, including recommendations from DORA and University guidance. We'll then look at common metrics such as journal impact factor and h-index, where they are found and how they are used in academia. Finally we will discuss some particular circumstances where researchers should aim to use metrics responsibly, such as tidying up your online profiles, choosing a journal and recruitment. Participants should leave the session more aware of the issues with particular research metrics and of the guidance available within the University, and confident in their ability to use metrics responsibly in their academic career. |
| Fri 6 |
An abstract is a concise summary that captures the essence of a research paper. This workshop will guide doctoral researchers in writing clear, engaging abstracts that effectively communicate their research questions, methods, key findings, and contributions to their field. |
| Mon 16 |
This session discusses the benefits and challenges of maintaining an online presence as a researcher. Part of two sessions on this topic, this first session looks at setting up your academic persona and using academic platforms. Starting with exploring what comes up through a quick Google search all the way through to maintaining profiles on academic sites, we will look at the pros and cons of online engagement. This will include tools such as ORCID, and networking sites such as academia.edu and ResearchGate. Participants should expect to have the opportunity to critically evaluate the various options presented in this session with the overall aim of being better informed when deciding where to invest their time and efforts when building an academic presence online. |
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This interactive online workshop led by Jenny Brady will enable PhD researchers to identify their natural talents and apply them during the PhD for self-leadership and when on the trajectory of independent research leaders. |
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| Thu 19 |
This session discusses the benefits and challenges of maintaining an online presence as a researcher. Part of two sessions on this topic, this second session looks at using social media as a researcher. We will look at the practicalities and pros and cons of online engagement through tools such as Twitter/X, Mastodon, YouTube and LinkedIn. Participants should expect to have the opportunity to critically evaluate the various options presented in this session with the overall aim of being better informed when deciding where to invest their time and efforts when building an academic presence online. |
July 2025
| Fri 18 |
Preparing for your Viva
[Places]
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