All Change and Programme Management Office courses

This peer support session offers you the opportunity to meet other mentees on the self-match mentoring programme. The session will be lightly facilitated by Ceren Caser, a longstanding and enthusiastic member of the programme and member of the mentoring project team. It is a short, informal session designed to offer mentees the chance to share their experiences and talk over any challenges they may be having. Talking to others can help to motivate you and keep you on track towards your goals, so that you can get the most out of your mentoring relationship. It is also a great way for you to network with others in the University.

Join the Post Graduate Masters community for their summer event. The session will kick off with an opportunity for members to share their experience and thoughts on assessments - what types of assessment are used, what is working well and what isn’t.

The second part of the event will explore the future of the CoP, including reflections from the current CoP team, an introduction to the new Teaching & Learning CoP, and a discussion on the future of the CoP.

Join us for the second Project Management Community of Practice Café Event focussed on: How important do you think it is to define roles and responsibilities?

These events will provide you with the opportunity to network with fellow CoP members in an informal breakout room format. Each session will start with an opening question, in this instance: How important do you think it is to define roles and responsibilities?, which you will have the opportunity to discuss in informal small groups.

They provide the space and opportunity to share knowledge, experience and answer questions in a safe and supportive environment.

Join us for the inaugural Project Management Community of Practice Topic Talk on frameworks and methodologies - the most popular area of discussion in the scoping survey.

The panel discussion will provide you with an opportunity to hear from colleagues working in project management across the University. Panellists will discuss which frameworks and methodologies they have used when managing projects, and provide real world examples of how these have been implemented within the University context.

Panellists:

• Katrina West - Business Improvement Manager (PG Funding Project), Cambridge Admissions Office
• Claire Michel - Medicine & Veterinary Medicine Curriculum Review Manager, Office of the School of Biological Sciences
• Mark Rowland - Head of Delivery Management Office, University Information Services

This will be followed by time to ask questions to panel members in a safe and supportive environment.

In this session we will explore the diverse ways in which we engage with the online world, and discuss mental and emotional health in the context of the different digital cultures we live in: social media, video streaming, and work collaboration platforms, among others. The concept of being Digitally Well will be introduced as a way of differentiating between digital habits that are humane and nourishing and those that are harmful and depleting, with a particular emphasis on emotional regulation and body awareness practices.

Questions to think about before this session:

· What are your most and least favourite online activities, and what emotional impact do they have on you?

· What online activities do you tend to seek out when you are experiencing difficult emotions?

About the Trainer

Teodora Pavkovic is an external trainer who will be leading the course. She is a psychologist, parenting coach and digital wellness consultant who utilizes the principles of emotional intelligence, neuroscience and positive psychology to inform and improve digital wellness for individuals, families and organizations. She conducts one-on-one coaching with children and adults, facilitates talks and workshops with educators and corporates, consults with a variety of for- and non-profit organizations and speaks on expert panels and at international conferences. As a certified digital wellness educator and member of both the British and American Psychological Associations, as well as co-chair of the parenting professionals group of the Children's Screen-Time Action Network and advisory board member of several educational and mental health organizations, Teodora is committed to helping individuals and groups preserve and protect their wellbeing and relationships in this increasingly digital world.

These events are sponsored by HR, ourcambridge and UIS as part of the Digital Workplace and Cambridge Works Programmes.

This is an interactive session designed to support you if you are coming to the end of a fixed term contract, so that you can feel more confident and positive about managing this significant period of change. We will start with introductions to allow you to get to know each other and share a little about your current situation and any particular challenges you are facing, then go on to discuss how you can manage the upcoming changes, and signpost you towards help and support that is available.

A short course explaining how we identify, map and analyse business processes at the University of Cambridge

The Professional Services Recognition Awards aim to recognise, highlight and celebrate the very best work across all professional service areas in the University. In September, colleagues were invited to nominate individuals and teams that they believed had made a difference to them, their team, and/or to the wider University in the academic year 2020-21. They were asked to nominate under the categories listed below, all of which reflect the Professional Services Values of trust, respect, integrity and collaboration. The awards aim to recognise those colleagues who have truly demonstrated these values in their day to day work.

Award Categories

· Innovating and Improving: Congratulating those who have innovatively and effectively improved or simplified a system or process, and in doing so have made it more efficient.

· Being kind to colleagues: Thanking those who have shown kindness and compassion for their colleagues, whether that is supporting them with a piece of work, or simply in day-to-day interactions.

· Going above and beyond: Appreciating those who have gone above and beyond the call of duty, been flexible and adaptable in order to solve an unexpected problem, showing resilience and agility.

· Creating an inclusive community: Rewarding those who have helped to create an inclusive environment for all, by showing a high level of courtesy for, and trust in others.

· Working as a team: Celebrating those who have worked collaboratively with others, either within or across disciplinary or departmental borders, to get something done.

· Being an Unsung Hero: Recognising those who have quietly gone about their daily work and might otherwise go unnoticed, but who make a real difference to their team, department and/or the wider University.

The Project Management Community of Practice brings you project management topics in bite sized chunks. Listen to your colleagues from across Collegiate Cambridge discuss all things project management. Click the links below to listen to the podcast:

Podcast 1: Meet the Core Group - Hosted by Ellie Wolmark from the CRUK Cambridge Centre, the Core Team tell you who they are, what their role is and discuss why they joined the CoP.

Podcast 2: Interesting Routes into Project Management part 1 - There is no one route into project management. Tori Helmer and Heather Biggs tell us their stories and give insights into their career journeys.

Podcast 3: Interesting Routes into Project Management part 2 - The second part of this podcast features Bethan Everson and Katie Light telling their stories.

Podcast 4: An Introduction to Communications - Katie Edwards and Craig Brierley give a fantastic overview of what comms entails, and how you can use it within a project for maximum impact.

Podcast 5: An Introduction to Stakeholder Management - Greg Strachan and Sally Measures give their take on Stakeholder Management within a project.

Podcast 6: An introduction to Retrospectives - Holly Cox and Signe Jensen talk about what retrospectives mean within project management.

Podcast 7: Data Management - Carrie Brennan talks about data management within a project.

What are the key elements for a successful project?

Join us for the basics of how to organise a simple project- a chance to hear advice and guidance from experience project managers and ask your questions

Look forward to seeing you there!

Reimagining Professional Services (RPS) is one of 13 projects which make up the University’s Recovery Plan. Join us for an informal question and answer session on RPS with Academic Secretary, Mike Glover.

The session follows Issue Two of The Cat’s Whiskers, the exclusive vlog for ourcambridge champions, in which Mike Glover talks to Kate Maxwell and Rachel Machon about RPS and his hopes for the future.

The workshop is part of the first stage of the ‘Reimagining Professional Services’ programme where we will discuss what is working well for staff, and where there is room for improvement, for the benefit of the collegiate University.

In a world where there is never enough time and we are juggling multiple priorities, this session will explore ways in which to identify areas in our lives that we need to improve and utilise the Lotus Blossom tool to generate ideas for making that improvement happen. Lotus Blossom provides a useful tool at all stages of the continuous improvement cycle whether it is used to find the root cause of a problem or to generate ideas to overcome that problem. In this session, we will demonstrate how it can be used to address more personal areas for improvement.

"Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it" - William Arthur Ward

We all like to feel appreciated but how often do we take the time to say thank you and praise a colleague for a job well done? From a University perspective, recognition and appreciation are vital: they create a positive working environment, motivate people, make them feel valued, help them to see the purpose and importance of their work, and improve performance by reinforcing positive behaviours and embedding values.

We are offering this session to provide an opportunity for colleagues to share ideas and approaches for recognising and appreciating the contribution of others. Colleagues from departments who have launched their own recognition initiatives will be invited to share their experiences.

In this session we will look at how creating a strong professional presence or ‘brand’ can help you achieve your career goals. You will learn some top tips for enhancing your profile, together with strategies for developing behaviours that will help you stand out from the crowd and open up opportunities.

Communication is an important part of any mentoring relationship. The key skills of active listening and asking good questions can make a real positive contribution to its success. Come and get some practical advice and learn some useful tips from two experts. The session is equally relevant to both mentors and mentees.

We will begin by considering together how it feels to receive feedback and will then go on to consider the skills and techniques needed to give feedback well.

We will begin by considering together how it feels to receive feedback and will then go on to consider the skills and techniques needed to give feedback well.

This session provides an introduction for both mentors and mentees. We will discuss the benefits of mentoring and provide guidance on how to set objectives for the mentoring relationship and how to prepare for your first session together. We will also offer some tips about how to be a good mentee and mentor.

A short how-to guide to creating and using SIPOC analysis in process improvement

A short introduction to De Bono's Six Thinking Hats - a creative thinking tool for creative meetings.

Have you ever wished you could get 10 minutes with a senior colleague to ask their advice on how they would handle something? Have you ever wondered how others approach challenging problems? This is your opportunity to ask. We are bringing together a panel of very experienced colleagues from across the University for a special speed mentoring session so that they can offer you their support and advice.

Speed mentoring offers you the opportunity for a series of short, focused conversations about a specific question or issue you are struggling with. You will rotate around four different mentors, spending around 10 minutes with each, to gain different perspectives on an issue you are seeking to resolve or a project you are trying to progress.

"I liked that there were a diverse background of university staff involved in the session, and all of the mentors were really engaged and enthusiastic. I felt that I could be honest about some of my experiences in the University, good and bad. All the mentors I spoke to acted as a good sound board for the issues that I wanted to discuss and they have given me some excellent advice and ideas."

"The fact that we saw 4 different mentees was brilliant - we gained different perspectives, saw different mentoring types and were also introduced to people and roles we may not have known about."

Mentors:

• Charlotte Knights - Senior Professional Services Manager, Human Resources Division

• Andy Hyland - Learning and Development Consultant, Human Resources Division

• Kirstie Buckridge - Organisational Development Consultant, Human Resources Division

• Bruce Daniels - Assistant Director for Research Operations School of Physical Sciences, Research Office

• Suzanne Fowler - Head of HR Policy and Strategic Projects, Human Resources Division

• Elle Wills - ED&I Advisor, Cambridge University Libraries

In this uplifting session mental wellbeing expert Sam Thorogood from Tiny Pause will take staff through active listening techniques to strengthen relationships and understand the neuroscience of stress, relationships and connection.

In this session we will discuss together how to get your mentoring relationship off to a good start, how to build trust with your mentor and build your confidence as a mentee. We will also touch on how to overcome any obstacles in the mentoring relationship.

In this session we will discuss together how to get your mentoring relationship off to a good start, how to build trust with your mentee and build your confidence as a mentor. We will also touch on how to overcome any obstacles in the mentoring relationship.