College of Science & Engineering

***First Year Students Only***

This session is aimed primarily at first year international post-graduate research students whose first language is not English.

It is intended to provide guidance to students who would like to feel more confident when communicating about their research, whether in interaction with their supervisors, or when presenting their research in written or spoken form. The workshop will cover:

• Email etiquette
• Making requests
• Presenting your research
• Extending your academic vocabulary
• Enhancing your writing through reading
• Other sources of help with academic writing

Learning Outcomes - after attending this workshop you shoulod feel more confident about:

• Communicating with your supervisor
• Telling others about your research, in speech and in writing
• Working independently to enhance your academic English, using texts in your discipline and other resources

The workshop will not cover research methods

This workshop is aimed at all PGRs

Aims/purpose

-          To help you reflect on what is happening when you feel completely stuck in your dissertation writing

-          To offer strategies you can adopt to reconnect with your writing  

Content

-          Feelings that accompany writing blocks

-          Research on writing blocks

-          Why writing blocks tend to occur in transitions

-          How writing blocks start  – and what you can do

-          Strategies for preventing writing blocks

Learning Outcomes - after attending this workshop you will be able to:

- recognise when you are getting caught in a loop that might lead to a writing block- take steps to stop a writing block from paralysing your writing- accept that imperfection is a necessary part of writing

Workshop expectations:

Workshop Facilitator: Mimo Caenepeel

This workshop is suitable for those in the final year of their PhD.

This workshop provides advice and information on how to write a chemistry PhD thesis and prepare for the examination process. The session will include practical, interactive activities and contributions from experienced PhD supervisors, examiners and recent PhD graduates.

Course Content:

The role of the thesis and doctoral regulations

The external examiner's perspective and responsibilities

Organisation, motivation and planning

What makes a good thesis

Writing and reviewing the thesis

Anticipating the viva

List of Learning Outcomes. By the end of this workshop, students should be able to:

1. Understand the role of the thesis and the doctoral regulations, including the external examiner’s perspective and responsibilities

2. Understand what makes a good thesis

3. Identify what is required in preparing for a successful viva

This session is for students in the College of Science & Engineering.

One of the first tasks undertaken by research students is a review of the literature. This course introduces resources and services available from the Library and will cover the use of online literature databases to help you find relevant research literature effectively.

Participants are encouraged to use their own device(s) to follow along as presenters demonstrate search strategies and techniques online.

Workshop outline:

• Search skills and why you need them
• Literature databases and cited reference searching
• Getting the full-text
• Journal impact factors
• Keeping up to date
• Alerts and/or saved searches
• Brief Introduction to reference management software.

Learning Outcomes:

By the end of this workshop, students should be able to:

1. Identify the different information resources available to students when producing a literature review including the use of online literature databases
2. Understand and demonstrate ability to use reference management software

Apply knowledge of cited reference searching and journal impact factors.

Run by the Academic Library Support Team

In research we are often called upon to present our work in the form of a poster at a conference. The design and layout of these posters is important, if we are to show our work in the best possible light. Many posters are, however, poorly thought out and badly designed. This workshop, using a series of short presentations and practical sessions will examine in detail the features of good poster design, will look at the relative importance of pictures versus words, and will equip the participants to play an active role in the design of their future conference posters.

After the workshop each participant will:

• understand the purpose of the conference poster

• be familiar with the basic rules for poster design

• understand the importance of words, pictures and flow

• know how deliver a conference poster

• have a working strategy for designing a winning poster.

This workshop is open to 1st and 2nd Year students in the School of Informatics and the SICSA group.

This workshop will explore the nature of Informatics research and the diversity of methodologies that it employs. In particular, it will investigate the forms of hypotheses or claims that an Informatics research project establishes, and the ways in which such claims can be evaluated.

Pre course work:

Students will be required to bring a 1000 word summary of their research project to the workshop. Guidance will be sent out prior to the course.

If you are a SICSA member and not matriculated at the University of Edinburgh you will need to register for an EASEfriend account before completing the booking form: https://www.ease.ed.ac.uk/userdocs/friend.html

List of Learning Outcomes. By the end of this workshop, students should be able to:

1. Describe the nature of Informatics research and the methodologies that it employs

2. Identify the forms of hypotheses or claims that an Informatics research project establishes and the ways in which such claims can be evaluated

This course relates for domains A1, A2, and C2 of the RDF.

This workshop is open to all PGRsPre- requisities:You need to have some of your most recent academic writing handy to work on during the workshop.  

If possible, students should have attended 'The Writing Process — Getting Started'

This workshop is open to all PhD and MScR students in CSCE and CMVM

Writing in a wordy, dull or somewhat pompous way won’t make your writing academic. In this workshop, we look at academic writing from the perspective of academic readers: what will they expect and appreciate?

Aims/purpose

-             to reflect on what it means to write ‘academically’ at a postgraduate level

-             to approach your writing preferences with a critical mindset

Content

-             Academic genres and territories

-             Academic priorities for research writing

-             Academic qualities at the level of content, structure and writing style

-             Common conundrums for academic writers

Learning Outcomes - after attending this workshop you will be able to:

- distinguish between academic writing ‘rules’ that serve a purpose and those that don’t- check whether your writing meets essential academic requirements- explain why or when you would (or would not) use the first-person pronoun in your writing; or why you might (or might not) write in an active style.

This workshop will not cover discipline- or journal-specific academic conventions

Workshop expectations:  This workshop requires active participation; you will be invited to share your observations and views on the chat.

Workshop Facilitator: Mimo Caenepeel

This workshop will cover the process and regulations surrounding thesis writing, submission, examination and final approval.  It will cover both the rules, deadlines and regulations governing the examination for and award of a PhD and will offer guidance and discussion of the process from the student/supervisor perspective.  Thesis-writing is a very individual process, even within a College or School, but there are guidelines and general advice that are relatively generic.

The aim is to de-mystify the thesis-writing process and to equip the course participants with a set of conceptual and attitudinal tools to make that process maximally effective and efficient.

This course relates to domains A1, C1, and D1 of the RDF.

This course is for 1st year PhD students. Through a mixture of short presentations and group discussion this course will:

• give you a clear understanding of the purpose and structure of the First Year Review process
• allow you to meet students who have already completed their First Year Review
• give a chance to ask questions of academic staff within your school
• offer ideas about how to get the most out of the review

It also provides an invaluable opportunity to meet and get to know other PhD students at the same stage as you from across your school.

List of Learning Outcomes. By the end of this workshop, students should be able to:

1.Identify the purpose and structure of a first year review

This course relates to domains A1, C2, and D1 of the RDF.

This workshop is for 1st year PhD students. Through a mixture of short presentations and group discussion this workshop will

• give you a clear understanding of the purpose and structure of the First Year Review process
• allow you to meet students who have already completed their First Year Review
• give a chance to ask questions of academic staff within your school
• offer ideas about how to get the most out of the review

It also provides an invaluable opportunity to meet and get to know other PhD students at the same stage as you from across your school.

List of Learning Outcomes. By the end of this workshop, students should be able to:

1.Identify the purpose and structure of a first year review

This course relates to domains A1, C2, and D1 of the RDF.

At every stage of your PhD being able to give a clear, effective and informative presentation is an important skill. This workshop, which mixes short interactive lectures, videos and discussion, teaches you the basic rules of giving presentations. This workshop is relevant for individuals from any discipline who have no previous presenting experience, and for those who wish to improve their skills.

After the workshop each participant will:

• understand the importance of preparation
• know how to design a presentation – beginnings, middles and end
• be aware of the effective use of PowerPoint – less is more
• know how to deal with questions

List of Learning Outcomes. By the end of this workshop, students should be able to:

1. Increase your confidence in developing your professional presence and know how you might present more persuasively2. Understand the origin and purpose of nerves, and how you might address them prior to giving a presentation3. Be better able to have an impact on your audience 

This course relates to domains B1 and D2 of the RDF

This workshop is open to all PGRs

Starting to write can be one of the most challenging aspects of doing a PhD. This workshop highlights why writers so often postpone writing, and how you can avoid procrastination.

Aims and purpose

-             to help you write more, sooner

Content

-             Reasons and excuses for not writing

-             Starting as a step in a larger process

-             Eight small practical steps that prepare you for drafting

-             Reasons and excuses for not writing

-             Starting as a step in a larger process

-             Eight small practical steps that prepare you for drafting

Learning Outcomes - after attending this workshop you will be able to:- recognise how overwhelm stops you from starting to write- avoid leaping into draft writing without preparation- welcome a bad first draft

Workshop expectations:

Workshop Facilitator: Mimo Caenepeel

This workshop is open to all PGRsPre-requisite:You need a copy of an academic article that you plan to refer to in your literature to work with during the workshop

This workshop offers ways of ensuring that your literature review meets these requirements.

-             to help you start writing your first-year literature review — without feeling overwhelmed!

Content

•            Why the literature review matters

•            The big picture: developing a review

•            Zooming in: engaging with key publications

•            Starting to write the review

Learning Outcomes - after attending this workshop you will be able to:- develop a foundation for your literature review- use a template to take effective notes that create continuity between different publications- adopt a step-by-step approach to your literature review, without going down rabbit holes

This workshop does not cover online literature searches.

Workshop Facilitator: Mimo Caenepeel