A-Z course list

This course is for you if you are looking to increase your confidence in your interactions with others and set clearer boundaries using learned assertiveness techniques. It is for research staff at all career stages.

This course will explore:

• our fears and what stops you being assertive
• the assertive behaviour model and how we fit into it 
• how you can use assertive statements, techniques and behaviours
• challenging behaviours and how you can identify and address these.

The course provides a supportive peer group environment away from the course to discuss sensitive issues. It will use a range of learning activities including presented content, group discussions, practical exercises and individual reflective tasks.

You should attend if you want to:

• learn how to say a better 'no' 
• understand how to resolve conflicts and build relationships 
• recognise what you can do to reduce stress in the workplace 
• feel more confident in your ability to handle others behaviours.

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

This one day course will be of value to you if you are considering your career options, especially if you are thinking of moving away from academic research.

Please note that if your main focus is on developing a career in academic research and you are not interested in considering any other career options at present, then this course may not be for you at this stage.

 The course will help you to:

• know how to be more proactive and effective in managing your career
• have greater awareness of your transferable skills and what motivates you
• know of ways to explore career options outside academic research
• know how to present yourself positively in your CV/job application and at interviews
• have greater awareness of the resources available to support you.

 The session will use a range of learning activities, including short presentations, group discussions, individual reflective tasks and a CV case study exercise.

You should attend this course if:

• you feel the need to manage your career more effectively
• you want to be more aware of your transferable skills and reflect on what is important to you
• wish to learn of ways to explore career options outside academic research.

This course relates to domains B1, B2 and B3 of the RDF.

This course relates to domains A1 and A2 of the RDF.

This one and half hour briefing session is for those thinking of seeking a change in job roles or making a career switch. It is aimed at research staff at any career stage.

Please note that feedback on individual CVs is not possible at this session. This is best done by arranging an individual career development consultation.  (Further information on these consultations can be found at:

http://www.ed.ac.uk/schools-departments/institute-academic-development/research-roles/research-only-staff/career-management/advice/career-consultation

The workshop will explore:

-  what makes for a good CV

-  what counts in an academic CV

-  how to adapt your CV for careers outside academic research

-  how to present your skills and experience effectively.

The session will include a presentation and group discussion of some example CVs.

You should attend if you need:

-  greater confidence in writing and tailoring your CV

-  increased understanding of how to sell yourself to future employers

-  a better chance of success in the job market.

This course relates to domain B3 of the RDF.

You will find this course useful if you are facing difficult interpersonal situations within the workplace and wish to gain knowledge and skills to help you deal more confidently with others. It is for research staff at all career stages.

You will:

- examine different behavioural types and understand how some can be used to manipulate a situation 
- reflect on personal anger management and thinking skills 
- explore strategies for dealing with difficult behaviours 
- understand the need to set your own boundaries 
- explore conflict resolution skills and understand why some people do not want to resolve conflict

The course provides a supportive peer group environment away from the workplace to discuss sensitive issues. Personal scenarios can be brought to the group and will be treated in confidence by the group leader and participants.

The session will use presented content, practical group discussions and individual reflective exercises. There is also a course handbook for reference.

You should attend if you want increased confidence in:

- successfully dealing with difficult situations in the workplace 
- understanding your own behaviour and how it can impact a situation 
- using your own communication styles to manage challenging situations

You can also work on potential solutions to a particular issue that may be affecting you.

This course relates to domains A1and D1 of the RDF.

THIS COURSE IS 2 HALF DAYS  - SECOND PART IS BEING HELD ON MONDAY 11 MARCH 2013.   PLEASE NOTE THAT YOU SHOULD ATTEND ON BOTH DATES.

This course is held over two half days and is for you if you are new to writing academic papers or reports, having problems with co-authoring, lacking confidence in your grammar, or if you would just like to express yourself more clearly and effectively in writing.

The first day of the course will provide practical tips on writing, analyse some common errors and misconceptions and provide an opportunity to discuss why some writing works and some does not.

The processes involved in writing will be broken down into:

• planning and finding a structure
• overcoming writer's block
• word choice and sentence structure
• paragraphing and linking
• grammar and punctuation
• editing and proofreading
• presenting material for publication

You will then be expected to prepare a piece of your own writing (about 1000 words) for the second day of the course. This will be circulated to a small group of other attendees. You will receive their work in return and will be asked to comment constructively on the second day of the course.

The second day will be a peer feedback session lasting for about one hour per group.

By attending this session, you will:

• look at you own work with a more critical eye
• develop confidence in your writing skills
• appreciate the place of teamwork in the creation of text
• communicate more clearly and accurately

This course relates to domains A1 and A2 of the RDF.

The higher education sector is ever-changing and competition for postgraduate research students, both within the UK and internationally, is becoming more and more challenging. This workshop, aimed at supervisors/prospective supervisors, will focus on the funding and recruitment of postgraduate researchers.

Information on where and how to secure postgraduate research funding from a staff and student perspective will be presented as well as best practice guidelines and examples on the recruitment of students and conversion of applicants.

This course relates to domains C3 and D1 of the RDF.

The higher education sector is ever-changing and competition for postgraduate research students, both within the UK and internationally, is becoming more and more challenging. This workshop, aimed at supervisors/prospective supervisors, will focus on the funding and recruitment of postgraduate researchers. 

Information on where and how to secure postgraduate research funding from a staff and student perspective will be presented as well as best practice guidelines and examples on the recruitment of students and conversion of applicants.

This course relates to domains C3 and D1 of the RDF.

This seminar is for research staff members who are new to the University of Edinburgh.

This familiarisation session will put you in touch with:

• skills development and career management support available to you within the University
• how Edinburgh Research and Innovation (ERI) can assist you in seeking grant funding
• other services that are here to support you.

The session will include presentations, group discussion and networking time.

You should attend this seminar if you want to:

• know where and how to get help with your own professional development
• understand what support is available to assist you in making future career plans
• network and make contacts across the University through meeting other new researchers.

This course relates to domains A1, B3 and C2 of the RDF.

PLEASE NOTE THAT THERE ARE 2 PARTS TO THIS COURSE AND PARTICIPANTS SHOULD ATTEND ON BOTH DATES.  PART 2 IS ON WEDNESDAY 13 March 2013, 9.30AM - 5.00PM. 

This two day course is for you if you are new to managing staff or students on a formal or informal basis or if you want to enhance your general management skills. It is for research staff at all career stages.

This course will introduce you to key people management skills with a focus on:

• leadership and team motivation
• fundamental behaviours for effective team leading including standards, recognition and responsibility
• the learning cycle and the importance of planning and supporting your teams development
• effective planning and the use of analysis tools to support you.

The session will include presentations, group discussion and tasks, skills practice and giving and receiving feedback.

You should attend if you want to:

• increase your confidence in managing people, projects and processes
• enhance your planning and organisational skills
• feel better able to work with and support others

A certificate of completion is also awarded to support your continuing professional development.

This course relates to domains D1 and D2 of the RDF.

This half day course is useful for anyone who wishes to understand more about their own preferred ways of interacting with others, taking in information, making decisions and working. This information is useful in helping you understand yourself, and is also helpful when working in teams or managing people.

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is a widely-used, self-report personality questionnaire, designed to assist in understanding personal style and preferences. It has been used in a variety of areas, including personal development, career planning and team building in industry, for many years.

The objectives of this session are for you to:

• understand the basic MBTI framework and the concept of type.
• recognise how this framework applies to you by understanding your unique preferences / profile.
• have an increased understanding of individual differences, and of how people of other types may see the world and behave.
• be able to view your preferences as positive assets, and be aware of aspects of self which may be less developed.
• be aware of the idea of self-development and have increased self-understanding, which can be used to inform career planning and development.

You'll complete the MBTI questionnaire, and your questionnaire type, along with your self-assessed type, will be sent out after the session, together with further information on type.

• You should attend if you would like to:
• increase your self-awareness of how you prefer to interact and communicate.
• improve your communication with colleagues.
• work more effectively with others.

This course relates to domains A1, D1, D2, and D3 of the RDF.

This course is for you if you are new to managing staff or students on a formal or informal basis or if you want to enhance your people management skills. It is for research staff at all career stages.

You may also wish to attend if developing people management and supervisory skills is important to your career development.

 This course examines general people management skills and you shall look at a range of issues that may arise during the employee life cycle. Note that it is not purely aimed at managing difficult people or at issues regarding discipline or capability.

 Topics that will be explored include:

• The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) model of human resource management
• how coaching can complement your people management style
• motivation, including sensitively handling praise and criticism
• personal communication styles and team communication.

By the end of the course, participants will have an appreciation of the issues that influence individual and team performance and will have discussed and practiced related skills.

The session will include presented content, group discussions, feedback sessions and practical hands on exercises.

You should attend if you want to:

• increase your confidence in successfully managing and supporting other people
• be fully aware of your own communication style and how you can use it to improve working with those around you
• understand how to get the best out of others.

A certificate of completion is also awarded to support your continuing professional development.

This course relates to domains B2, B3 and D1 of the RDF.

This one day course is aimed at women who are in early to mid career and provides a practical opportunity to reflect on skills, career development and plans for the future.  It is a discursive and active programme enabling individual participants to discuss and reflect on their own careers and share thinking with other women in academia prior to considering next actions in developing their own career.

 What you can expect to learn:  How to manage your career development

Postgraduate research funding is very competitive, whether it is the students or their supervisors which are seeking to secure it. This seminar is an update on the new and upcoming external and internal funds available to support postgraduate research students. The seminar will also explore how to support self-funders seeking to apply for funding on their own.

This course relates to domain C3 of the RDF.

Postgraduate research funding is very competitive, whether it is the students or their supervisors which are seeking to secure it. This seminar is an update on the new and upcoming external and internal funds available to support postgraduate research students. The seminar will also explore how to support self-funders seeking to apply for funding on their own.

This course relates to domain C3 of the RDF.

This one day course will introduce you to project management, with a focus on the development of practical skills. 

 You will learn how to:

• Set clear and realistic objectives
• Plan, organise, and document your research project
• Identify your stakeholders, and to understand their needs
• Manage stakeholder expectations
• Manage risks and issues, including changes to scope
• Review and learn from strengths and weaknesses identified on completion  of a project. 

The session will include presented content, class discussion, and group exercises centred on a research project scenario.  There is also a course handbook for reference.

You should attend if you want to:

• Understand more about project management, the role of the project manager, and project success
• Learn about the lifecycle of a project
• Increase your confidence in managing projects
• Obtain tools and techniques that you can start to use immediately
• Discuss the challenges of research projects with other research staff.

This course relates to domains B1, B2 and C2 of the RDF.

Practice Interview Workshop

This 3 hour highly participative course is for researchers who are seeking a change in job role or making a career switch. It will not cover typical academic or research interviews. It is aimed at research staff at any career stage. This course will:

- Tell you what to expect at a non-academic / research job interview

- Help you understand how to prepare effectively for interview

- Give you a chance to act as interviewer or interviewee, to practise answering or asking typical job interview questions

- Receive or hear feedback from other participants and course facilitator

- Outline further support available to help you prepare effectively for job interviews

The session will include a brief presentation, individual interview practice, and group discussion of effective interview preparation and practice.

You should attend if you need to:

- Understand what to expect in a non-academic interview

- Think about how to present your research experience at a non-academic interview

- Increase your confidence in presenting your experience effectively

This course is for you if you are new to speaking in front of an audience and want to gain advice and skills practice in a safe environment.

It is also geared towards anyone who has to present at an upcoming event and you wish some support with your preparation. It is for research staff at all career stages.

The course addresses the issues and skills involved in delivering effective presentations and talks. You will review your own current style of presentation and identify practical ways of enhancing it.

The course will also explore:

• perceiving the subject from the audience's perspective
• adding impact through verbal and non-verbal communication
• structuring content for added clarity  
• imparting key messages at the opening and conclusion
• using tools and techniques to help you overcome your nerves.

The session will use a range of learning activities including presented content, group discussion, practical exercises and feedback  You will also receive a course handbook for reference.

By attending this session, you will:

• increase your confidence in developing your professional presence and know how to present persuasively
• understand how to combat fears or nerves prior to giving a presentation
• learn how to construct well organised content
• be better able to support the transfer of learning from your presentations to your listeners.

This course relates to domains A1, D1 and D2 of the RDF.

The red light comes on and you’re live on air to millions of listeners. That’s the experience we replicate on this immersive three-day course in broadcast production. For that added touch of reality, we install you in one of the state of the art studios at the BBC’s Pacific Quay Glasgow headquarters.

You also explore the newsgathering process, producing video and radio reports for the evening news. There will be nowhere to hide as you work in groups filming, scripting and editing to tight deadlines.

And, from fairy tales to Star Wars, what makes a great story? In a workshop on narrative, we will uncover the essence of compelling storytelling and how to apply it to your own research. Not only that, but with our partners at the Glasgow Science Centre we introduce you to the world of communicating ideas in exhibition spaces and through public engagement events.

Whether in the humanities, the arts or sciences, communicating your research matters. In this workshop we explore how to formulate your messages in ways that are relevant, fresh and engaging for diverse non-specialist audiences. This is not a straight media training course. We aim to go deeper than that by critiquing the processes by which ideas pass from academia to the living room. We cast you as the journalists, programme-makers and exhibition designers, bringing you face to face with the practises and pitfalls of the mass media.

There is a strong emphasis on group work, requiring an open mind and a willingness to get stuck in. There is a significant distance-learning element to the course three weeks before you arrive. Think carefully before signing up to this workshop. You will be required to complete around five hours worth of pre-planning online. This will be in a group structure meaning that it will not be possible to opt out of the course once the pre-workshop tuition is underway in September.

The course leader is Gareth Mitchell of Imperial College London and BBC Radio.

This course relates to domains A1, C2, D1 and D2 of the RDF.

Pre-course work

In the weeks leading up to the course, participants will be expected to collaborate online, preparing for the radio session at the BBC. With help from the course leader, tasks will involve programme planning, script writing and basic journalistic research. The involvement expected will amount to about five hours per delegate during the pre-course phase.

Venue information

Please note that this is a 3 day course and participation at all parts is required.

The main course venue will be St Leonards Hall, Pollock Halls of Residence in Edinburgh but the final part (Saturday 13th October) will be held at BBC’s Pacific Quay Glasgow headquarters.

The course will outline the benefits (beauty) of using social media for research/work purpose; raise awareness of different social media tools; and how these can be used effectively. There will be various hints and practical advice for using different types of social media and engaging with different audiences. The course will also highlight the pitfalls and concerns of using social media (beast).

This workshop relates to domains B, C, and D of the RDF

PLEASE NOTE THAT YOU SHOULD ATTEND THE SUPERVISING RESEARCHERS COURSE BEFORE ATTENDING SUPERVISING II

This is a follow up course in response to demand for a return training event that develops the ideas introduced in the first course(Supervising Researchers) and introduces further practice based theories and models for coaching and motivating postgraduate students. 

By the end of the morning you should have a better understanding of:

• managing international student supervision
• the coaching and mentoring roles available to supervisors
• strategies for helping students run the PhD marathon
• your role as part of a multi-discipline supervisory team
• supervising mature and part time research students.

This course relates to domain D1 of the RDF.

This seminar is for new and experienced supervisors involved in the supervision of international (non-UK) research students. This seminar aims to present some of the challenges and benefits of supervising students from different countries. This will be of particular interest to colleagues who will be supervising new students in September and to those who have not supervised students from outside of the UK before.

This course relates to domains A1, D1 and D3 of the RDF.

PLEASE NOTE:

This course is for your own personal development and attending it is NOT compulsory.  Details of the compulsory supervising courses can be found at:

http://www.ed.ac.uk/schools-departments/institute-academic-development/research-roles/research-managers/development/briefing

An optional half-day workshop open to all those who are supervising research students and who are interested in developing the individual as well as completing the task. This workshop is recommended for both masters and doctoral supervisors as it addresses the sometimes neglected, but important soft skills involved in this professional relationship.  We will discuss task and process in supervision, how to keep the relationship working and productive, how to inspire and motivate and finally how to deal with a crisis! This is a popular workshop and early booking is recommended. Participants should leave with:

• An understanding of the human dimension to research supervision
• An understanding of their own style preferences in supervision
• An understanding of their own motivations
• An understanding of the challenges and rewards of effective supervision
• Action plans and advice for further personal development.

 This course relates to domains A1, D1 and D3 of the RDF.

This course is for those who find networking a challenge and wish to become more skilled at it or are looking for new ideas to enhance your employability. It is aimed at research staff at all career stages.

The course explores personal networking and marketing strategies needed to keep our careers on track in an often uncertain world of academic research, complex funding and change. We explore key business skill concepts such as:

• employment versus employability and the changing nature of careers
• professional networking
• developing and promoting your core competencies
• building a personal brand
• the elevator pitch
• call-backs and fall-backs
• guerrilla marketing techniques.

As an interactive course, you will be encouraged to look at your working life from different perspectives and to try new ideas and behaviours to enhance your career opportunities.

The session will use a range of learning activities, including presented content, facilitated group discussion and practical exercises.

You should attend if you want to:

• increase your understanding of how to market yourself
• improve your confidence in developing and maintaining your networks
• enhance your chances of success on the job market.

This course relates to domains B1, B2 and B3 of the RDF.

This course is for those who are part of a research team or hold a team management role and want to get the most out of the people you work with. It is for research staff across all career stages.

You will explore and gain insight into:

• your own working style  
• how others see us
• ideas and techniques about groups and leading teams
• managing the dynamics of project teams
• leadership in the workplace and developing your own leadership style
• managing teams through change.

The session will use a range of practical learning activities including presented content, group discussion and exercises. You will also receive reference handouts.

 Attending this course will give you:

• an improved ability to develop your own working relationships
• increased understanding of your own preferred roles within teams
• enhanced confidence in leading and managing others.

This course relates to domains B2, C2, D1 and D3 of the RDF.

If you are juggling a busy workload, manage a range of project and research tasks and would like some support to help you keep on top of things, then make it a priority to attend this course.  It is designed for research staff across all career stages.

This course will help you to:

• identify your own approach to managing time
• prioritise and allocate time for the important work
• set yourself deadlines and plan ahead
• recognise and tackle procrastination
• deal with interruptions
• get the most from meetings.

The session will use a range of learning activities including presented content, group discussion and feedback.

By attending, you will:

• increase your ability to successfully manage your working day
• have a greater awareness of how to deal with those around you who have an unproductive impact on your time
• improve your ability to manage your work-life balance through being able to get more work done in less time.

This course relates to domains B2 and C2 of the RDF.

THIS IS A TWO PART WORKSHOP AND PARTICIPANTS SHOULD BE ABLE TO ATTEND ON BOTH DATES.  PLEASE NOTE THAT THE SECOND PART OF THIS COURSE IS BEING HELD ON 21 JUNE 2012

This writing workshop and a follow-up writing clinic will help you communicate your research to non-specialists by shaping it into an engaging text while keeping within a strict word limit.

 During the half-day workshop we will examine how research can be turned into a ‘story’ without wasting words. We will identify what makes this story convincing and newsworthy, and what kind of language is most effective. ‘Focus’ and ‘impact’ will be core considerations.

After the workshop you will need to write at least one research description and one impact statement, each keeping to a 100-word limit. The second session will be a writing clinic of 1½ hours, where we will look at participants’ statements and discuss relevant writing issues in a supportive atmosphere.

This course relates to domains A3 and D2 of the RDF.