Welcome to our Postgraduate Researcher Training and Development Bulletin! In this fornightly bulletin, you will find all our upcoming courses divided into four key areas of researcher development as per the Vitae Researcher Development Framework:

• Knowledge and intellectual abilities
• Personal effectiveness
• Research governance and organisation
• Engagement, influence and impact

In this bulletin, you will also find other training and development opportunities across the University and beyond.

If you are accessing this newsletter off-campus, please note that you will need to connect to the University's VPN to access the booking links.

Next bulletin: Wednesday 5 June.

Conducting a literature review Part 2- critiquing, structuring and writing (Monday 3 June, 13.30-15.00 via MS Teams)

Writing a literature review is an essential starting point of good
research; this session covers critiquing, structuring and writing.

PGR Thesis Writing: Conceptualising a Ph.D Thesis (Wednesday 22 May, 11.00-12.30, online via MS Teams and in-person in Old Library Training Room 4, Streatham Campus)

This series of writing workshops has been developed by Dr Emily Bernhard Jackson and is designed to help you feel more confident about your academic writing by focusing on different aspects of thesis writing over six sessions. You do not need to attend all sessions, but it is recommended. This workshop will help you understand the construction of a PhD.

PGR Thesis Writing: Building your Sentences and Paragraphs (Wednesday 29 May, 11.00-12.30, online via MS Teams and in-person in Old Library Training Room 4, Streatham Campus)

This series of writing workshops has been developed by Dr Emily Bernhard Jackson and is designed to help you feel more confident about your academic writing by focusing on different aspects of thesis writing over six sessions. You do not need to attend all sessions, but it is recommended. This workshop will help you to construct and revise sentences and paragraphs for clarity and effectiveness.

Conducting a literature review Part 2- critiquing, structuring and writing (Monday 3 June, 13.30-15.00 via MS Teams)

Writing a literature review is an essential starting point of good
research; this session covers critiquing, structuring and writing.

PGR Thesis Writing: Q and A Discussion (Wednesday 12 June, 11.00-12.30, online via MS Teams and in-person in Old Library Training Room 4, Streatham Campus)

This series of writing workshops has been developed by Dr Emily Bernhard Jackson and is designed to help you feel more confident about your academic writing by focusing on different aspects of thesis writing over six sessions. You do not need to attend all sessions, but it is recommended. This workshop will give you the opportunity to ask any questions you have following your attendance at the workshops in this series.

NEW- Finding your way out of a rut with Lego Serious Play (Thursday 13 June, 13.00-14.30 in Old Library Training Room 2)

This course will focus on getting out of a rut in your research using Lego Serious Play.

Lego Serious Play is a very democratic process, providing all participants with an equal amount of time to speak and share thoughts. You will be provided with a bag of Lego and will be building and sharing models over Microsoft Teams.

Questionnaire: a very basic introduction (Tuesday 16 July, 10.00-11.30 via MS Teams)

The workshop will focus on considering the key things to think about at the early stages of setting out on a questionnaire survey; it will be particularly appropriate for those who have no experience of questionnaire design.

The seven secrets of highly successful research students (Wednesday 29 May, 09.30-12.00 via Zoom)

What can you do to finish your doctoral research on time, to overcome isolation, doubt and writer’s block, and to enjoy the process? And just as importantly what do you do in order to spend guilt-free time with your family and friends and perhaps even have holidays? If this sounds appealing, then this session will be of particular use to you.

NEW- Preparing for your viva (Monday 3 June, 14.00-15.30 via MS Teams)

The viva examination can feel like the most daunting part of the research degree process. What does the viva test? What will it be like? What can you do to prepare? This session will help to ‘demystify’ the viva, talking you through everything from choosing your external examiner to what to expect on the day.

NEW- Overcoming Imposter Feelings (Thursday 6 June, 09.15-12.45 via Zoom)

Want to build confidence, maximise your potential and finally feel ‘good enough’?

Join this interactive zoom workshop that will equip you with evidence-based knowledge about imposter feelings and some techniques to help you flourish.

NEW- Turbocharge your writing (Thursday 6 June, 09.30-12.00 via Zoom)

Would you like to know the secret to high output, low stress scholarly writing? An overwhelming body of research shows that there are very clear and practical strategies that can greatly increase your writing productivity.

NEW- How to get confident: overcoming impostor syndrome (Wednesday 12 June, 13.00-14.30 via Zoom)

A 90 minute workshop for PGRs with the aim of educating about imposter syndrome and self-confidence, and sharing tools and strategies for managing short-term and chronic imposter syndrome and low self-esteem.

NEW- How to get out of your own way - challenging self-sabotage (Wednesday 19 June, 13.00-14.30 via Zoom)

A 90 minute workshop for PGRs with the aim of educating about self-sabotage, creating space for self-reflection and the development of self-awareness and sharing tools and strategies for boosting low self-esteem.

Applying for non-academic jobs (Tuesday 25 June, 14.00-15.30 via MS Teams)

Applying for jobs beyond academia? Need help navigating the recruitment process? This interactive course will support you in enhancing your knowledge and understanding of the process of applying for positions in the job market beyond academia.

There will be a particular focus on how to write effective CVs, cover letters, application forms, LinkedIn profiles and how to perform well at interviews.

Applying for academic jobs (Thursday 27 June, 10.30-12.00 via MS Teams)

This course will enable you to enhance your knowledge and understanding of the process of applying for positions in the academic job market.

There will be a particular focus on how to write effective CVs, cover letters, application forms and perform well at interviews.

Success at Interviews (Thursday 4 July, 12.30-14.00 via MS Teams)

The tools and techniques introduced in this session will be applicable to all those who wish to develop their skills and knowledge of how interviews are used in the recruitment process for roles within and outside of academia.

There will be information provided and opportunities for Q and A as well as live input from former PhD researchers who have been successful in securing both post-doc roles and industry/public sector opportunities.

NEW- Emotionally Sensitive Research (Wednesday 22 May, 14.00-15.30 via Zoom)

This course aims to increase your understanding of trauma and secondary trauma and how it can present in the context of your research and to learn some practical skills to help increase your awareness and manage signs of distress. You will be encouraged to adopt a self-care in community approach to help you feel more confident in developing ethically enhanced and emotionally sensitive research and to feel more equipped to support both participants as well as yourself throughout the process.

NEW- Emotionally Sensitive Research (Monday 3 June 10.30-12.00 via Zoom)

This course aims to increase your understanding of trauma and secondary trauma and how it can present in the context of your research and to learn some practical skills to help increase your awareness and manage signs of distress. You will be encouraged to adopt a self-care in community approach to help you feel more confident in developing ethically enhanced and emotionally sensitive research and to feel more equipped to support both participants as well as yourself throughout the process.

NEW- An introduction to research ethics review (Thursday 20 June, 10.00-11.30 via MS Teams

The course is an introduction to the main principles of ethics review to assist researchers with little or no experience of applying to a Research Ethics Committee.

NEW- An Introduction to the Core Issues in Research Integrity (Tuesday 25 June, 11.00-12.00 via MS Teams)

The session is intended to be an introduction to the core issues in research integrity for doctoral students who are preparing to be autonomous researchers confronting professional and ethical dilemmas and challenges.

NEW- Writing conference abstracts (Thursday 30 May, 13.00-14.30 via MS Teams)

Conferences are the cornerstone of research dissemination – whether you are presenting a talk, a research poster, or contributing to a panel. This webinar will introduce you to the process of writing conference abstracts, including key tips and tricks to ensure that your abstract has the highest chance of being accepted, and encouraging delegates to attend your talk, poster or panel.

Bystander Intervention (Wednesday 5 June, 11.00-13.00 in Old Library Training Room 4, Old Library, Streatham Campus)

What would you do if you saw someone being harassed or treated badly? How would you react? Do you know how to safely and calmly intervene when necessary? This workshop explores what it means to be an active bystander across a range of settings, but in particular, situations where sexism, sexual violence and racist behaviour could be seen. It provides a safe and inclusive space to explore these topics through encouraging a person-centred approach, whilst imparting skills and knowledge based on positive framing.

NEW- Researcher Leadership Development Programme (9 Part Course)- (session dates are Wednesday 12, Thursday 13, Wednesday 19, Wednesday 26 June and Thursday 3, Thursday 10, Thursday 17, Thursday 24 & Thursday 31 July (10.00 – 13.00 on all days)

This programme is designed to help you explore, understand and develop your leadership. Each of the workshops within the 9 week programme will support you in making meaningful progress in your sense of who you are, and what you do as a leader. The programme is a mix of online workshops and development sessions.

Please note that you are expected to attend all nine of the sessions in order to get the maximum benefit from this course.

Bystander Intervention (Thursday 13 June, 11.00-13.00 in Daphne Du Maurier Masters Seminars 1 and 2, Daphne Du Maurier, Penryn Campus)

What would you do if you saw someone being harassed or treated badly? How would you react? Do you know how to safely and calmly intervene when necessary? This workshop explores what it means to be an active bystander across a range of settings, but in particular, situations where sexism, sexual violence and racist behaviour could be seen. It provides a safe and inclusive space to explore these topics through encouraging a person-centred approach, whilst imparting skills and knowledge based on positive framing.

The Coding for Reproducible Research are running a series of software training sessions. Please register your interest via the registration form (the deadline is one week before the start of the course, or earlier if the course is over-subscribed). The Coding for Reproducible Research team will email you to confirm whether you have a place.

• Introduction to R, 10.00-13.00, Tuesday 4, Tuesday 11 and Tuesday 18 June, Training Room 4, Old Library, Streatham Campus
• Parallel Computing, 10.00-13.00, Friday 7 and Friday 14 June, Training Room 4, Old Library, Streatham Campus
• Introduction to MATLAB, 13.00-16.00, Thursday 13 & Thursday 20 June, Seminar Room 1, Digital Humanities, Streatham Campus
• Regression Analysis with R, 13.00-16.00, Tuesday 25 June, Training Room 4, Old Library, Streatham Campus

There are limited spaces to attend virtually for those who can not feasibly get to the venue.