Category Archives: Faculty of Science & Engineering

Thesis Writing, Public Engagement, Career events and other workshops coming up in October

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The LDC Development team has announced the timetable for Autumn 2017, with booking open up to the end of October. See our web timetable for full details.

The specific events that we wish to highlight include:

Thesis writing workshops: These workshops are aimed at second and third year researchers who have begun their writing. They are a repeat of the Thesis Writing workshops offered previously, for those prepared to come and do some writing!

17 Oct 10:00 – 12:00 BiteSize Thesis: format and structure
19 Oct 14:00 – 16:00 BiteSize Thesis: edit for clarity
24 Oct 10:00 – 12:00 BiteSize Thesis: read, write, repeat
26 Oct 14:00 – 16:00 BiteSize Thesis: overcome writer’s block

You may also be interested in two sessions offered in Researcher week,

Your Thesis: why you should start your writing now! 9 Oct     14.00-15.00
Thesis writing afternoon 10 Oct   13.00-17.00

See the Researcher week timetable for more details.

Workshops for Public Engagement: A webinar and workshops to learn more about public engagement and to help you apply for funding and plan your own public engagement project.

17 Oct 12:30 – 13:30 Webinar: Introduction to Public Engagement
25 Oct 13:00 – 16:30 Public Engagement Incubator
02 Nov 13:00 – 16:30 Designing a Public Engagement Project using Design Thinking

Workshops to start your Career preparation: Our programme includes a range of half-day workshops and webinars for those preparing for their ongoing career, whatever stage of your PhD you are in.

26 Oct 09:15 – 12:30 Developing Networking Skills (tbc)
31 Oct 09:15 – 12:30 Career Management
02 Nov 09:15 – 12:30 Developing your Interview Skills
02 Nov 13:30 – 14:30 Webinar: Networking Skills

Additional workshops in this series are listed on the LDC Development timetable.

Career related events are also included in the Researcher week timetable.

Further workshops:

Further workshops in the programme include:

Delivering Academic Presentations is a small group workshop for those who are already preparing a research presentation. There is a small amount of preparation required to make the most of this half day workshop

18 Oct 13:00 – 16:00 Delivering Academic Presentations

Exploring Intercultural Communication: This is a joint webinar with XJTLU (and hence the early start) for those who feel who are facing language or cultural barriers in their research. We will addresses both the advantages of  adapting to a new cultures and solutions to help overcome problems.

24 Oct 09:30 – 10:30 Webinar: Intercultural Communication in the PhD
– support with language and culture barriers

Workshop for part-time researchers – this workshop, offered in Researcher week, is open to all part-time researchers to share their experiences  and solutions to any problems they have faced.

Solving the Challenges of Part-Time Research 13 Oct    14.00-15.00


LDC Development Team.

New PhD ‘Survival’ and ‘What Next?’ Video

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The LDC Development team has recently purchased two new videos, each about 30 minutes long which will be of interest to all postgraduate researchers in the University and covers two relevant topics related to PhD survival and preparing for your future career.

‘The PhD Survival Video’ discusses how the stress and pressure of a PhD can be made manageable and features drama scenes and interviews with doctoral candidates, supervisors and counsellors, to illustrate the potential problems and solutions.

The new video offers practical advice for dealing with common problems and surviving, including self-help strategies for doctoral students, what they should and should not expect from supervisors when they are struggling, the support they should find in their institutions to help them get through their degree.

>> View ‘The PhD Survival Video’

This video supplements further resources in our online section, with information relevant to the University of Liverpool:

Managing the Supervisory Relationship

We still have places on the following workshops that may also be of interest:

4th July   Dealing with Change and Uncertainty  09.15 – 16.30 Delivered by David Wilkinson

5th July The Fear  Course 09.15 – 16.30 Delivered by David Wilkinson

The ‘What Next?’ Video offers practical advice to help postgraduate researchers improve their employability. The video features  drama scenes, expert interviews and documentary case studies to illustrate the options for a successful PhD candidate, which  include a young academic, someone employed outside academia, and someone who has started his own business.

Specific topics  include: expanding your skill set and developing your CV; identifying your transferable skills; thinking outside the academic box and finding good careers advice

>> View the The ‘What Next?’ Video’

This video supplements our wider Careers resources, Career Management Skills

We have the following 4 session group coaching sessions that may also be of interest to those planning their future:

11, 13, 18 & 20 July – The next Step: Using your personality to work out the way forward 

13:15 – 14.45 (1.5 hrs each session) Delivered by Dr Daniel Holden, D2U Coaching the Department of Chemistry,

 

The above videos supplement the videos previously purchased,  The Good Viva video and  The Good Presentation video

LDC Development Team

New workshops offering essential skills for PGRs and a drop-in opportunity for networking

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Are you approaching your second year and have missed attending a First Year workshop in 2014-15?
If so, do you still want the opportunity to improve your skills in self-reflection, professional development planning and gain a greater knowledge of the wider research environment?
Do you want to practise and develop your communication, collaboration, time-management and networking skills to help progress with your research career?
Are you looking for an informal opportunity to network and discuss your research with other researchers?

PGRs in group activity
PGR Development is offering two new one-day workshops and one drop-in session for PGRs in September . The one-day workshops are aimed at PGRs who are in their second year but have not had the chance to book a First Year Development Workshop, (see below *) The two workshops are complimentary, but you may book for either workshop on its own.

These workshops would be beneficial for PGRs who are interested in increasing their skills in communication, collaboration, time management, self-reflection, professional development planning, networking and understanding the wider research environment or want to practice their
networking skills.

Lunches, tea and coffee are provided for both one day workshops.
Details about the workshops are below:

1. Introduction to Professional Development for Researchers   Wednesday, 23 September, 9:15-16:30

This one-day workshop offers an induction into the research environment and your own professional development needs.  The workshop provides a number of short sessions that introduce the key skills essential to a successful PhD experience, including:
•    Project management and how to complete a PhD on time
•    Building professional research networks to progress with your research
•    Ways to build a successful relationship with your supervisor
•    Planning your professional development as a Researcher

… Further Information

2. Interdisciplinary Collaboration     Thursday, 24 September, 9:15-16:30

This one-day inter-Faculty workshop offers an experiential learning opportunity to work in collaboration with other postgraduate researchers from different disciplines in order to produce and present a research proposal for an interdisciplinary conference. The event provides an opportunity to develop skills in communication, collaboration, time management and networking in a research context.

… Further Information

3. Networking Exchange Drop-In Session    Tuesday, 29 September, 13:30-14:30

The third event is aimed at all PGRs, at any stage of their PhD, who would like the opportunity to meet and discuss their research with fellow postgraduate researchers from across the University. The session provides a friendly space for group discussions, short presentations and casual networking.

… Further Information

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*Note for second year PGRs: While PGR Development workshops will no longer be compulsory from the 1st Oct 2015, these workshops may be highly recommended in the training statements of your individual Schools/Institutes for 2015/16.   Therefore, we expect that places on these workshops will be in high demand and ask that interested PGRs book as soon as possible in order to avoid disappointment.

________________________________________

To Book:
Please follow the individual links above for further information and to book your place.

Researcher Career Skills Workshop for Scientists and Engineers (2 Day Workshop)

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16th – 17th  July 2015 09:00 – 17:00  University campus

The transition to permanent employment from postgraduate research is a challenging prospect in a highly competitive job market. The University recognizes this challenge and encourages researchers to emphasise their strengths and reflect upon skills that could be developed further. We are delighted to offer an opportunity to participate in a new career skills development workshop for students within the Faculty of Science and Engineering. This two-day workshop will provide dedicated and practical support for final-year postgraduate researchers looking to improve their prospects of getting their ideal job.

The workshop will aid your career planning by providing practical and specific advice on CV writing and interview training. Participants are required to bring 1-2 job specifications for which they are interested in applying along with a CV that is optimized for those jobs.

The workshop will provide an excellent environment to discuss effective strategies for communicating your research to potential employers and develop the vital networking skills that prove useful in interview centres. In addition, the workshop will address other employability topics that are desirable to employers beyond academia such as intellectual property and commercialization.

This workshop will help you complete the careers requirement and compliments the online portfolio with direct face-to-face training.

The workshop is organised by the School of Physical Sciences and is open to all PGR students in the Faculty of Science and Engineering

Booking form

CSD Workshops for Poster Day 2015 – Creating and Printing your Poster

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In the run-up to Poster Day and Poster Day Online Computing Services are delivering 8 workshops for PGRs who are unfamiliar with creating and printing a poster or who want instruction on good practice. The workshop covers how to create an effective poster, including layout, colour choices, image handling and the best use of fonts. The workshop will also guide you through the steps to print your poster. The title of the workshop is called: Poster Day – Creating and Printing your Poster.

To book a place (on a first come, first served basis) please submit your request by logging in to http://help.liv.ac.uk: use your MWS login and password. On the next page (see screen grab below) click on ‘log a support call‘. Then book your selected workshop by using the online form. Enter the course details (including course name, date and time) into the box marked ‘Description’. Then click on ‘Submit.’ 

CSDhelpdesk2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Poster Day – Creating and Printing your Poster – next available dates and times:

6/3/15 at 10.00
9/3/15 at 2.00
11/3/15 at 10.00
17/3/15 at 10.00
19/3/15 at 2.00

TWO EXTRA WORKSHOPS!

Friday 13th March (2-4pm)
Wednesday 18th March (2-4pm)

Computing Services advertise their workshops here: http://pcwww.liv.ac.uk/csd/workshops/

When you make a booking, you will receive a confirmation email from the Helpdesk. One week prior to the event you will receive a second email to remind you of your booking. If you can no longer attend please cancel your place as there may be others that want to attend – remember there are only 12 places per workshop. This workshop is specifically for research postgraduates who are submitting a poster for the Poster Day event on 26th March 2015.

PGR Development complements this workshop with online support which you can find here: http://pcwww.liv.ac.uk/~pgro/PosterPrep/index.htm

Full Guidelines for posters presented at Poster Day and Poster Day Online, in terms of the required format and content are provided at http://www.liv.ac.uk/pgr-development/poster-day/guidelines

New video guidence on Intellectual Property and Copyright:

Copyright poster: https://stream.liv.ac.uk/68e26cqd

Link for IP: https://stream.liv.ac.uk/yfc8jbxu

New PGR Events April – June 2014 – beginning with ‘Collaboration’

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We have a new line-up of half-day events to offer postgraduate researchers starting with Collaboration on the 2nd of April delivered by Dr Peter Kahn.The session aims to increase your awareness of the importance of collaborative working to your research, and to careers within higher education. It will further look to develop your understanding of the nature of collaborative working in this setting, and explore practical ways for you to engage in and initiate processes of joint decision making and action.

Peter Kahn is a member of the Educational Development Team and has active research interests in relation to professional learning, continuing professional development and research-led learning. His interests take in collaborative working, academic development, learning theory, reflective practice, professionalism in medical education, widening participation and academic writings skills.

You can book onto Collaboration by clicking here and you can read more about the session by reading Peter’s handout collab_handout_PGRJuly2013

We then have the following PGR Events for April to June 2014:

Date/time Session Deliverer
2/4/14 – Wednesday 9.30 – 12.00 Collaboration Peter Kahn
14/4/14 – Monday 14.00 – 16.00 Project Management Briefing Richard Hinchcliffe
29/4/14 – Tuesday – 10.00 – 12.00 Starting Writing and Writers Block Alan Greaves
29/4/14 – Tuesday 14.00 – 16.00 Critical Thinking Richard Hinchcliffe
5/6/14 – Thursday 14.00 – 16.00 Managing your supervisor Richard Hinchcliffe
13/6/14 – Friday 10.00 – 12.30 and 14.00 – 16.00 Thesis Writing and Argument (Bookable seperately) Richard Hinchcliffe
17/6/14 – Tuesday 14.00 – 16.00 Managing your supervisor Richard Hinchcliffe
25/6/14 – Wednesday  10.00 – 12.00 Project Management Briefing Richard Hinchcliffe

There may be more events added so please watch this blog.

 

CSD Workshops for Poster Day – Creating and Printing your Poster

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In the run-up to Poster Day, Computing Services are delivering 6 workshops for PGRs who are unfamiliar with creating and printing a poster or who want instruction on good practice. The workshop covers how to create an effective poster, including layout, colour choices, image handling and the best use of fonts. The workshop will also guide you through the steps to print your poster. The title of the workshop is called:  Poster Day – Creating and Printing your Poster.

Places are booked on a first come, first served basis and should be made via https://help.liv.ac.uk

Here are the dates and times:

Tuesday 04/03/2014 (10:00 – 12:00)
Thursday 06/03/2014 (14:00 – 16:00)
Wednesday 12/03/2014 (14:00 – 16:00)
Thursday 13/03/2014 (10:00 – 12:00)
Monday 17/03/2014 (14:00 – 16:00)
Thursday 20/03/2014 (14:00 – 16:00)

Computing Services advertise their workshops here: http://pcwww.liv.ac.uk/csd/workshops/

When you make a booking, you will receive a confirmation email from the Helpdesk. One week prior to the event you will receive a second email to remind you of your booking. If you can no longer attend please cancel your place as there may be others that want to attend – remember there are only 12 places per workshop. This workshop is specifically for research postgraduates who are submitting a poster for the Poster Day event on 10 April 2014.

PGR Development complement this workshop with online support which you can find here:  http://pcwww.liv.ac.uk/~pgro/PosterPrep/index.htm

Continuing Education Courses for PGRS: Enhance your Development – Learn something different

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PGRs are very busy people who need to focus and concentrate on their research topic. But you are also aware of the need to have a broad experience and to find creative and informative issues from wider afield in order to support your development. There’s never a better time or place to do this while you are still at university – so take advantage if you can while you are here!

If you would like to learn a little bit more about a subject or topic that you enjoy then why not enrol on a Continuing Education (CE) course at the Centre for Lifelong Learning? There are over 250 courses for you to choose, from a variety of fascinating subjects.

There may also be opportunities for PGRs to teach and offer Continuing Education courses. So, if you have a good idea for a course (email Carol Stewart – cmes1@liv.ac.uk in the first instance) and this could give you valuable teaching experience for your CV.

There is a discounted cost for PGRs and staff. There are courses in: Archaeology Classical Languages Philosophy Music Art and Art History History English Literature Creative Writing Science Information Technology Business Studies

Put any courses you attend into your Portfolio of Activity. You do not need any prior experience on any of these courses (unless specified) and they are open to University staff, the public and students, so it is a great opportunity to widen your social circle whilst cultivating a new interest. Click on the link below for a full listing of the current CE programme and our free courses for students. Prospectus: http://www.liv.ac.uk/cllserver/collage_extras/CE/docs/continuing_education_prospectus_2013-14.pdf

Where a CE course has enough people registered for it to run, but it is not full then CE are able to offer these places to students for the cost of administration (£10/15) This does not apply to Foreign languages.

Poster Day and Poster Day Online 2014 – Call for Registration

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PGR Development invites eligible PGR students to register for participation on Liverpool Life  for

Poster Day, which will be held on 10th April 2014 or,

Poster Day Online, 7th April – 2nd May 2014.

For further details on registration, eligibility requirements and guidance on poster preparation visit:

For Poster Day 2014: http://www.liv.ac.uk/pgr-development/poster-day/liverpool/.

The Participant Registration Deadline for Poster Day is Friday, 21st February 2014.

For Poster day Online 2014: http://www.liv.ac.uk/pgr-development/poster-day/online/ There are more stringent requirements for Poster Day Online as listed on the above website.

Poster Day and Poster Day Online provide opportunities for you to engage in public communication.  At both events you will present your research to a degree-educated general public and researchers in other subject areas.  These events provide valuable experience in gaining feedback on your presentation and research from senior academics and fellow research students. No exhibition will be allowed without pre-registration.

 

We look forward to your participation!

 

PGR Development, University of Liverpool

First-Year Development Workshop: Booking & Dates

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Booking is now open for the First-Year Development Workshop, APRS001, which takes place on 25-27 September 2013.  If you were unable to book a place during 2012/2013, please consider booking this workshop.  Places are limited to 28, and demand for workshops is high, so book early to avoid disappointment.

BOOK HERE

We will announce when booking is open for the remainder of the workshops for the 2013/2014 on this blog.  The dates of the workshops are provided below in order to help you plan your schedules.

Code Dates Type Spaces
APRS001 25-27 September Open to all PGRs 28
APRS002 30 October-1 November Open to all PGRs 28
APRS003 13-15 November Open to all PGRs 28
APRS004 27-29 November All PGRs from the School of Electrical Engineering, Electronics   & Computer Sciences 28
APRS005 11-13 December Open to all PGRs 28
APRS006 7-10 January School of Physical Sciences 28
APRS007 22-24 January Open to all PGRs 28
APRS008 5-7 February All PGRs from the Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences (t.b.c.) 28
APRS009 19-21 February Open to all PGRs 28
APRS010 12-14 March Open to all PGRs 28
APRS011 26-28 March Open to all PGRs 28
APRS012 7-9 May Open to all PGRs 28
APRS014 14-16 May Open to all PGRs 28
APRS015 28-30 May Open to all PGRs 28

The First-Year Development Workshops are a formal requirement of the PGR Development Programme and you are recommended to attend one of these workshops early in your degree.

The Structure of the Workshop

During the workshop participants will work in teams to devise a novel interdisciplinary research project. Each team will write an abstract outlining the need for the project, deliver a persuasive group presentation and take part in a peer review at the end of the workshop. This workshop provides:

  • Opportunities to network with researchers from other disciplines and to learn new approaches towards research
  • Occasions to communicate your research and ideas with peers
  • Discussions concerning the wider research environment
  • A safe and supportive environment where you can practice the skills and behaviours to enhance your research career

For information on what happens during the workshop and pre-workshop tasks, please visit:

https://www.liv.ac.uk/pgr-development/first-year/interfaculty/