Monthly Archives: September 2017

Postgraduate Researcher Week 9-13 October 2017

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Join us for a week of bespoke workshops and wider events for both new and more advanced researchers.

Full Programme


New Researchers

Postgraduate Researcher Week offers a wide range of events that serve as a welcome for new researchers and aim to help you learn more about the training and development opportunities available to you as a postgraduate researcher at the University of Liverpool.

The LDC Development Team is offering the following events for new researchers:

Taking Ownership of your PhD –  10th  Oct,    12th  Oct

This one-day workshop offers new researchers the opportunity to explore how to take ownership of the PhD. Through discussions and activities, you will identify the milestones and planning processes involved in pursuing a PhD and learn how to successfully work with your supervisor. You will also have an opportunity to introduce your research to fellow researchers and plan personal objectives in order to achieve your longer-term professional ambitions.

Webinar: Effectively Using PGR Toolbox  – 11th Oct 1pm
This lunch-time webinar aims to help new PGRs make effective use of the PGR Toolbox in Liverpool Life.  We will provide an overview of the key systems and processes and step-by-step instructions with a live demonstration.  There will be time for questions and answers throughout the webinar.

Solving the Challenges of Part-Time Research- 13 Oct-14.00-15.00– This workshop is open to all part-time researchers and offers the opportunity to share your experiences and explore potential solutions to any problems you are facing.

For more Advanced Researchers

There are a variety of sessions running during the week including, Your Thesis: why you should start your writing now!, Planning your Final Year, Thesis writing afternoon and Viva Survivor.  There are also several careers oriented events for those considering their future after their PhD.

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.

Do you teach? Develop your practice and get recognition!

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PGR in front of a class

Many postgraduate researchers get involved with teaching during their studies. You may have opportunities to work as a demonstrator in practical classes or as a tutor leading small group tutorials. Or maybe you have the opportunity to develop lectures for larger group, assist in marking and assessment or supervising junior research students.

New to teaching?

Taking on such responsibilities can be a daunting task for anyone, but you are not alone. There is a lot of support available, including a series of workshops delivered by the Academic Development team. We start the autumn term with workshops for new demonstrators (26th and 28th September) and a workshop on small group teaching (27th September). Details and booking can be found here: https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/cll/booking/

Experienced GTA?

For those of you with more teaching experience, we offer a scheme to help you develop your teaching skills further. Our GTA Recognition Scheme is aimed at PGRs with at least one year of teaching experience, and leads to recognition as Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (HEA). Becoming an Associate Fellow of the HEA allows you to use the post-nominal letters AFHEA, and signals to potential future academic employers that you have some experience in teaching and that you approach your teaching in a research-informed and reflective manner. HEA Associate Fellowship is recognised throughout UK Higher Education, and may also be useful if you are planning to look for academic work within Europe. It is less well recognised further afield, but one of the key aims of this programme is that it helps you to become a better-informed and more reflective teacher, and this is likely to make you a more credible candidate for any role that involves teaching in Higher Education.

The GTA Recognition Scheme involves two compulsory workshops (4 October and 8 May) and a series of 5 monthly group meetings. For more information or to sign up for the scheme, get in touch with Dr. Eli Saetnan (saetnan@liverpool.ac.uk).
Deadline for registration on the GTA Recognition Scheme is 15th September.

Further details

For more information on GTA training, including dates of all workshops for 2017-18 and details for the GTA Recognition Scheme, check out the current GTA handbook by following the link below or contacting Dr. Eli Saetnan (saetnan@liverpool.ac.uk).

GTA handbook 2017_18