People skills, facilitation, writing retreats, … and more in May

Posted on April 30, 2020 by Shirley Cooper

Our programme for May contains a varied range of opportunities, online workshops, writing retreats and shorter sessions, to support your development and to support your well-being in this time of uncertainly and to help maintain a sense of continuity.

Online workshops – Working with difficult people

The Company of Mind are providing a series of three shorter online workshops for the originally offered full day workshops, ‘Working with difficult people’. These online workshops will be presented in the Zoom software and will provide a mixture of ideas and interactive activities, with a further half hour at the end of each workshop for questions and discussion.

1: Wednesday, 13 May 2020 10:00 – 12:00 – Online workshop “People – Similarities”

2: Thursday, 21 May 10:00 – 12:00 – Online workshop ” People – Differences”,

3: Friday, 29 May 10:00 – 11:30 – Online workshop ” People and Change”

Follow the above links for further details and registration.

Facilitation

Would you like to learn more about the role of an effective facilitator? Facilitation skills are an essential part of the toolkit for managing group discussions, whether in formal or informal meetings and in group teaching, as well as for tutoring on our development programme.

.20 May

12:30 – 14:00

Webinar: Facilitation skills for working online

This webinar forms part of the LDC Development tutor scheme and, following this session we hope to provide opportunities for further practice in online facilitation.

Online presentations practise: We are providing second opportunity to gain practise in delivering online presentations in a friendly environment, with supportive feedback. Please contact me directly, shirley.cooper@liverpool.ac.uk if you have any questions or suggestions.

06 May

09:30 – 12:30

Online Presentations practice session

Online Writing retreats

Our online writing retreats are continuing in May with sessions every Tuesday morning. These retreats provide a structured period for writing between opportunities for group discussions at share concerns and gain a sense of camaraderie.

05 May 09:45 – 12:00
12 May 09:45 – 12:00
19 May 09:45 – 12:00
26 May 09:45 – 12:00

We will be supplementing these retreats with shorter sessions to discuss different aspects of writing. Further information will be circulated to those on the email list.

Please note that we are using a single Eventbrite form for these retreats, which will serve as an email list. You only need to sign up once to this form, without obligation to attend specific events (The event date will regularly update, but this is solely so that the date of the next retreat appears in Liverpool Life!)

Brilliant Club

The Brilliant club are now recruiting PhD researchers as tutors in local schools for 2020-21. To find out more details, come to one of their webinars:

20 May

11:00 – 12:00

Webinar: Introduction to the Brilliant Club

This webinar will outline what the Brilliant Club does and the advantages of getting involved in this scheme. Further details are provided in our blog on the above link.

Mindfulness Interactive workshops

Following on from the workshop on Mindfulness techniques, we are offering weekly 30 minute yoga based interactive sessions in May to help you develop a positive mindset and practice meditation. Presented by Priyanka Sakhavalkar, these sessions will include a mixture of relaxation and guided meditation

The sessions will run on Thursdays at 12:00 on the 7^th,14^th ,21^th and 28^th May.

To sign up for further information to join these events, please register on the Eventbrite form for these workshops.

Peers for PhDs

In May the group are hosting coffee mornings on alternative Tuesday and Thursdays as follows:

Thursday 30th April
Tuesday 5th May
Thursday 14th May
Tuesday 19th May

For further details please email Natasha Bradley at Natasha.Bradley@liverpool.ac.uk.

All postgraduate researchers at Liverpool are welcome to join any of the above events. Further events for June will be announced in our Programme Timetable, and communicated through this blog, PGR News @Liverpool, and on twitter at @livuniPGRDev.

The Scholars Programme – PhD tutor opportunities for 2020-21

Posted on April 16, 2020 by Shirley Cooper

Preparing for opportunities after the lock-down?

The University of Liverpool works in partnership with The Brilliant Club to offer you the opportunity to join the Scholars Programme in 2020-21.

You are invited to a webinar on the 29th April or 20th May to learn more about these opportunities.

The Scholars Programme is run by The Brilliant Club, an award-winning university access charity. They recruit and train doctoral and post-doctoral researchers to deliver programmes of university-style teaching to pupils in schools that serve under-represented communities.

Why Become a Scholars Programme PhD Tutor?

Support local pupils from under-represented backgrounds to access university
Get expert training and real experience to develop your teaching and other transferable skills
Earn £500 per placement plus an additional £100 for designing a new course, and travel expenses
Disseminate your research to small groups of school pupils
Join a nationwide community of like-minded researchers making a huge impact on university access

Information for Researchers – 2020

The Brilliant Club will be running an online webinar on 29 April 2020 at 11am and 20 Mary 2020 at 11am, where you can find out more about the opportunity of becoming a Scholars Programme PhD tutor. Come along to find out more about the opportunity. To access the webinar, please follow the following links (Google chrome is recommended):

Wednesday 29 April 2020, 11am– https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/995686677

Wednesday 20 May 2020, 11am – https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/810030517

Successful applicants are able to select which terms they would like to work as a tutor in and whether they would like to deliver multiple-placements.

Tutors are supported by a training programme consisting of two full-days including sessions on tutorial pedagogy, assessment and designing a course handbook. Each Scholars Programme placement then begins with tutors accompanying their pupils on a university trip, followed by six further tutorials in their school. At the end of the programme pupils submit an assignment which is marked by their tutor.

You can find out more about The Brilliant Club and the tutoring opportunity online. To apply please visit the application form.

If you have any queries please do not hesitate to email The Brilliant Club at apply@thebrilliantclub.org.

Alternatively, are you looking for a full-time position?

If you’re keen on working with young people and feel passionate about our charity’s aims, you can apply to our sister programme, Researchers in Schools. RIS is a full-time route into teaching for PhDs that incorporates elements from The Scholars Programme, along with a host of other features designed to get the most from your research skill set. For more information on RIS, including funding and benefits, contact us on apply@researchersinschools.org or visit www.researchersinschools.org

Our new online programme for April

Posted on April 6, 2020 by Shirley Cooper

We are pleased to announce a range of new online workshops, webinars and writing retreats for April, following the cancellation of all face to face workshops for the remainder of the academic year.

Al postgraduate researchers at Liverpool are welcome to join any of the events below. Further events for May and June will be announced soon and the dates will be be listed on our Programme Timetable, and communicated through this blog, PGR News @Liverpool, and on twitter at @livuniPGRDev.

Online workshops and webinars

We have expanded on our planned webinars for April, as follows:

16 Apr	12:30 – 13:30	Webinar: Using Twitter for Academic Purposes
22 Apr	10:00 – 12:00	Mindfulness techniques to support self-isolation (Online workshop)
29 Apr	12:30 – 13:30	Webinar: Time-management techniques for working in isolation

In addition, the Company of Mind have agreed to provide a series of three shorter online workshops for each of the originally offered full day workshops, ‘Practical thinking for researchers’ and ‘Working with difficult people’. These online workshops will be presented in the Zoom software and will provide a mixture of ideas and interactive activities, with a further half hour at the end of each workshop for questions and discussion. The first set of workshops are as follows:

08 Apr	10:00 – 12:30	Practical Thinking for Researchers, 1 – Creative Thinking (Online workshop) – FULLY BOOKED*
16 Apr	10:00 – 12:30	Practical Thinking for Researchers, 2 – Constructive & Practical Thinking (Online workshop)
24 Apr	10:00 – 12:30	Practical Thinking for Researchers, 3 – Critical Thinking (Online workshop)

Each of these online workshops may be booked and taken separately. *Priority booking for the first session on the 8th April has been given to those who registered for the workshop for 31^st March, and who will receive an email with further information.

Online presentations practise: We are also providing an opportunity to gain practise in delivering online presentations in a friendly environment, with supportive feedback. This first session will be trial session, please contact me directly, shirley.cooper@liverpool.ac.uk if you have any questions or suggestions.

28 Apr

09:30 – 12:30

Online Presentations practice session
(Online workshop)

Online Writing retreats

During the period of Covid-19, we will need to meet virtually, but we hope that by setting out specific and protected time for writing, with set periods of discussion and silence, we give those attending a chance to motivate each other and feel part of a wider, supportive community. Each session will begin with a short general discussion for those attending to share any concerns or good practice.

The upcoming sessions are as follows:

08 Apr	09:45 – 12:00	Online Writing Retreat
15 Apr	09:45 – 12:00	Online Writing Retreat
21 Apr	09:45 – 12:00	Online Writing Retreat
27 Apr	09:45 – 12:00	Online Writing Retreat

Please note that we are using a single Eventbrite form; by signing up to this form, you will receive regular updates on this part of the programme and are not committed to attending on any specific date.

Methods webinars from LJMU

Liverpool John Moores University have kindly opened their series of webinars on methods to postgraduate researchers at the University of Liverpool. Further details and booking below:

27^th April, 14.00-16.00 Writing Reflexivity

28^th April, 10.0-12.00 Getting to Grips with Method and Methodology

28^th April, 13.30-15.30 Focus Group Skills for Researchers

Please use your University of Liverpool email address when you register for any of the above events.