Category Archives: Workshops & Training

A warm welcome to all of our new PGRs! 

March 16 Induction groupFrom March 15th-18th 2016 The Graduate School welcomed 22 new postgraduate research students, all joining the University to start a research degree, some part-time, some full time, with many being members of University staff.

Over the four days they were launched into their doctorate by an intensive series of workshops, including an introduction to the procedures and processes of doctoral study, support sessions where they met members of University staff, IT sessions, networking opportunities and a presentation session where they all gave a 5 minute talk on their research.

Welcome to you all from The Graduate School and Research Support Hub! For further information on starting your research degree, recapping what’s what, please see the Research Support Hub resources here. Or search in the box above using the key word ‘Induction’ for even more tips and tools.

 

 

Part-Time Researcher programme for PGRs running on May 6th

Vitae logo

If you are a Postgraduate Research Student studying part-time then you might be interested in the Part-Time Researcher Development Day The Graduate School are running on Friday 6th May, in collaboration with the Open University and Keele University.

Originally developed through Vitae, the Programme is a day-long series of discussions and workshops, offering part-time research students the time and space to share and discuss issues which directly affect their research degree study. Read the rest of this entry

Supervisor Development Programme – next delivery

The university runs a development programme for supervisors who are new to research degree supervision, co-ordinated by Professor Ian Livingstone.  It is a validated university postgraduate course and it is delivered as two modules – Workshops and Observation.  It is a requirement of our research degree regulations that everyone who is new to supervision takes the first module – the workshops.  The second module is optional but if you complete both you are awarded the Postgraduate Certificate in Research Degree Supervision which you can count as one completion when putting together supervisory teams. Even if you have previously supervised research students, there may be some elements of the programme that you would find useful.

The next delivery of the workshops will run 9.30-4.00 on Tuesday 5th, Wednesday 6th and Thursday 7th July 2016. There will be a further session of seminars led by participants – dates to be negotiated.

If you are intending to join this programme and have not yet contacted Ian Livingstone, please do so now. (x 3362; email: ian.livingstone@northampton.ac.uk)

Finishing Development Day for research students on 23rd February

Graduate School WorkshopsAre you a research student in the final stages of your doctorate, post-Transfer? If you are, you may be interested in the Graduate School Finishing Development Day, running on Tuesday 23rd February.

The 3 sessions will be:
9:30: Preparing for the viva: Prof Chris Roe.
Followed by Meet the ‘viva survivors’! PhD alumni talk about their experiences for a frank and informative question and answer session.
13:00 Editing and finishing your thesis: Prof. Ian Livingstone.
15:15 Proofreading your work: Prof Ian Livingstone and Simone Apel.

You can find out more and book a place on just one or all three workshops here.

Graduate School workshops and events coming up!

The Graduate School Development Programme has a variety of different workshops and events running in February for doctoral students and early career researchers.

Featured are three development days; one for all research students on publishing and promoting your research, another is a finishing day, for research students nearing the end of their doctorate, which includes workshops on finishing your thesis, preparing for the viva and proofreading your work. And we are also running our first ever leadership skills for researchers day.

Our main event this month is the launch of Images of Research Competition 2015-16. The Images of Research 2015-16 drinks reception will be held on Monday 1st February in Avenue Gallery Corridor from 5-6:30pm. Please come along – all invited. The exhibition will remain here until 19th February so do visit the exhibition and vote for your top three favourites.

Workshops running in February and early March include using MS Excel for statistics, mock interview and CV careers workshops, and a workshop looking at building professional relationships and how to get the best from the student/supervisor relationship. For more information and booking links read on.
Read the rest of this entry

Grounded Theory Forum dates 2016 – January’s meeting cancelled

Submitted by Dr Sarah Neill

Please note that the Grounded Theory forum scheduled for next week, Wednesday January 20th, has been cancelled. Apologies for the inconvenience. Details of other GT Forum meetings are as follows:

Date: Time: Room:
Wednesday 16th March 2016 1:00 to 3:00pm C318
Wednesday 29th June 2016 1:00 to 3:00pm K205

Workshop for research students approaching Transfer of Registration

mature students photoThe Graduate School are running a Development Day on Thursday 14th January for research students approaching or preparing for their Transfer of Registration. Our Pre-Transfer Development Day includes 3 workshops: Preparing for Transfer, Create your own data management plan, and Communicating your Research: Preparing for the Transfer viva and seminar.

All the Graduate School’s Development Days include lunch and refreshments and the opportunity for students to meet and chat with students from other disciplines throughout the day. Read the rest of this entry

Researchers – ever fancied starting your own business?

Dr Hiten Vyas, Business Adviser at the University’s Enterprise Club is running a new workshop on starting your own business, especially for the Graduate School, on Monday 11th January in the TPod, Rockingham Library from 1:30-3:30pm.

Aimed at research students and early career researchers, the workshop will cover the key topics to enable you to put together your first business plan. For anyone starting a business, your business plan acts as a unique roadmap to help start and develop your business and is also an essential tool if you intend to look for financial investment.

This workshop is part of a series of careers workshops for researchers. Other workshops coming up include a CV workshop on 25th January and a mock interview workshop on 18th February. Read the rest of this entry

New year’s resolutions: new skills anyone?

Happy new year to all from The Graduate School.

mature students photoIf you’re a Postgraduate Research Student how about making a new year’s resolution to focus more on your skills development. What knowledge or ability do you need to develop in 2016 to support your research degree? And what about your future career? Don’t wait until you’ve nearly finished your doctorate before you focus on that!

All the skills development workshops provided by the Graduate School (and the individual School’s discipline based programmes) are free to Northampton PGRs, so why not tap into them and learn some new skills to help support your doctoral studies and your career. Many workshops are also open to early career researchers working at the University.

Workshops coming up: Read the rest of this entry

Discipline-related research skills from the School of Social Sciences

SchoolsocscienceThe School of Social Sciences offers a programme of multidisciplinary training workshops. Subject-specific training and support is also offered via a diverse range of specialist research groups. Their programme is open to all PGRs at the University of Northampton.

Workshops coming up in 2016 include Research Impact, Researching with Vulnerable Groups (a joint workshop with the School of Health), and Open Access in the REF. Read the rest of this entry