Researcher Development Programme
The Researcher Development Programme offers workshops and resources to help you develop transferable and employable skills and capabilities that will be invaluable for your doctoral research and broader professional development. The programme has been mapped to the Vitae Researcher Development Framework which you can use to reflect on your development as a researcher.
You will need to register your place on a workshop through the Researcher Development Programme Moodle page. If you are an external student with another University but are linked to Royal Holloway via a DTP (e.g. TECHNE) or CDT or via another partnership and want to attend a session please email pgrtraining@rhul.ac.uk
We have a core schedule of classes below and we update the timetable at the start of each academic year. Some ad hoc workshops are announced via email to all Doctoral Researchers and in the twice monthly Researcher Newsletter.
All RDP sessions are currently run online unless otherwise stated. You will be sent the information a few days prior to each session if you have signed up for it.
The 2025/26 timetable is now available! Please book all sessions via the RDP Moodle page.
| Date |
Time |
Title |
| October |
|
|
| 07/10/25 |
10:00 - 11:30 |
Library Introduction |
| 10/10/25 |
09:30 - 13:00 |
Making the Best Start you Can Pt.1 |
| 14/10/25 |
10:00 - 11:30 |
Advanced search techniques |
| 15/10/25 |
10:00 - 14:30 |
Wellbeing during your PhD |
| 16/10/25 |
10:00 12:30 |
Getting the Most from the Researcher/Supervisor Relationship |
| 17/10/25 |
09:30 - 13:00 |
Making the Best Start you Can pt.2 |
| 21/10/25 |
12:00 - 13:00 |
Careers Intro session to service and digital platforms |
| 22/10/25 |
10:00 - 12:00 |
Literature Reviews |
| 23/10/25 |
10:00 - 12:00 |
Methods |
| 27/10/25 |
10:00 - 11:30 |
Critical evaluation: techniques for evaluating research materials |
| November |
|
|
| 03/11/25 |
10:00 - 13:30 |
Ethics of Research and Data Protection |
| 06/11/25 |
10:00 - 11:30 |
Understanding AI and ethics |
| 10/11/25 |
10:00 - 13:00 |
Fundamentals of Academic Writing for Publication pt.1 |
| 11/11/25 |
10:00 - 13:00 |
Fundamentals of Academic Writing for Publication pt.2 |
| 12/11/25 |
10:00 - 13:00 |
Fundamentals of Academic Writing for Publication pt.3 |
| 12/11/25 |
14:00 - 16:30 |
Managing your research publications, Pure and research data well |
| 13/11/25 |
10:00 - 13:00 |
Getting the Writing Written |
| 14/11/25 |
13:00 - 14:30 |
Research Efficiency |
| 17/11/25 |
13:00 - 14:30 |
Research Effectiveness |
| 18/11/25 |
10:00 - 11:30 |
AI tools: a practical session |
| 18/11/25 |
13:00 - 15:30 |
Introduction to Podcasting |
| 19/11/25 |
13:00 - 16:15 |
Preparing for the Viva |
| 20/11/25 |
10:00 - 12:00 |
Editing |
| 24/11/25 |
10:00 - 11:30 |
Senate House Library: what you always |
| 27/11/25 |
10:00 - 13:00 |
Writing your Literature Review with Nvivo Software |
| December |
|
|
| 03/12/25 |
10:00 - 11:30 |
Beyond the mainstream: Exploring grey literature and contemporary data |
| 04/12/25 |
14:00 - 15:00 |
Open Research: opening up opportunities and benefits for your research |
|
|
|
|
Date
|
Time
|
Title
|
|
January
|
|
|
|
14/01/26
|
10:00 - 11:30
|
RefWorks, or how to make referencing easier
|
|
19/01/26
|
10:00 - 11:30
|
Searching for systematic reviews
|
|
19/01/26
|
12:00 - 14:00
|
Writing Literature Reviews
|
|
19/01/26
|
10:00 - 11:30
|
Research Efficiency
|
|
20/01/26
|
12:00 - 14:00
|
Writing Strong Methodologies
|
|
21/01/26
|
12:00 - 14:00
|
Navigating the Upgrade
|
|
22/01/26
|
12:00 - 14:00
|
Maximising your PhD Supervision
|
|
23/11/26
|
12:00 - 14:00
|
From Overwhelmed to On Track: Daily Productivity for Busy Researchers
|
|
30/01/26
|
10:00 - 11:30
|
Library Introduction
|
|
February
|
|
|
|
02/02/26
|
10:00 - 13:30
|
Ethics of Research and Data Protection
|
|
03/02/26
|
10:00 - 11:30
|
Research Effectiveness
|
|
09/02/26
|
10:00 - 11:30
|
Primary source research
|
|
10/02/26
|
13:00 - 15:30
|
Managing your research publications, Pure and research data well
|
|
11/02/26
|
10:00 - 16:00
|
Navigating Postdoc and ECR Funding and Developing Strong Applications
|
|
12/02/26
|
13:00 - 15:30
|
Introduction to Podcasting
|
|
16/02/26
|
10:00 - 11:30
|
Writing for The Conversation
|
|
17/02/26
|
10:00 - 11:30
|
Part time PhD
|
|
18/02/26
|
10:00 - 11:30
|
Starting to Lead
|
|
19/02/26
|
10:00 - 13:00
|
Conducting Qualitative Research and Analysis with Nvivo Software
|
|
20/02/26
|
10:00 - 11:30
|
Copyright and licenses: using research materials with confidence
|
|
23/02/26
|
10:00 - 11:30
|
From Surviving to Thriving pt.1
|
|
24/02/26
|
10:00 - 11:30
|
From Surviving to Thriving pt.2
|
|
25/02/26
|
10:00 - 11:30
|
From Surviving to Thriving pt.3
|
|
26/02/26
|
10:00 - 11:30
|
From Surviving to Thriving pt.4
|
|
26/02/26
|
14:00 - 15:00
|
Open Research: opening up opportunities and benefits for your research
|
|
27/02/26
|
10:00 - 11:30
|
From Surviving to Thriving pt.5
|
|
March
|
|
|
|
03/03/26
|
10:00 - 11:30
|
Finding and using images and audiovisual materials in research
|
|
09/03/26
|
10:00 - 14:30
|
Wellbeing During your PhD
|
|
13/03/26
|
10:00 - 12:30
|
Getting the Most out of the Researcher/Supervisor Relationship
|
|
16/03/26
|
10:00 -11:30
|
EndNote, or how to make referencing easier
|
|
17/03/26
|
13:00 - 16:15
|
Preparing for the Viva
|
|
17/03/26
|
10:00 - 11:30
|
Career and Professional Development Planning
|
|
18/03/26
|
10:00 - 11:30
|
How to write an abstract for your thesis, a journal, book chapter or conference paper
|
|
19/03/26
|
10:00 - 11:30
|
Applying for Jobs: Applications and Cvs
|
|
24/03/26
|
10:00 - 13:00
|
The Employable PhD
|
|
25/03/26
|
10:00 - 13:00
|
The Entrepreneurial PhD
|
|
27/03/26
|
10:00 -11:30
|
Understanding AI and ethics
|
|
30/03/26
|
13:00 - 14:00
|
Freelancing and Self-Employment
|
|
31/03/26
|
11:00 - 12:00
|
Identifying Skills and Strengths
|
|
April
|
|
|
|
14/04/26
|
10:00 - 11:30
|
AI tools: a practical session
|
|
22/04/26
|
10:00 -11:30
|
Zotero, or how to make referencing easier
|
|
|
|
| Date |
Time |
Title |
| May |
|
|
| 05/05/26 |
10:00 - 11:30 |
Presenting your research with accessibility in mind |
| 14/05/26 |
10:00 - 13:00 |
How to Present Your Research Pt.1 |
| 19/05/26 |
10:00 - 11:30 |
Mapping the research landscape with citation network tools |
| 21/05/26 |
10:00 - 13:00 |
How to Present Your Research Pt.2 Practical |
| June |
|
|
| 03/06/26 |
10:00 - 11:30 |
Using Archives in your research: Finding diverse sources |
| 22/06/26 |
10:00 - 11:30 |
Referencing for publication |
External and Online Resources and Courses
Visit the RDP Moodle site to find out more about:
-
The Alternative Guide to Postgraduate Funding Online. This guide is all about alternative sources of funding — especially charities — which can make awards (fees, maintenance, research costs) to any student regardless of subject or nationality. The Alternative Guide Online contains a huge database of funding opportunities, comprehensive guidance and numerous tools to help you prepare a winning grant application. Sign up with your rhul.ac.uk account.
-
DataCamp is an online resource to to help you learn programming languages such as Python, R, SQL.
-
DrApp contains videos covering everything from working with supervisors and preparing for the viva examination to coping with stress and mental health challenges, from research impact to networking skills. Current researchers can download and register for the app here and prospective students can email Stephen Engelhard at steve@angelproductions.co.uk for an account.
-
Equality and Diversity is an online course on Moodle that focuses on promoting an awareness of equality and diversity issues. It comprises both theoretical and practical perspectives. The course is a useful starting point for exploring attitudes and behaviour to help promote equality and diversity.
-
Research Professional gives you access to up-to-date funding and news in an easy-to-use format. You can set up your own searches and create email alerts focusing on your area of research.
-
Web of Science Academy is a free, self-guided set of courses for early career researchers, developed together with expert academics and editors, to teach you the core competencies of peer reviewing. Topics include research intergrity and good citation practice, ethical publishing behavior, scholarly peer review, and peer reviewing in practice.
These and other resources can be found on Moodle.