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Workshops and Resources on offer


 

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.

If you are particularly interested in a specific workshop but have been unable to identify a convenient session, we would encourage you to let us know by emailing pgrtraining@rhul.ac.uk. We always endeavour to be responsive to demand and may be able to direct you to an available or future session. We may also be able to provide supporting materials from a previous class if that would be of use.

All RDP sessions are currently run online unless otherwise stated. You will be sent the information in the week prior to each session if you have signed up for it.

 

Timetable - please be advised that the 2024/25 is currently being worked on

Term 1

Date Time Title
October
08/10/24 10:00-11:30 Library Introduction
09/10/24 10:00-14:30 Wellbeing during your PhD
10/10/24 10:00-12:30 Getting the Most from the Reseacher/Supervisor Relationship
11/10/14 11:00- 12:30 The Good Supervisor Webinar
14/10/24 10:00-11:30 Making the Best Start you Can Pt.1
15/10/24 10:00-11:30 Making the Best Start you Can Pt.2
16/10/24 10:00-11:30 Making the Best Start you Can Pt.3
17/10/24 10:00-11:30 Making the Best Start you Can Pt.4
17/10/24 14:00-15:30 Research Efficiency
21/10/24 10:00-12:30 Approaching the Thesis
24/10/24 10:00-12:30 Writing the Literature Review
28/10/24 10:00-12:30 Writing Methodologies
November
01/11/24 10:00-11:30 Social Media for Researcher
04/11/24 10:00-14:00 Ethics and Data Protection
05/11/24 10:00-13:30 Preparing for the Viva
06/11/24 13:00-14:30 Introduction to Academic Writing
11/11/24 14:00-15:30 Research Effectiveness
11/11/24 10:00-13:00 Fundamentals of Academic Writing Pt.1
12/11/24 10:00-11:30 Senate House Library: what you always wanted to know
12/11/24 10:00-13:00 Fundamentals of Academic Writing Pt.2
13/11/24 10:00-13:00 Fundamentals of Academic Writing Pt.3
14/11/24 13:00-15:30 Managing your Research Publications, Pure & Research Data Well
15/11/24 10:00-12:30 How to Write a Research Proposal
15/11/24 13:30-16:30

Applying for Grants & Funding

19/11/24 10:00-16:00 The World Doesn't Owe you a Living: the Employable PhD
21/11/24 10:00-11:30 Advanced Search Techniques
26/11/24 10:00-16:00 The Entrepreneurial PhD
27/11/24 13:00-16:00 Introduction to Podcasting
28/11/24 10:00-11:30 Restarting Writing
December
02/12/24 10:00-11:30 Research Informed by AI Tools
 03/12/24 10:00-12:30

Revising & Editing the Thesis

04/12/24 10:00-11:30 Career & Professional Development Planning
05/12/24 14:00-15:00 Open Research - opportunities & benefits
09/12/24 10:00-11:30 Applying for Jobs: applications & CVs
10/12/24 12:00- 13:00 Using LinkedIn for Public Engagement & Impact
13/12/24 10:00-11:30 Reliability and Usefulness - how to critically evaluate information

Term 2

 
Date Time Title
January
 14/01/25 10:00-11:30 RefWorks, or how to make referencing easier
22/01/25 13:00-16;00 Introduction to Public Engagement (Royal Holloway)
27/01/25 10:00-13:00 Research Project Management Pt.1
28/01/25 10:00-11:30 Research Efficiency
 28/01/25 10:00-13:00 Research Project Management Pt.2
29/01/25 10:00-13:00 Research Project Management Pt.3
30/01/25 10:00-13:00 Research Project Management Pt.4
31/01/25 10:00-16:00 Bullying & Harassment
31/01/25 10:00-11:30 Library Introduction
February
03/02/25 10:00-11:30 Research Effectiveness
04/02/25 10:00-14:00 Ethics & Data Protection
07/02/25 10:00-11:30 Searching for Systematic Reviews
10/02/25 10:00-11:30 From Surviving to Thriving Pt.1
11/02/25 10:00-11:30 From Surviving to Thriving Pt.2
11/02/25 13:00-15:30 Managing your Research Publications, Pure & Research Data Well
12/02/25 10:00-11:30 From Surviving to Thriving Pt.3
13/02/25 10:00-11:30 From Surviving to Thriving Pt.4
14/02/25 10:00-11:30 From Surviving to Thriving Pt.5
17/02/25 10:00-11:30 AI Tools: a practical session
25/02/25 10:00-11:30 Primary Source Research
27/02/25 10:00-12:30 How to Write a Research Proposal
27/02/25 13:30-16:30 Applying for Grants & Funding
27/02/25 14:00-15:00 Open Research - opportunities & benefits
March
04/03/25 10:00-13:30 Preparing the Viva
05/03/25 10:00-11:30 Starting to Lead
07/03/25 10:00-11:30

Images as part of Research

10/03/25 10:00-11:30 Read all About it: finding and accessing newspapers for research
11/03/25 10:00-14:30 Wellbeing during your PhD
11/03/25 18:00-19:30 Part Time PhD
12/03/25 10:00-12:30 Getting the Most from the Researcher/Supervisor Relationship
13/06/25 13:00-15:00 From PhD to Postdoc
18/03/25 09:30-12:30 Social Media for Researchers (Royal Holloway)
18/03/25 10:00-11:30 EndNote, or how to make referencing easier
27/03/25 10:00-11:30 Zotero, or how to make referencing easier
April
03/04/25 13:00-15:00 HE Careers outside of Academia
10/04/25 10:00-11:30 Finding and using Audiovisual Material
15/04/25 10:00-11:30 Research Informed by AI Tools

Term 3

Date Time Title
May
06/05/25 10:00-12:00 Women in Leadership Pt.1
06/05/25 13:00-14:30 Identifying your Skills and Strengths
09/05/25 10:00-12:00 Women in Leadership Pt.2
13/05/25 10:00-12:00 Women in Leadership Pt.3
13/05/25 10:00-11:30 Presenting your Research with Accessibility in Mind
14/05/25 10:00-13:00 How to Present your Research
15/05/25 11:00-13:00 Freelancing & Self-employment
15/05/25 13:00- 14:00 Using LinkedIn for Public Engagement & Impact
16/05/25 10:00-12:00 Women in Leadership Pt.4
20/05/25 10:00-12:00 Women in Leadership Pt.5
22/05/25 10:00-11:30 Advanced Search Techniques
June
03/06/25 10:00-11:30 Reliability & Usefulness - how to critically evaluate information
19/06/25 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.

  • Ethical Research online modules help you to understand ethics of your research.

  • 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.

 

How do I book?

For course and booking information see the RDP Moodle site.

Please contact Dr Laura Christie if you have any queries or alternatively please email pgrtraining@rhul.ac.uk

Quick Links

 

How much research training should I do?

There is an expectation to do 5 days of researcher development each year for the first 3 years of full-time study. This can be fulfilled either through the RDP, or training provided through your department or school, external organisations and societies etc. As a general guide, a 1-3 hour course is a half day and 4+ hours is a full day. Other developmental activities may count towards this, such as writing and submitting a conference paper or publication and volunteering activities. You can discuss these development expectations with your supervisor.

Contact Us

By email: 

Laura.Christie@rhul.ac.uk

pgrtraining@rhul.ac.uk

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