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Research staff and students have access to specialist careers guidance, information and training services provided by the Centre for Career Development in collaboration with the Graduate School and Professional Development.

The Social Media sessions demonstrated a successful integration of a student-led initiative within a formal graduate training provision. The initiative underlined the importance of engaging PhD students in their own learning and training needs, in both sharing expertise with peers and in contributing to their own professional development. In doing so, it demonstrated to other postgraduate researchers how they might utilise their own areas of expertise to develop further student-led initiatives.

Loughborough University uses an automated system for generating, storing and analysing workshop feedback forms. These include ILOs and questions about participants’ learning to provide more in-depth evaluation than a standard ‘happy sheet’.

The Jubilee Graduate Centre (JGC) has been exclusively developed for postgraduate students and early career researchers. It works closely with Schools on the Jubilee Campus to develop Faculty-specific training and careers events for PGRs/ECRs focusing on transferable skills, and which reflect the requirements of the Funding Councils.

The Arts Graduate Centre (AGC) offers a unique social and training space which has been developed specifically for Arts Faculty postgraduates. Its main activity is grouped around building a community for postgraduates in the Arts Faculty, developing skills and improving employability. It has a centre which provides a place to study, socialise and find out information. AGC has a strong web presence which includes an interactive researcher portal using a workspace platform. This year it is piloting a compulsory training prrogramme, offering 3 days of bespoke training to Arts Faculty PGRs per year, alongside an an annual events programme (approx 30 instances) which is bespoke to the Arts Faculty and complimentary to the cross-Faculty Graduate School training offer at Nottingham. AGC also runs larger-scale conferences and networking events, often with a knowledge transfer or an interdisciplinary focus. These include interdisciplinary symposia, speed-conferencing evenings, HE fairs and research poster competitions. AGC has a strong history in arranging paid placements opportunities (30 per year) which are uniquely supported by regular guided groupwork (reflective practice sessions) and one-to-one support. AGC also supports postgraduate-led initiatives with project planning and proposal-writing advice. These have included a feminist reading group, the Nottingham Poetry Series (funded by Arts Council & Lottery Fund) and Mind the Skills Gap (funded initiaive to bring consultancy-level business training to Arts Faculty postgrads trhougha series of 8 full or half-day workshops.) . AGC also seeks additional funding annually to develop a special interest strand which speaks to training, social and networking needs amongst the postgraduate community as well as the knowledge transfer agenda. Last year we ran AGC Year of the Writer which had a Writer in Residence who coordinated a series of writing workshops (poetry, novels, for broadcast), author talks, a creative writing competition and local schools-based writing activities (co-ordinated by 2 paid postgraduate interns.) This year we received AHRC funding to run ResearcherCurator - a placement-like programme where participants are offered 4 days of specialist trainign and mentoring to design and deliver an element of public programming at the Galleries of Justice, Nottingham (see separate database entry). Part of the AGC events programme is also available to final-year undergraduates in order to support Faculty postgraduate recruitment. AGC is also piloting an alumni mentoring programme - Bridges - which is designed to match postgraduate students up with alumni already established in a range of career sectors for a 6-month e-mentoring relationship. Alumni have been an integral part of our Moving On series which uses alumni to deliver short training interventions designed to be responsive to the requirements of key potential employers. This included 'Copywriting and proofreading skills ofr publishing' (delivered by Publishing Operations Manager at Hodder & Stoughton. The Arts Gradaute Centre also works in collaboration with another Graduate Centre to offer training/information/social events to early career researchers.

The Postgraduate Enterprise Summer School, now in its sixth year, is a week long course that has been designed to teach skills in enterprise and entrepreneurship to postgraduate students at the University of Birmingham. Topics covered include innovation, marketing, business planning, financing, commercialisation and presentation skills. By the end of the course participants will: develop a business idea from the concept stage to a fully fledged business proposition; know the steps required to set up their own business; be aware of the requirements to commercialise research in an academic environment; be able to work effectively in a team environment; and identify which role they are best suited to in a business team. The Entrepreneurship and Innovation team of the Careers and Employability Centre plans, runs and facilitates the week with some teaching input. The majority of training is delivered by other internal staff, external trainers and entrepreneurs. The University’s Business School hosts the event providing training rooms and IT suites. Being intensive, all lunches and refreshment breaks need to be catered and one evening dinner is provided, as an opportunity to network with successful entrepreneurs from the region. In recent years, use of software (SimVenture) and the internet, brainstorming tools (Ketso) and profiling tools (e.g. Belbin, eFACETS) have significantly enriched the programme.

The short introduction to presentation skills is aimed at postgraduate researchers in the early stages of their research. It forms part of a portfolio of programmes on different aspects of presentation skills that postgraduate researchers can use to tailor their own development. Resources required are fairly basic- a training room with projection equipment and a flipchart stand for part of the demonstration. The session is delivered by a single trainer.

An interdisciplinary initiative run by doctoral researchers to enrich their research environment, enhance their skills and facilitate exchange of ideas on Europe.

The Short Introduction to Project Management is aimed at postgraduate researchers in the early stages of their research degree. It forms part of a portfolio of Project Management programmes of different lengths and levels of depth that postgraduate researchers can use to tailor their own development. Resources required are fairly basic - a training room with projection equipment and pen and paper for the interactive sections. The session is delivered by a single trainer.