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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 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.

Volunteering is an often-overlooked route to skills development. Working with the Guild of Students, the Graduate School promotes a range of volunteering options to enable postgraduates to develop a range of invaluable skills while also helping the local (and wider) community.