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This is an annual day-long event for PhD students in the College of Science & Engineering. It consists of presentations by successful professionals in the discipline areas of the college and workshops on key employability issues such as "how to get a job" and "how to win research grants". Presenters are often University of Leicester alumni. Presentations are built around a clear brief focussing on opportunities and tips for aspiring professionals. The event incorporates a carefully structured networking lunch where PhD students meet the presenters to discuss career and employability issues, current trends in the professional areas and so on. The events also include exhibitions from research councils, recruitment companies and those providing development opportunities for PhD researchers in parallel with their studies.

This is an annual day-long event for PhD students in the College of Medicine, Biological Sciences & Psychology. It consists of presentations by successful professionals in the discipline areas of the college and workshops on key employability issues such as "how to get a job" and "how to win research grants". Presenters are often University of Leicester alumni. Presentations are built around a clear brief focussing on opportunities and tips for aspiring professionals. The event incorporates a carefully structured networking lunch where PhD students meet the presenters to discuss career and employability issues, current trends in the professional areas and so on. The events also include exhibitions from research councils, recruitment companies and those providing development opportunities for PhD researchers in parallel with their studies.

Charity Challenge is an opportunity for University of Leicester PhD students to develop career management transferrable skills whilst working in a volunteering context. Each PhD student raises money over a six month period to enable them to engage in an international volunteering activity, in the third world. The objective is for students to take part in this activity in a team environment and in this way enhance a range of transferrable skills of relevance to their professional future. The volunteering activity is a two week project designed to help a third world community, e.g. through refurbishing a school, nursery or other community location. Through engagement with this activity, as part of a team, participants skills are challenged and enhanced. Students are responsible for making sure that they have adequate medical, and travel insurance. They are also responsible for making sure that you have received all necessary medical vaccinations.

The Winning Team is a three-day training programme for PhD students, focussing on developing core skills for employment, enterprise and business development. During the training days participants receive: - training in creativity related skills; - training in business skills; - training in business planning; - feedback on their performance on two psychometric instruments, Thinking Styles and Emotional Intelligence. Between training days participants work in teams to develop a product concept and route to market. They also develop a business plan for this business concept under the supervision of an experience professional from the financial services sector. On the final day each team presents their business proposal in a dragons den format, to a group of business people and entrepreneurs drawn from the East Midlands area. Participants also complete a peer-review process and reflective diary. Those completing the course successfully receive the Leicester Award for Employability.

Evening Career Events are three hour career events for PhD students, at the University of Leicester. This focuses on PhD students from the College of Social Sciences and the College of Arts, Humanities & Law. Seven events are run over a two year cycle, each one focussing on a particular career sector. Each event consists of a number of speakers from the career sector, each speaker giving a short presentation to a prescribed format. This format includes an outline of the individual's career experience, a description of working in their area and hints and tips for aspirants and newcomers in terms of working in the field and the organisation. An additional part of the Evening Carer Event is an exhibition from some employers and recruiters in the particular employment sector.

An ePortfolio is an external facing website owned and maintained by a research student.

A BESTS is a chance for research students and staff to broaden their experiences and networks of contacts by fully funding a visit, of up to two months duration, to a host organisation anywhere in the world. The host organisation can be a university, business, government department, charity, non-governmental organisation, etc. In fact almost any organisation can be visited, provided it will give researchers the chance to broaden and deepen their understanding of what it means to be a researcher and the skills and attitudes they will need to make a success of their career in whatever sector they choose to move into. Competitive funding exists for at least 10 BESTS per annum.

Programme of workshops available to research staff, mapped to Loughborough Skills Statements and Concordat Principles

The Skills for the Professional Researcher (SPR) programme is at the core of our provision for postdoctoral and early career researchers. Presented by the University's Academic Practice Unit, the programme consists of a series of workshops that seek to combine depth with breadth, with sessions aimed at helping researchers hone their research skills (including specialist IT skills) and research management techniques, whilst also building capacity to enable them to take their research outside academia and engage with the wider world. The programme continues to evolve as new needs are identified and sought to be addressed.

The Research Staff (peer) mentoring scheme was designed to address the address specific career and professional development needs identified by early career researchers at the Univeristy of Nottingham, and to provide them with a structured and supported process to address these issues with colleagues. The scheme also underpins the university's commitment to the Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers (2008) which specifically highlights the importance of mentoring for research staff.