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Languages @ Leicester is a programme of non-specialist courses run by the University of Leicester's School of Modern Languages in partnership with De Montfort University. It offers participants a chance to learn another language, even if they have never done so before. Funding from the University's Research Training Innovation Fund means that each year subsidised places are available for doctoral and postdoctoral researchers.

Our doctoral researchers are responsible for managing their own progress and personal and career development. The University provides support to enable students to do this and a key tool in this respect is the Research Student Progress File. Doctoral students and their supervisor(s) use this to plan and record personal development and monitor progress through the degree as well as to help them make the most of the range of researcher development training opportunities that are available.

The University's College of Arts, Humanities, and Law provides a complete programme of researcher development training for law postgraduate researchers. This covers a broad range of discipline specific and generic skills. The programme is staged so that students can take advantage of training opportunities appropriate for each stage of the research degree.

The University's College of Social Science provides a complete programme of researcher development training for social science postgraduate researchers. This covers a broad range of discipline specific and generic skills. The programme is staged so that students can take advantage of training opportunities appropriate for each stage of the research degree.

The University's College Science and Engineering and College of Medicine, Biological Sciences, and Psychology provide complete programmes of researcher development training for science and engineering postgraduate researchers. These cover a broad range of discipline specific and generic skills. The programmes are staged so that students can take advantage of training opportunities appropriate for each stage of the research degree.

The Graduate School's Guide to Researcher Development Training is a key tool for doctoral researchers and their supervisors. It describes the University's approach to researcher development training and provides details on the range of opportunities available through our Colleges, centrally, and externally. Doctoral researchers are encouraged to use the Guide in preparing a Training Plan at the start of their research degree and then again at the start of each new year as part of a process of reflecting on their progress and revising their Plan.

This is a three hour course that provided aprticipants with the opportunity to develop further their oral presentation skills and confidence when speaking publicly. Participants prepare and deliver two presentations during the session. They receive structured feedback from both their fellow course members and the course leaders. The presentations are filmed and participants recive a DVD of their presentation (and by negotiation those of the other participants) to allow them to review and reflect on their skills..

This is a 3 hour course, aimed at students in the first year of a PhD.The first superisory board in particular seems to be a daunting prospect for students and the course was developed in response to requests for support in this area. The course seeks to demystify the supervisory board. It includes an introduction to the purpose and process of the supervisory board and advice from academics on how best to preapre and conduct oneself at a supervisory board. The course then goes on to cover a number of transferable skills: report writing, active listening and responding to feedback.

Second Steps is a one day course designed to address the needs of PhD students beginning their second year. The course focuses on professionalising presentation skills, making progress with writing and maintaining motivation.

Research staff and PGR students can obtain a qualification in addition to a working knowledge of an internationally recognised standard for project management, by running the course on-site the participants' costs (£415) are much lower compared to attending this course externally (~£1000).