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The Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute PhD programmes provide research opportunities and training for graduate students and clinicians.

A collaborative training activity delivered by representatives from the Graduate Development Programme and the Research Office at the University of Cambridge, targeted at a key transition point in researcher development from postgraduate to postdoctoral level.

Several ‘Careers in Academia’ workshops have been held, covering all subject cohorts, in which the steps needed to secure an academic position were discussed. The workshops were supported by the staff from the careers unit as well as senior and junior academics from across the university.

In this 3 hour session, we invited an expert panel comprising journal editors, funders, academics, journalist and a science communication charity to discuss peer review with our PhD students and postdoc - looking at peer review from the academic community’s point of view and how the public gauges if scientific evidence is robust or not.

A training programme to build the skills and capabilities of early career researchers, enabling them to develop their potential as research leaders.

Applying for a Fellowship - when, where and how consists of information sessions and small group follow-on workshops. The aim of the course is to impart information about the research fellowship application process to early career researchers in the biomedical sciences. There were 3 separate lunchtime sessions over 2 weeks, covering funding types and eligibility, general hints and tips on applications, how to fit in with funding bodies’ agendas and the application and interview process. At each session, at least one successful fellow shared their personal experiences. At the end of the final session, two fellows were joined by two members of academic staff who are panel members for MRC and BBSRC for a question and answer session around funders’ and applicants’ views of the Fellowship application process. Sessions were presented by academic staff members, business development personnel and fellows. Following these, those that attended have been invited to the following smaller follow-up sessions: 1) What if a Fellowship is not for me? - a session on pursuing the academic career route without having gained a Fellowship – a recently appointed lecturer from the Vet School talked through how she gained her position and the dedicated researcher careers advisor for Nottingham discussed strategies for achieving a lectureship. 2) Fellowship writing support group – 8 researchers interested in applying for Fellowships are being set up in a support group co-ordinated by the graduate centre manager. This group will have follow-up sessions including pitching their research proposals to one another and training in the JeS and pFACT systems. 3) Funding available to clinical professionals – an information session on funding specifically for clinical professionals and projects will be given by a clinical member of Faculty staff in early 2010. 4) Alternative career options for biological scientists - this session was requested in feedback from ‘What if a Fellowship is not for me?’ and will run in early 2010.

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.

Workshops for postgraduate research students to develop the skills required for success in the academic job market. The sessions had a particular focus on presentation skills and writing academic papers.

A project to enhance generic skills training for postgraduate researchers in order to enhance their employability in the academic job market.