Research and development workshops
As a postgraduate research degree student, you'll attend research and professional development workshops and training as part of the Graduate School Development Programme.
We've designed the Graduate School Development Programme (GSDP) to support you at key doctoral milestones, and to help you become an independent researcher and employable doctoral graduate. Our aim is to help you develop the research, professional and transferable skills to succeed in your research degree and beyond.
We work with the best tutors from across the University to bring you high-quality and engaging development opportunities. You'll hear from experienced researchers about their experiences of doing research and the lessons they've learned.
Starting with the Graduate School induction event, you'll find the GSDP is a great opportunity for you to build networks across the University, meet other postgraduate researchers and discuss your research.
GSDP workshop details, dates and booking
Find out more about the workshops available within each of these development areas in our accessible GSDP Brochure.
View the brochure
View the Graduate School Development Programme Events Calendar for dates and times of all our workshops.
View the events calendar
Book your place on our GSDP workshops via Skills Forge. If you are unable to attend a workshop, please ensure you cancel your booking using the Skills Forge system so someone else can take up your place.
Book a workshop
GSDP training and development
We recognise that every postgraduate researcher (PGR) brings their own set of skills and experiences to doctoral study. Whatever stage you're at with your research degree, we have development opportunities to suit your needs.
Our programme is organised into 10 development areas, and most of these are linked to the skills and knowledge domains outlined by the nationally agreed Vitae Researcher Development Framework (RDF).
By the time you complete your thesis, you’ll be expected to have developed high-level critical reading and writing skills, as well as the ability to produce high-quality written documents. These workshops offer a supportive environment in which you can work to develop your academic skills.
Identifying relevant literature and referencing it correctly is a crucial skill for PGRs. In these workshops, you’ll learn how to find, manage and keep up-to-date with literature effectively, and cite references accurately.
Successful researchers are highly skilled at managing research projects and their time. Our workshops in personal effectiveness will help you make the transition to postgraduate research by developing your ability to manage your research and time effectively.
There are certain milestones you will need to navigate during your doctoral journey. Through these workshops, we will demystify the research degree process and help you to understand what is required at each milestone and how to prepare yourself for each stage of your research degree.
Research governance is a core skill for all researchers and our GSDP workshops will help you to understand what is expected of you as a postgraduate researcher, and how to meet your ethical and legal obligations. They will also help you to learn how to organise your research project and keep it running smoothly.
A robust and carefully considered research design is a fundamental part of good research. These workshops will help you understand the philosophical underpinnings of research and kick-start the process of designing your own research project.
Once you have decided on a research question and overall research design, these workshops will help you think carefully about the finer details and consider how you will collect your data to enable you to create a coherent and robust research project.
Whatever type of data you will be collecting, you should take time to plan your data analysis before you start – so you can be confident that you are collecting data that can help you to answer your research question. These workshops will help you plan your data analysis, work with a variety of data types, conduct robust analyses and present your findings effectively.
Excellent research is nothing if we cannot communicate it effectively to other researchers and the wider public. In these workshops, you’ll learn how to skilfully communicate your work and its implications to a wide variety of audiences.
Whatever your goals and motivations, our career development workshops will help you consider and plan your next steps, and make the most of the opportunities available to you during your research degree.