The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (BIST) held the ‘How to Succeed in your PhD [I]’ course for new PhD students this month. Forty-eight participants learned valuable skills including effective communication, team work, time management, project planning, and more. The BIST Leadership in Action course and the BIST ‘How to Succeed in Your PhD [II]’ course will be held in the coming months as well.
The BIST ‘How to Succeed in your PhD [I]’ course for first-year PhD students asks participants “What can you do to make yourself a more effective doctoral researcher and get the most out of your PhD?“. Throughout two full days of intensive workshops, activities, and reflection time, students learn to answer this question and find practical ways to meet the challenges of their PhDs.
This year, students participated in the course in two separate sessions: February 6-7, 2020 and February 20-21, 2020, covering the following topics:
> Self-reflection
> Effective communication
> Team working
> Time management
> PhD project planning
> Creativity for promoting collaborative research
> Conflict management
Leticia Chico (Head of Human Resources at ICIQ) facilitated the course and took part in creating the content, based on the VITAE framework.
Participants rated the course very highly, underlining its impact in their professional development:
“The organization of the course was very good, I really liked the balance between theory and practical learning.”
“I like the social interaction, and to see that there are other people in the same situation. I learned a lot of useful tools to apply in my day to day.”
“The practical way of presenting each topic with real activities, the fact that I had a learning journal to keep after, the joyfulness of the staff, and the frequent break times made it super easy to follow.”
“I like to have the opportunity to meet people that are involved in the PhD just like me, and also learn from their research fields.”
“The course is a a vehicle to improve your skills and to have fun, and a good way to make you reflect on yourself to find the best way to improve.”
As part of the talent programme, BIST is also organizing the BIST Leadership in Action course from March 4-6, 2020, a three day interactive programme that offers BIST post-doctoral fellows the opportunity to focus on developing those skills that are essential for successful self-management and development in order to progress in a professional career. In addition, the BIST ‘How to Succeed in your PhD [II]‘ course will be held from May 21-22, 2020, a two day interactive training and development programme for 2nd and 3rd year PhD students that provides participants with transferable skills and tools to take charge of their own careers.