Past Courses

A good presentation begins with good preparation. You will work on exercises that help you understand the best techniques in developing the right presentation by answering questions like: Who will be present? Where will I give my talk? How can I most effectively present my research material? Body language is an aspect that is covered in any presentation workshop but under these special circumstances, we will cover effectively and efficiently using an online platform to give top-notch presentations. Your voices will play a particularly critical role here. Hence, in advance you will be asked to prepare a presentation of a maximum of five slides about your current research for a non-expert scientific audience.Seminar contents:• Finding out about the situation• Body language• Understanding interests of an audience• Creating better slides• Master discussionsPlease note: Our training programme is designed for the interaction of the participants. Comparable to face-to-face seminars, we ask you to turn on your camera during online events for an exchange at eye level. [more]

A good presentation begins with good preparation. You will work on exercises that help you understand the best techniques in developing the right presentation by answering questions like: Who will be present? Where will I give my talk? How can I most effectively present my research material? Body language is an aspect that is covered in any presentation workshop but under these special circumstances, we will cover effectively and efficiently using an online platform to give top-notch presentations. Your voices will play a particularly critical role here. Hence, in advance you will be asked to prepare a presentation of a maximum of five slides about your current research for a non-expert scientific audience.Seminar contents:• Finding out about the situation• Body language• Understanding interests of an audience• Creating better slides• Master discussionsPlease note: Our training programme is designed for the interaction of the participants. Comparable to face-to-face seminars, we ask you to turn on your camera during online events for an exchange at eye level. [more]

What are your plans after finishing your doctorate? Have you thought about starting your own business? Join Sebastian Sydlik, Startup Coach from the GATEWAY Excellence Startup Centre at the University of Cologne, to discover: • What kinds of self-employment options are out there? • How can I get initial funding to turn an idea into a startup? • What are some useful contacts and resources that can help me? • What is Design Thinking and how can it help me turn my thesis into a business that solves a real-world problem? • What can I do next to define my business model? The session includes useful information and a creative workshop. Participants will leave the session with a clearly articulated business idea that solves a real-world problem, and is ready to be developed further into a profitable business model. Please note: Our training programme is designed for the interaction of the participants. Comparable to face-to-face seminars, we ask you to turn on your camera during online events for an exchange at eye level. [more]

This workshop is ideal for those doctoral candidates who already have experience in writing in English but are not native speakers of English. The course addresses the main challenges in writing an academic text for publication and offers tips and techniques to help you write more clearly. After attending this course, you will feel more confident in structuring your academic texts as well as being aware of typical mistakes in academic writing and how to fix them.Seminar contents:• The writing process• General style and structure of academic papers, paragraphs and sentences in the Natural and Life Sciences• Punctuation• Academic vocabulary - words and phrases used to structure papers and improve the written style• Learning from native speakers• Abstracts• Classic mistakes• Improving texts - writing and feedback on your own work• Reflections and next stepsPlease note:As the second day focuses on participants’ writing you are asked to bring a current writing project to the workshop. In addition, you should bring a copy of a native speaker paper from the Natural and Life Sciences area.Also, our training programme is designed for the interaction of the participants. Comparable to face-to-face seminars, we ask you to turn on your camera during online events for an exchange at eye level. [more]

The major objective of the workshop “Good Scientific Practice” is to know and understand the basic rules and values of the responsible conduct of research in all its steps, according to local, national and international regulations and guidelines. The participants will explore the differences and grey areas between good scientific practice, questionable research practice and scientific misconduct. They will learn how misconduct can be recognized and prevented and how it should be addressed and dealt with in case it occurs, and what damage it can cause if handled improperly.In addition, they will learn to develop appropriate solutions to difficult situations in the process of science and receive advice on how to protect their own scientific work. They are encouraged to speak with their colleagues and institutions about problems and challenges.The content of the workshop follows the curriculum “Good Scientific Practice” which was commissioned by and developed in cooperation with the German Research Ombudsman, an independent board of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG). Seminar contents: • Definitions of good scientific practice and scientific misconduct• Degrees and extent of scientific misconduct• Data management• Authorship and the process of publication• Mentoring and supervision• Conflict management: how to deal with scientific misconduct • Local, national and international guidelines and regulationsPlease note: Our training programme is designed for the interaction of the participants. Comparable to face-to-face seminars, we ask you to turn on your camera during online events for an exchange at eye level. [more]

What would you tell lay persons, media representatives or politicians about your work? Which kind of communication is best for your own issues? And how can you elaborate your own communication profile? This module introduces to the basics of (good) science communication. Intended Learning Outcomes: You will …• Receive an introduction to media work: With which topics and methods can you attract attention? What do media professionals and what does the public pay attention to? • Get a brief overview of the different channels of science communication and how to use them profitably. This ranges from the classic print media and broadcasting, to the most common online services and social media channels.• Learn how professionals set up a communication concept.• Receive ideas for customized measures for your own topics and interests.• Find out who and what can support you in your science communication and, last but not least, • Discuss the ethical demands for good science communication. [more]

This workshop is ideal for those doctoral candidates who already have experience in writing in English but are not native speakers of English. The course addresses the main challenges in writing an academic text for publication and offers tips and techniques to help you write more clearly. After attending this course, you will feel more confident in structuring your academic texts as well as being aware of typical mistakes in academic writing and how to fix them.Seminar contents:• The writing process• General style and structure of academic papers, paragraphs and sentences in the Natural and Life Sciences• Punctuation• Academic vocabulary - words and phrases used to structure papers and improve the written style• Learning from native speakers• Abstracts• Classic mistakes• Improving texts - writing and feedback on your own work• Reflections and next stepsPlease note:As the second day focuses on participants’ writing you are asked to bring a current writing project to the workshop. In addition, you should bring a copy of a native speaker paper from the Natural and Life Sciences area.Also, our training programme is designed for the interaction of the participants. Comparable to face-to-face seminars, we ask you to turn on your camera during online events for an exchange at eye level. [more]

A good presentation begins with good preparation. You will work on exercises that help you understand the best techniques in developing the right presentation by answering questions like: Who will be present? Where will I give my talk? How can I most effectively present my research material? Body language is an aspect that is covered in any presentation workshop but under these special circumstances, we will cover effectively and efficiently using an online platform to give top-notch presentations. Your voices will play a particularly critical role here. Hence, in advance you will be asked to prepare a presentation of a maximum of five slides about your current research for a non-expert scientific audience.Seminar contents:• Finding out about the situation• Body language• Understanding interests of an audience• Creating better slides• Master discussionsPlease note: Our training programme is designed for the interaction of the participants. Comparable to face-to-face seminars, we ask you to turn on your camera during online events for an exchange at eye level. [more]