18th - 20th June 2007

Postgraduate Skills Development Summer School - Managing, Writing and Presenting Research and Planning your Career

The first Postgraduate Summer School in Trinity was Hosted this year by CAPSL in conjunction with the Graduate Studies Office and Graduate Students’ Union with inputs from Careers Advisory Service, Student Counselling Service, the Library, IS Services, Research & Innovation Services and academic staff who we would like to thank for making this summer school a success. Also many thanks to all the postgraduates who took part and for your feedback.

Trinity Communications Article

Aim: The aim of this three-day Summer School was to bring together postgraduate students from across Trinity College to meet and network with their peers and also to provide them with knowledge, skills, self-management and confidence-building techniques to help them work towards successfully completing their postgraduate degrees and planning their future careers.

Content: The Summer School was divided into three main thematic areas: Managing Research; Writing a Thesis/Dissertation; and Presenting Research. Through a variety of formats (presentations, workshops, peer group seminars, discussion groups) Summer School addressed several relevant topics in each area. For example:

A. Managing your research:
• Time management and overcoming procrastination
• Managing the supervisory process (maintaining sound communication with supervisors)
• Peer networking for feedback
• Building research networks
• Postgraduate research and writing circles

B. Writing a thesis/dissertation
• Conducting a literature review and information seeking strategies
• Defining a thesis topic and writing a research proposal
• Developing critical arguments
• Writing a PhD thesis

C. Presenting your research
• Using PowerPoint effectively
• Delivering effective presentations
• Writing for publication (Writing for Academic Journals)

Friday 4th May

11:30 - 13:00

Room 1.16, 3-4 Foster Place

Reflecting on your Teaching

Have you been involved in teaching during this academic year? What have you learned from your experience? Reflecting on your teaching experience is a valuable exercise to direct your development. Taking time to identify what has worked well and what are areas you would like to improve on is important so that you can prepare for your next teaching role. This workshop is particularly useful for postgraduates who have taken on a teaching role for the first time this year, but also for any postgraduate who has been teaching.

During this workshop, you will have the opportunity to:
• Use a variety of reflection exercises to evaluate your teaching
• Identify the key learning points for you from your teaching experience
• Discuss potential future developments with other postgraduates who have been engaged in teaching this year
• Plan future development strategies for your teaching.

Supporting Postgraduate Skills Development The development of postgraduate skills was the key topic discussed at this Postgraduate Skills Development event.

The event was part of a collaborative HEA Strategic Initiatives funded project entitled ‘Career Development for Postgraduate Researchers.’ The Centre of Academic Practice and Student Learning (CAPSL) hosted the event on behalf of colleagues in NUI Maynooth and DCU. Ms Mary Kerr (Deputy Chief Executive, HEA) was presented with the Summary Report ‘Examples of current practice and emerging issues in the National University of Ireland Maynooth, Trinity College Dublin and Dublin City University’, which outlines the current national context of postgraduate skills development and the common issues identified within the three institutions.

Following the presentation, attendees from across the disciplines in College and key role holders from the project partner institutions, and other HEIs, split into groups to consider the core issues identified in the report. Discussions included the co-ordination and delivery of postgraduate skills provision, and issues relating to the level, accreditation and accessibility of skills provision. Each group provided feedback from their discussions and Dr. Conor O’Carroll (Assistant Director Research Policy, IUA) completed the plenary session by informing attendees of current developments within the IUA regarding 4th level projects.

A small grants scheme was launched to fund new activities by academic staff to develop postgraduate skills and to enable inter-institutional collaborative projects. The deadline for applications is April 27th 2007 and further details are available from capsl@tcd.ie. CAPSL are continuing to work closely with the Graduate Studies Office, academic Schools and non-academic skills providers in College to embed postgraduate skills development opportunities. Details of recent and upcoming events, such as the Postgraduate Summer School, are available from the CAPSL website www.tcd.ie/capsl.

Trinity Postgraduate Skills Development Report 2007

Postgraduate Skills Development Summary Report 2007

Wednesday 21st March

Time:
9:00 - 16:30

Venue:
Edmund Burke Lecture Theater, Rooms 4050A & 4050B Arts Building

Postgraduate Teaching Skills Colloquium

Aim:
To support postgraduate researchers involved in teaching through participation in workshops and focused discussions on teaching and learning to develop their current skills and assist in developing skills further.

Over the past year there has been a great deal of work to develop new approaches to support postgraduate skills within discipline contexts and at institutional level. This afternoon colloquium brings together colleagues from diverse academic disciplines and others interested in supporting graduate education to present and discuss their approaches and experiences during practical projects in College.

The projects represent a broad range of areas, including information literacy, communication, discipline-knowledge bases and employability. Throughout the afternoon, participants are invited to contribute their experiences and perspectives during discussion and debate on the relationships between discipline and skills development.

September 2006

Venue: Room 1.03 3-4 Foster Place

Induction Course - Postgraduate Researchers New to Teaching

This course is specifically designed for Postgraduates new to teaching.

What is involved?
The one day course comprises of four sessions during which you will actively participate and discuss issues with fellow postgraduates new to teaching.

• The Role of the Teaching Assistant
• Introduction to the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning
• Working with Diverse Learners
• Evaluating and Developing your Practice as a Teaching Assistant using a Reflective Teaching Portfolio

This is the first part of a series of supports for postgraduates that teach. There will be follow-up supporting courses / events during the academic year which will build on this induction course.

Schedule:
An induction course will be offered for each faculty and there are also cross-faculty courses.