Capitalising on oPAC skills training
Building on the experience of the oPAC complementary skills training program a similar training was provided last week to the first-year postgraduate students from the University of Liverpool’s School of Physical Sciences.
During the four days’ workshop Prof. Carsten Welsch (oPAC Coordinator) and Magda Klimontowska (LA3NET Project Manager) together with Dr. Dave Joss and Dr. Shirley Cooper introduced the students to such topics as presentation skills, project management, scientific writing and peer review. Part of the workshop was built around independent team work – the participants divided into four groups prepared outreach project proposals which they then presented to other groups and the tutor panel for evaluation. The students came up with some novel and exciting outreach ideas that could be applied in real life in the future.
The workshop provided an excellent opportunity to develop skills that will be valuable for the students in their research career and the positive feedback proved that the participants found the training and advice from the tutors very useful.