Joint LIV.INNO and EuPRAXIA-DN skills school hosted in Liverpool
The third cohort of LIV.INNO students were joined by researchers from EuPRAXIA-DN project to take part in an introductory skills school in Liverpool from 20-24 January 2025. The students undertook training in a range of skills which will help them while they undertake their PhD and prepare them for the world of work beyond their PhD.
Cutting-edge postgraduate researcher training schemes guarantee international competitiveness of the researchers trained and provide them with the necessary skills for a future career as researcher in either the academic sector or in industry. The concept for this course was developed by Professor Carsten P Welsch during the delivery of his previous training networks and has been praised in formal project reviews as ‘best practice’ in Europe.
Ice-breaker session during the Skills School.
On the first day the students were introduced to the school and given training in presentation skills by Dr Joe Wolfenden, LIV.INNO EDI co-ordinator. This session allowed the students to get to know each other a little better and help to prepare them for further presentation skills training later in the week.
Later that day Naomi Smith, LIV.INNO Centre Manager and Outreach co-ordinator, delivered sessions on Science Communication and Outreach. This allowed the students to understand why they need to communicate their work and how to go about it as well as preparing them for the week’s task which was creating an outreach proposal.
Students working together on a presentation during the Skills School.
On the second day Dr Fraser Robertson from Fistral delivered a session on Project Management. This ever-popular session allowed the students to better understand techniques they can use to manage their PhDs as well as helping them prepare their outreach proposal. The students also learned about the process of Peer Review from Dr Eva Vilella-Figueras of the University of Liverpool; a subject with which they will become more familiar as they produce their first journal papers.
On the third day the school relocated to Daresbury Laboratory. The students spent the morning honing their presentation skills further by giving presentations about their PhD projects and receiving detailed feedback from their trainers and their peers.
Students during the Darebury Lab tour.
In the afternoon the delegates were given a tour of the facilities at Daresbury Laboratory including the Laser and Diagnostics labs run by the University of Liverpool as well as the Superconducting RF lab and the Vacuum lab.
On Thursday the delegation returned to Liverpool to work further on their project proposals as well as receiving further training from Alex Drake and Barry Farrington of the University of Liverpool Mental Health team, advice on managing their PhDs from data science fellow Dr Alex Hill and a talk about the Skills and Competence Framework from Professor Carsten Welsch, Director of LIV.INNO and EuPRAXIA-DN co-ordinator.
On the final day each group presented their project proposal to their peers and the trainers and each group received constructive feedback on what they had produced.
Each group presented their project proposal to their peers.
The feedback received from the students was very positive with the project management session and the day spent at Daresbury being particular highlights.
The students will receive another training course, again hosted in Liverpool, during the final year of their PhD which will focus on their transition to the job market after finishing their PhD.