WGS PhD Workshop Carousel 2023

Wageningen Graduate Schools

PhD Workshop Carousel

Friday 12 May 2023
Wageningen campus

DEADLINE: 3rd of MAY

Every year, Wageningen Graduate Schools (WGS) organises a one-day event for PhD candidates consisting of a carousel of 4 sessions with 6 workshops per session. The 1.5-hour workshops deal with all sorts of elements important for PhDs and the PhD track. Workshops are either stand-alone workshops or teasers that give a taste of more elaborate courses and workshops organised by Wageningen Graduate Schools.

The registration deadline is extended to the 3rd of May 2023. You can register by filling in the information at the end of the page. After registration, you will receive a confirmation of the workshops you will participate in.

PROGRAMME

1. Research data and scientific publishing in a changing world  (Lecturers: Irene Verhagen and Chantal Hukkelhoven - WUR Library) 
   Science is opening up. Publishers, funders, universities and research communities are focusing more and more on publishing Open Access and making research data available. But what are the effects of being ‘open’? And how do you do it? In this workshop, you will be introduced to the world of Open Access publishing and Open Data. We will show you different Open Access options and tools. We will also explain how and where you can make your dataset available, as well as how to find existing datasets to reuse. Finally, you will be informed about the re-use of published material for your PhD thesis.
2. Scientific Integrity (Lecturer: Astrid Mars - WUR)
   During this workshop we discuss what does scientific integrity mean for you as a PhD-candidate; what are the implications when the scientific trust is broken and how do you deal with such a situation? You will have time to discuss your own concerns about co-authorship, data quality etc.
3. Pitching your research (Lecturer: Mariska Wessels - In'to Languages)
   Knowing how to present your idea in a convincing manner is an indispensable skill. Scientists must be able to explain their work effectively and memorably to non-specialist audiences as well as to their peers. This 1.5 hour workshop provides you with practical tools to develop both a compact and convincing message and inspiring delivery. You will discover creative approaches in delivering an effective pitch, learn vocal and performance techniques to engage and inspire an audience and to bring content to life.
4. Strengthening resilience during your PhD track (Lecturers: Claudius van de Vijver - Graduate School PE&RC)
   Doing a PhD is not easy and many PhD candidates are confronted with set-backs that can have a significant toll on their happiness and well-being. How to deal with these situations? In this workshop we identify the main challenges and how to become more resilient in tackling these challenges. 
5. How to engage in meaningful conversations? (Lecturers: Simone Ritzer and Janita Sanderse - WUR Dialogue Navigator )
   Our research is driven by the desire to understand societal challenges and to contribute to the transitions that lie before us. But how do we form a connection between our research and the realities in society? What skills and approaches are needed to embed our findings outside our academic environment? This involves navigating the playing field, forming partnerships, engaging with stakeholders and most importantly, intentional listening. In this workshop you will unravel the potential added value of dialogue and interaction with society to your research – even for those who never leave the lab. Together we will experiment with some dialogue-based tools that will help you to be more impactful with your research.
6. Using generative AI (e.g. ChatGPT, DALL-E) in your work: exploration and discussion FULL !
   You may have heard from generative AI, such as ChatGPT and DALL-E. Its use is a topic of debate within academia, mainly focussing on text-producing capabilities. However, generative AI could also write and debug code, produce images and artwork. There have even been papers citing AI tools as co-author (see https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-023-00107-z). But how useful is it really? And what about research ethics, reproducibility and validity? In this session we explore this topic, based on the hands-on experience of some WUR colleagues, and discuss together what the implications are.
7. Searching and organising literature (Lecturers: Marleen Noomen and Nicolien Schmaal- WUR Library)
   This workshop is a teaser for the WGS course Searching and Organising Literature for PhD candidates. When you are working towards your PhD thesis, how do you find the literature you need? What is the best place to search, Google Scholar, Scopus or another database? How can you limit your search to only relevant papers? And how to organise the references and PDFs that you collect? In this workshop we will introduce the methods of searching and organising literature. You will test a literature database, create a smart search query and learn about the possibilities of reference managers.
8. Storytelling for academics  (Lecturer: Onias Landveld - In'to Languages) FULL !
   Researchers and academics struggle to communicate their research and experiences with society. Effective narrative tools like story can make this task more effective and enjoyable. A well composed story enables multi-disciplinary cooperation, successful funding applications, and positive interactions with the media. Structure is the foundation you need to tell great stories. Story structures can be as simple or as complicated as you want them to be, accommodating everything from Little Red Riding Hood to Game of Thrones. They can be used to put together a pitch or a grant proposal. Understanding story structure and how the parts fit together will help you craft and tell better stories in the future. In this interactive workshop, participants will learn a basic story structure that they can use to share their research with a broader public. Participants will see those stories in a different light when they are done and have a method for analysing stories they want to tell!
9. Designing an attractive and effective poster (Lecturer: Caro Struijke - In'to Languages) FULL !
   What attracts an audience to my poster? What makes them look at it longer? How can I present my results in a clear way? During this short workshop you will learn : what makes a poster attractive, how to present text, pictures and graphs, how to make your poster self-explanatory, how to make use of colour schemes. In groups you will evaluate existing posters and you may bring your own (colour-printed on A4 paper) to receive feedback from your peers and your instructor.  
10. Essentials of scientific writing (Lecturer: Edith Schouten - In'to Languages)
    Many writers find it difficult to create a clear narrative. They struggle not only with content but also with language. In the end, writers often sacrifice readability for content because they don’t understand how good writing works. In this workshop we’ll discuss the linguistic elements of clear writing, including good paragraph structure, sentence length, concrete vs abstract subjects, nominalization and general elements of coherency. After each discussion, we’ll do a short exercise to gain hands-on experience.
11. Intercultural communication  (Lecturers: Sandy Barasa - In'to Languages)
    This workshop aims to raise awareness that different cultures have their own practices and assumptions of expectations (unwritten rules); which can result in challenges that may hamper interaction and inclusion in diverse groups. 
12. Impostor syndrome (Lecturer: Ana Pineda - I focus and write) 
    In this 1.5-hours workshop, you’ll understand why you sometimes feel like you are not be “good enough” to be a scientist, you’ll get tools to deal with that feeling, and you’ll see that you are not alone with those thoughts. Being a PhD and even a postdoc is challenging. You are constantly learning new techniques, skills, and information about your research. And when you feel you know enough, new papers are published or you need to use new methods. It’s often in those situations when we feel “not good enough”. This is impostor syndrome, and it’s estimated that 80% of high achievers suffer it. Often in silence, thinking that “only I feel this way”. On top of that, we’re constantly exposed to “excellent” scientists, that do amazing work, publish non-stop, and present like Ted speakers. This also amplifies the feeling of being an “impostor”. But guess what… you are one of those excellent scientists too.
13. Entrepreneurship as a skillset for career development  (Lecturers: Lisa Ploum & Gitte Schober - CVC Entrepreneurship&WUR) FULL !
    Our globalised, digital economy is creating virtually unlimited opportunities for new technological innovations and new ways of doing things. Creativity and an entrepreneurial mindset are needed to initiate successful new ideas, and develop sustainable new markets and business models that benefit society and can be used in research, in an existing company to assist the transition to a more sustainable way of working or with your own startup. We want to introduce you to the entrepreneurial way of working and the opportunities you have as a PhD to act on your own ideas. 
14. Managing your supervisor  (Lecturers: Claudius van de Vijver - Graduate School PE&RC)
    Ever have troubles with your supervisor? Would like to know how to tackle the issues you might have with your supervisor? This workshop deals with main challenges PhD’s encounter with their supervisors and how best to tackle these. 
15. Visual Thinking (Lecturer: Natasha de Sena - Clasp Visuals) FULL !
    Introduction to the strength of visual thinking and storytelling. The session will focus on how thinking and working visually can enhance creativity, improve clarity and engage others.
16. Personal effectiveness for the introvert professional (Lecturer: Marijke v Dusseldorp - Mimicri training)  FULL!
    IIn our present Western society we value social, spontaneous and energetic behavior, and being able to react quickly. More extroverted people feel at ease here, as they get energy from social interaction. More introverted people often feel a pressure to copy this social en energetic behavior. However, by doing so, they feel uncomfortable and they lose their energy and influence. In this interactive workshop you learn about the differences between extraverts and introverts, and how this effects daily communication and interaction. By discovering your own strengths and by recognizing the needs of both introverts and extroverts, you will be able to act more efficiently and increase your impact. During the workshop we will practice some basic, effective communication tools. Extroverts who like to optimize their collaboration with more introverted peers, students or supervisors are also welcome. 
17. Writing propositions (Lecturers: Claudius van de Vijver - Graduate School PE&RC and Peter Vermeulen - Graduate School WIMEK)
    What are propositions and how to write a good one? After an introduction we will discuss propositions which have been submitted by participants to improve these and find the way of formulating good propositions
18. Starting to supervise BSc and MSc thesis students (Lecturer: Margaret Hayne & Marieke van Schaik - WUR) FULL !
    In this workshop you will be provided with some general information about supervising BSc & MSc thesis students at Wageningen University that will help prepare you for your role as a supervisor. We will discuss good practices, expectations, and basic skills and structures to get you started. Furthermore there obviously will be room for questions. The workshop is a summary and a teaser for the two-day training on thesis supervision offered several times a year by the Education Support Centre.
19. "Explaining your research to an alien": Unusual collaboration workshop (Lecturer: Sylvia Brugman & Jessica Duncan - Centre for Unusual Collaborations)
    In this workshop, the Centre for Unusual Collaborations (CUCo) wants to illustrate the often difficult and slow, but fun process of interdisciplinary work. Participants of this workshop will experience disciplinary grounding and perspective taking, the first two necessary steps for successful interdisciplinary collaboration.

ORGANISATION

The WGS PhD Workshop Carousel is organised by the PhD programme coordinators of the 6 graduate schools that form Wageningen Graduate Schools. 

WGS Payment Conditions
The cost for attending the carousel day depends on your status:

¹ The course fee includes coffee/tea, lunch, and drinks with bites at the end of the day

WGS Payment Instructions

Payments will be arranged after the final submission date. Please inform the secretary in your group about your participation, and let them know that they will receive an overview of all participating PhDs from your group and will receive instructions on how to process the payments.

Financial project number (i.e., "Projectnummer")
Name secretary chair group (i.e., "Secretaresse leerstoelgroep")

WGS Cancellation Conditions

• Up to 2 (two) weeks prior to the start of the course, cancellation is free of charge.
• After that, you will be charged the full fee of € 110,-.

Note: If you would like to cancel your registration, ALWAYS inform us (and do note that you will be kept to the cancellation conditions)

More information
For general enquires and questions in relation to the organisation of this year's WGS PhD Workshop Carousel, please contact Jochem Jonkman (WASS/VLAG; jochem.jonkman@wur.nl). If you would like to change your registration details or cancel your registration altogether, please contact Miriam van Heist (miriam.vanheist@wur.nl).