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Basic skills courses

 

 

Life hacks for first year PhD students

Course category: 
Basic skills courses
Target group: 
PhD students
Level: 
Beginners
Capacity: 
8
Coordinator: 
Dagmar Sigurdardottir
Description: 
Starting a PhD means more than just carrying out research all day: It also includes learning to take charge of your project, optimizing your time in and outside the lab, dealing with other scientists and keeping up with your research field. In this workshop, you will explore different avenues to self-discovery and self-management and develop your personal life hacks tool kit so you can make the most out of your PhD.
Methods: 

 In this workshop you will

  • Hone your eye towards making the most out your experiments
  • Develop a personal “First Year” plan
  • Strategize your communication with your advisor
  • Explore different ways of keeping up with the literature
  • Discover how to identify your stress level and come up with an emergency stress management plan

 

 

About the tutor: 
Dagmar Sigurdardottir is the coordinator of the Tuebingen International PhD Program at the MPI for Developmental Biology.

Scientific Report Writing (February 2021)

Course category: 
Basic skills courses
Target group: 
PhD students
Level: 
Beginners
Capacity: 
12
Coordinator: 
Sibylle Patheiger
Description: 
In this 5x 1/2 day workshop we will cover all necessary tools to prepare a written report for your first TAC meeting.
Content: 

This workshop studies features of academic writing such as formality, objectivity, precision and clarity and provides practical methods for improvement in these areas. You will also get assistance in developing the different written sections of a scientific report.
In order to receive individual feedback you will be asked to prepare a partial draft in advance (further details later)
NOTE:
On the last day (Friday) there will be individual appointments á 15 min for feedback.

About the tutor: 
Deborah Bennett is a native of the UK and holds a PhD in Mathematical Biology from the University of Surrey, England. She has worked as a freelance academic writing trainer since 2010.

Scientific Report Writing (November 2020)

Course category: 
Basic skills courses
Target group: 
PhD students
Level: 
Beginners
Capacity: 
12
Coordinator: 
Sibylle Patheiger
Description: 
In this 5x 1/2 day workshop we will cover all necessary tools to prepare a written report for your first TAC meeting.
Content: 

This workshop studies features of academic writing such as formality, objectivity, precision and clarity and provides practical methods for improvement in these areas. You will also get assistance in developing the different written sections of a scientific report.
In order to receive individual feedback you will be asked to prepare a partial draft in advance (further details later)
NOTE:
On the last day (Friday) there will be individual appointments á 15 min for feedback.

About the tutor: 
Deborah Bennett is a native of the UK and holds a PhD in Mathematical Biology from the University of Surrey, England. She has worked as a freelance academic writing trainer since 2010.

Scientific Presentation (February 2021)

Course category: 
Basic skills courses
Target group: 
PhD students
Level: 
Beginners
Capacity: 
12
Coordinator: 
Sibylle Patheiger
Description: 
This workshop aims to equip you with the tools to present your scientific goals structured and in a confident way (e.g. your 1st TAC-Meeting).
Content: 

With a few fundamental strategies for communication and presentation techniques it is possible to illustrate complex ideas in a context relevant way.
This workshop will help you to identify the goals for your presentations, get prepared (with tips on creating well-designed slides to support your presentations), then through exercises and role-plays you will be familiarized with established presentation techniques. Beside of this you will get tips on how to deal with difficult situations.
NOTE:
During the workshop you will give a short presentation of your PhD topic and get individual feedback on the structure and delivery.

About the tutor: 
Melanie Lynn Conrad was born in Vancouver. She holds a PhD in immunogenetics from the University of Victoria, Canada and is presently working as a junior group leader at the Charité, Berlin, studying reproductive immunology.

Scientific Presentation (November 2020)

Course category: 
Basic skills courses
Target group: 
PhD students
Level: 
Beginners
Capacity: 
12
Coordinator: 
Sibylle Patheiger
Description: 
This workshop aims to equip you with the tools to present your scientific goals structured and in a confident way (e.g. your 1st TAC-Meeting).
Content: 

With a few fundamental strategies for communication and presentation techniques it is possible to illustrate complex ideas in a context relevant way.
This workshop will help you to identify the goals for your presentations, get prepared (with tips on creating well-designed slides to support your presentations), then through exercises and role-plays you will be familiarized with established presentation techniques. Beside of this you will get tips on how to deal with difficult situations.
NOTE:
During the workshop you will give a short presentation of your PhD topic and get individual feedback on the structure and delivery.

About the tutor: 
Melanie Lynn Conrad was born in Vancouver. She holds a PhD in immunogenetics from the University of Victoria, Canada and is presently working as a junior group leader at the Charité, Berlin, studying reproductive immunology.

Preparing your 1st TAC

Course category: 
Basic skills courses
Target group: 
PhD students
Level: 
Beginners
Description: 
In this interactive session we will discuss what you need to do and prepare to make the most of your first Thesis Advisory Committee (TAC). This workshop covers TACs as they are done in the IMPRS from Molecules to Organisms and the Tübingen International PhD Program in Biological Sciences.
Content: 

The TAC forms an important part of your PhD. The regular evaluation by a team with varied scientific expertise helps you to make the most out of your project, and the regular milestones aim to help with motivation and staying on track.


The role of the TAC is to help you accomplish ambitious research aims and get the maximum benefit from your doctoral training. The TAC does this by:
•    guiding you through each stage of your research with individual feedback and advice.
•    offering expertise, broad experience, and dedicated guidance
•    advising on suitable training and continuing professional development
•    supporting you in effectively planning your future careers or acting as a referee


About the tutor: 
Sibylle Patheiger: PhD Program Coordinator & Jeanette Müller: Head of the Researcher Support Team

Life hacks for first year PhD students

Course category: 
Basic skills courses
Target group: 
PhD students
Level: 
Beginners
Capacity: 
12
Coordinator: 
Dagmar Sigurdardottir
Description: 
Starting a PhD means more than just carrying out research all day: It also includes developing your own research project, optimizing your time in the lab, learning how to keep up with your research field, and preparing your first presentations. In addition, you also need to learn how to deal with people in the institute and the organizational framework of the institute. In order to accomplish all this you need to learn to manage yourself effectively. --> This workshop will take place online - Registration is open until 9th June, 10am!
About the tutor: 
Dagmar Sigurdardottir is the coordinator of the Tuebingen International PhD Program at the MPI for Developmental Biology.
Objectives: 
This workshop provides background information, introduces project and time management approaches and helps you develop a strategy to measure and optimize your performance.

IT Introductory Course – Essential Knowledge for Programming Courses (course full)

Course category: 
Basic skills courses
Target group: 
General
Level: 
Beginners
Capacity: 
12
Coordinator: 
Dagmar Sigurdardottir
Description: 
This course provides an introduction to the IT infrastructure available to bioscientists on campus. Furthermore, the basics of interacting with your computer and the campus servers are taught. In the afternoon, an introduction to basic Unix skills is provided.
Content: 
  • Part 1: Introduction to the campus IT Infrastructure How simple programming facilitates biological research
  • Part 2: Command line basics
  • Part 3: Unix applications and tips for Bioscientists

Note

  • Successful participation in this course, or passing an exam covering the material taught in the first two sections of the course, is a prerequisite for participating in the Unix, R and Python courses offered later this year.
  • Advanced students may leave after passing a test after the first hour and can join the Part 3 for more advanced material.

Scientific Presentation B (1 day)

Course category: 
Basic skills courses
Target group: 
PhD students
Level: 
Beginners
Capacity: 
6
Coordinator: 
Sibylle Patheiger
Description: 
Presentation skills in the academic context. In this workshop you will learn to identify the goals for your presentation, get prepared (with tips on creating well-designed academic slides to support your oral presentations), then through exercises and role-plays you will be familiarized with established presentation techniques. Dealing with tricky situations will also be covered. This workshop is being offered twice: the content of workshop A and workshop B is identical.
Methods: 

During the workshop you will give a short presentation of your PhD topic and get feedback (including use of video-taping) on the structure and delivery.

About the tutor: 
Melanie Lynn Conrad was born in Vancouver. She holds a PhD in immunogenetics from the University of Victoria, Canada and is presently working as a junior group leader at the Charité, Berlin, studying reproductive immunology.

Scientific Presentation A (1 day)

Course category: 
Basic skills courses
Target group: 
PhD students
Level: 
Beginners
Capacity: 
6
Description: 
Presentation skills in the academic context. In this workshop you will learn to identify the goals for your presentation, get prepared (with tips on creating well-designed academic slides to support your oral presentations), then through exercises and role-plays you will be familiarized with established presentation techniques. Dealing with tricky situations will also be covered. This workshop is being offered twice: the content of workshop A and workshop B is identical.
Methods: 

During the workshop you will give a short presentation of your PhD topic and get feedback (including use of video-taping) on the structure and delivery.
 

About the tutor: 
Melanie Lynn Conrad was born in Vancouver. She holds a PhD in immunogenetics from the University of Victoria, Canada and is presently working as a junior group leader at the Charité, Berlin, studying reproductive immunology.