Engagement, Influence & Impact

THE CONFIDENT SPEAKER

10th October 2024

OR

13th March 2025

Academics can make as great an impact from what they say as what they write, whether it be through teaching, conferences or job presentations. Public speaking is therefore a crucial skill for doctoral researchers and early-career academics. Working with a skilled actor and an academic, this workshop takes participants through the process of how to write and deliver a speech. In the first part of the workshop you will cover how to structure a speech, the use of appropriate language and imagery, audio-visual aids, and how to master the Q&A. Later in the day we will focus on your performance. Drawing on acting techniques, participants discover how to improve their diction, resonance, range and articulation, as well as exploring relaxation and breathing techniques to calm nerves.

These interactive workshops take place in person. They provide tailored guidance and feedback for every participant and numbers are therefore limited to 30.

THE UN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS AND YOUR RESEARCH IMPACT

16th October 2024

OR

19th February 2025

Here at the University of Westminster, we are committed to making a positive social, economic and environmental impact through our research. We do this by using the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set out by the United Nation as a blueprint to contribute towards building a sustainable future.

Our researchers have a big role in helping create a sustainable university. Join the session on “ The UN Sustainable Development Goals and Your Research Impact” to learn how you can contribute to the SDGs and our wider university commitments through your research during your time at the University of Westminster.

SOCIAL MEDIA AND YOUR PhD: CRAFTING AN EFFECTIVE ONLINE RESEARCHER PROFILE

TBC 2025

Should PhD students be using social media, and if so, which social media should they be using? Is the use of social media a distraction from doing ‘real’ research, or can the adoption of social media benefit PhD students in any ways? What are the benefits of using social media and what are some of the potential problems? Tackling some of these questions based on both personal experience and research findings, this lecture explores the value, challenges and risks of using different forms of social media as a PhD student.

FUNDING YOUR RESEARCH

15th October 2024

This session introduces you to some of the background concerning research funding and associated financial processes in universities, considers possible ways to help fund your current doctoral research and invites you to think more about various levels of funding and how to cost and manage research-related budgets.

The session includes an invited talk from the Alternative Funding Guide about alternative sources of research funding.

The main practical focus is on those aspects of research funding management – such as costing and managing conference grants and field research trips – that are most likely to be relevant to doctoral researchers at this stage in their research project while also thinking about possibilities for future research funding.

INTRODUCTION TO OPEN ACCESS

27th November 2024

This short session will introduce you to many aspects of open access publishing, and where you can get further information.  This will include:

Making your own research outputs open

Making your thesis open

Open access publications, and where to find them

Free access to papers behind paywalls

Accessing and making research data open

Creative Commons licence

ORCID researcher IDs

An introductory presentation is also available online here

There is also a more detailed session on Open Access later in the year: Open Access and your Doctoral Thesis.

AN INTRODUCTION TO INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

2nd April 2025

Intellectual property (IP) and its protection is an important consideration in any kind of research and has become increasingly important with those aspects of the Impact agenda that involve Knowledge Exchange and Enterprise. IP appears in many forms, with the three most important being Copyright, Patents and Design Rights. IP provides controls by the researcher on the use and exploitation of knowledge before, during and after a project. In terms of collaboration, it determines the nature, scale and range of participation in such research.

This interactive half-day workshop will provide an essential introduction to IP for researchers, how it is protected and how it might be infringed and will enable attendees to explore the existing IP potential in their current research.
Attendees will:

• gain a wider knowledge of the various forms of IP, and how it is protected.
• investigate the potential of their own Intellectual Property and its associated rights.
• explore future directions for their research and identify new business and KE opportunities

OPEN ACCESS AND YOUR DOCTORAL THESIS

8th May 2025

This workshop will give you practical advice and guidance and includes: an introduction to open access and the wider context (both within and beyond the University), an overview of the University’s requirements for making your PhD thesis open access including making it available in WestminsterResearch and advice on related issues such as copyright and licensing.

DIY VIDEO CREATION AND PRESENTING ON CAMERA

9th June 2025

The workshop starts off with some examples of video content created by academics and sparks a discussion about its uses, advantages and challenges. The facilitators will gauge everybody’s video skill level and experience at the start of the session, so that the content is pitched at the appropriate level.

The workshop then dives deep into a Filmmaking 101 session where you are given an insight into the basics of filmmaking (rule of thirds and framing, three point lighting, sound, the 180 degree rule etc), filmmaking terminology, camera techniques, equipment (at affordable prices), the social media channels to carry your content, storyboarding, stock libraries, copyright and attribution rules, outdoor filming rules, editing and how to leverage the medium to communicate the right kind of message to the relevant audience. It also covers presenting skills with a camera and the nuanced differences needed from conventional public speaking.

Various cameras and filmmaking equipment are physically laid out too, so that you can see some affordable kit available to you on the market and to be able to ask questions around their uses.

The workshop is packed with ideas and first-hand experiences to help  attendees become more conscientious and able storytellers of the moving picture.

The session is deliberately practical in the second half and culminates with attendees filming short videos with their smart phones in a team on a chosen topic (usually a short precis / abstract of their research). The facilitator then chooses one ‘film’ to edit live in front of the group so that students develop insight into the editing process and understand how component parts such as graphics, music, titles, sound effects etc can elevate the content.