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Scheduled RDP workshops and events
The Researcher Development Programme provides year-round training and development opportunities to help you successfully complete your research degree, and prepare for your future
RDP workshops open for booking at the start of each academic term, on a rolling basis, and close to bookings one working day before each session. If a workshop is not bookable, add your name to the waiting list and we will let you know when registration opens. Visit the all workshops pages for the full list of workshops taking place this year, and to access the waiting lists.
If you have any questions about our workshops, or any issues with booking a place, email us at researcher-development@sussex.ac.uk.
How to edit your own academic writing
Theme: Core
Date: Wednesday 15 January 2025
Time: 10.00am-1.00pm (UK)
Location: Online via Zoom
Description: Are you close to a full draft of your book, article, or thesis chapter? Does it resemble a baggy monster that needs taming? If so, this workshop is for you. Through activities and tutorials, you’ll learn techniques for getting your writing into shape.
Careers planning, including reviewing common destination and networking for PGRs
Theme: Grow
Date: Wednesday 15 January 2025
Time: 2.00-3.30pm (UK)
Location: Library Seminar Room
Description: This workshop is for PGRs looking to discover practical steps for Career Planning and how to take action to get started in achieving the future you want.
Preparing for your viva (Arts and Humanities and Social Sciences)
Theme: Core
Date: Thursday 16 January 2025
Time: 10.00am-1.00pm (UK)
Location: Library Seminar Room
Description: This workshop will de-mystify the viva process and requirements, and provide you with useful guidance on preparing for the big day. You'll also hear examples of real questions and experiences from recent successful vivas across different Schools, and benefit from the opportunity to participate in a mock viva.
Preparing for your viva (Sciences)
Theme: Core
Date: Friday 17 January 2025
Time: 10.00am-1.00pm (UK)
Location: Library Teaching Room
Description: This workshop will de-mystify the viva process rules and requirements and provide you with useful guidance about how you can prepare for the big day throughout your PGR journey. You will also receive tips on interacting with your examiners, and benefit from an opportunity to participate in a mock viva.
Managing your research data: Introduction to data management plans
Theme: Core
Date: Monday 20 January 2025
Time: 2.00-3.30pm (UK)
Location: Online via Zoom
Description: Writing a data management plan (DMP) is useful for researchers in all disciplines. Research data is produced by most projects, and can be anything: interview recordings, sensor data, economic models and more. A DMP covers how data will be collected, organised, managed, stored, secured, backed-up, preserved, and where applicable, shared.
PGR CVs, Applications and LinkedIn
Theme: Grow
Date: Tuesday 21 January 2025
Time: 11.00am-12.30pm (UK)
Location: Library Seminar Room
Description: This workshop is for postgraduate researchers looking to develop and enhance their CVs, Applications and LinkedIn Profiles.
PGR interviewing for success
Theme: Grow
Date: Monday 27 January 2025
Time: 10.30am-12.00pm (UK)
Location: Library Seminar Room
Description: In this workshop we will discuss and answer your questions about what to expect at recruitment interviews, how to give a convincing performance, and help you feel confident about your interviews.
Stress, resilience and strengths
Theme: Grow
Date: Tuesday 28 January 2025
Time: 10.00am-1.00pm (UK)
Location: Online via Zoom
Description: A brief overview of stress will equip you with an understanding of general stress responses, from which you'll identify how stress affects you on an individual level. Having insight into your current landscape, you'll then work with three specific stress-management/resilience tools, in partnership with other researchers.
One-day academic writing retreat for PGRs and ECRs
Theme: Core
Date: Thursday 30 January 2025
Time: 9.30am-4.30pm (UK)
Location: Library Teaching Room
Description: This intensive one-day writing retreat can help you get back on track and make significant progress with your chapter, article or book. You get the time and space to focus. With guidance from an experienced facilitator, you’ll set realistic goals and achieve them in a supportive environment.
The productive researcher: How to keep writings
Theme: Grow
Date: Friday 31 January 2025
Time: 11.00am-1.00pm (UK)
Location: Online via Zoom
Description: Academic writing can be hard at the best of times. It's especially challenging when there’s so much going on. In this interactive session, you’ll discover how to make writing more manageable, even under difficult circumstances.
PGR Essentials: Careers and Entrepreneurship
Theme: Induction
Date: Tuesday 4 February 2025
Time: 11.00-11.30am (UK)
Location: Online via Zoom
Description: This participative event promotes the University's Careers and Entrepreneurship services. You’ll find out how the Sussex Careers team supports researchers and explore various career destinations for PGRs, including setting up your own business or social enterprise.
PGR Essentials: Introduction to Ethics
Theme: Induction
Date: Wednesday 5 February 2025
Time: 10.00-11.00am (UK)
Location: Online via Zoom
Description: This workshop will look at the key principles of undertaking ethical research, and explain how to go about obtaining ethical approval from the University. There will also be opportunities to consider some case studies, ask questions about your own work, and gain insights on how to embed good ethical practices in your research.
Working with your supervisor: Practical tips for optimising the supervisory experience
Theme: Induction
Date: Thursday 6 February 2025
Time: 11.00am-1.00pm (UK)
Location: Library Teaching Room
Description: The supervisory relationship is crucial to the success of your research degree. In this interactive 2-hour workshop, you’ll discover practical tips for optimising this relationship. We’ll consider common problems and develop strategies for overcoming them.
One-day academic writing retreat for PGRs and ECRs
Theme: Core
Date: Monday 10 February 2025
Time: 9.30am-4.30pm (UK)
Location: Library Teaching Room
Description: This intensive one-day writing retreat can help you get back on track and make significant progress with your chapter, article or book. You get the time and space to focus. With guidance from an experienced facilitator, you’ll set realistic goals and achieve them in a supportive environment.
Planning for the final year of your research degree
Theme: Induction
Date: Wednesday 12 February 2025
Time: 11.00am-1.00pm (UK)
Location: Online via Zoom
Description: With clear guidance, individual exercises, and group discussion, this practical workshop helps you prepare for the last stages of your research degree, including submission, the viva, and what happens next.
Handling perfectionism and imposter phenomenon
Theme: Grow
Date: Thursday 13 February 2025
Time: 10.00am-1.00pm (UK)
Location: Online via Zoom
Description: This workshop will introduce you to an array of techniques that help you minimise, address, and (with practice) overcome the unhelpful thinking patterns that underpin perfectionist behaviours and imposter feelings, increasing your capacity to effectively handle these issues as they arise in the future.
Making progress in your research degree
Theme: Induction
Date: Friday 14 February 2025
Time: 11.00am-1.00pm (UK)
Location: Online via Zoom
Description: Are you part-way through your research degree and wondering how to keep going? Do you need a push to progress to the final stages? If yes, this session is for you.
Managing your research data: Keeping your data organised and secure
Theme: Core
Date: Monday 24 February 2025
Time: 10.00-11.00am (UK)
Location: Online via Zoom
Description: How safe is your research data? What would happen if you lost it all? This session will help you consider how to keep your research data organised and secure.
Becoming a postgraduate researcher: Skills, strategies and support
Theme: Induction
Date: Tuesday 25 February 2025
Time: 10.00am-1.00pm (UK)
Location: Library Teaching Room
Description: Pursuing a research degree isn’t just about knowledge – you need to manage yourself, too. Make a successful start to your postgraduate degree with this practical workshop, designed to prepare you for the journey ahead.
Wrangling your workload
Theme: Grow
Date: Wednesday 26 February 2025
Time: 10.00am-1.00pm (UK)
Location: Online via Zoom
Description: This workshop will help you review your 'rules' of how you work, and adapt them to serve you better. You’ll review what really matters to you, and what that means for prioritising your workload in any given moment.
Becoming a postgraduate researcher: Skills, strategies and support
Theme: Induction
Date: Thursday 27 February 2025
Time: 1.00-4.00pm (UK)
Location: Online via Zoom
Description: Pursuing a research degree isn’t just about knowledge – you need to manage yourself, too. Make a successful start to your postgraduate degree with this practical workshop, designed to prepare you for the journey ahead.
Planning, structuring and writing your thesis (Arts and Humanities and Social Sciences)
Theme: Core
Date: Monday 3 March 2025
Time: 10.00am-1.00pm (UK)
Location: Library Teaching Room
Description: This session provides advice and guidance on a variety of approaches to writing a thesis. As well as content on planning and structures, there will be space to write and to reflect together as part of a supportive writers' network.
Managing your research data: Supporting qualitative data sharing
Theme: Core
Date: Monday 10 March 2025
Time: 2.00-3.00pm (UK)
Location: Online via Zoom
Description: Qualitative data has rich potential for re-use in future research, but it can be challenging to navigate routes for data sharing. This session will support attendees with data management planning that will help embed consideration of data sharing principles throughout the research process.
How to edit your own academic writing
Theme: Core
Date: Tuesday 11 March 2025
Time: 1.00-4.00pm (UK)
Location: Library Teaching Room
Description: Are you close to a full draft of your book, article, or thesis chapter? Does it resemble a baggy monster that needs taming? If so, this workshop is for you. Through activities and tutorials, you’ll learn techniques for getting your writing into shape.
Accessible presentations
Theme: Realise
Date: Thursday 13 March 2025
Time: 11.00am-12.00pm (UK)
Location: Online via Zoom
Description: We have a professional and legal obligation to ensure that all of our digital content is accessible. In this session we’ll look at what we mean by accessibility and why it is important, then we’ll explore some practical techniques and useful resources for producing and delivering accessible presentations.
Please note that being familiar with creating and editing files using Microsoft PowerPoint is a necessary prerequisite for this workshop.
Preparing for your viva (Arts and Humanities and Social Sciences)
Theme: Core
Date: Monday 17 March 2025
Time: 2.00-5.00pm (UK)
Location: Online via Zoom
Description: This workshop will de-mystify the viva process and requirements, and provide you with useful guidance on preparing for the big day. You'll also hear examples of real questions and experiences from recent successful vivas across different Schools, and benefit from the opportunity to participate in a mock viva.
Making progress amid change and uncertainty
Theme: Realise
Date: Thursday 20 March 2025
Time: 11.00am-1.00pm (UK)
Location: Online via Zoom
Description: We are living and working in times of rapid flux and development, both within the Higher Education environment and in our world more generally. Remaining productive, focused, and motivated while navigating significant change and uncertainty is challenging.
An alternative guide to PGR funding
Theme: Realise
Date: Monday 24 March 2025
Time: 1.00-3.00pm (UK)
Location: Online via Zoom
Description: Are you a current postgraduate student who needs extra funding for fees, living expenses, research, conference or 4th year postgraduate writing-up costs? If the answer is 'yes', then consider attending this session!
One-day academic writing retreat for PGRs and ECRs
Theme: Core
Date: Wednesday 26 March 2025
Time: 9.30am-4.30pm (UK)
Location: Library Teaching Room
Description: This intensive one-day writing retreat can help you get back on track and make significant progress with your chapter, article or book. You get the time and space to focus. With guidance from an experienced facilitator, you’ll set realistic goals and achieve them in a supportive environment.