WIAS Introduction course on Personal Effectiveness for your PhD

Reflection on necessary skills

The course provides an overview of the necessary skills every academic research should have. Participants reflect and prioritize what they think is essential for them. 

Stress management

Doing research can be stressful and managing stressful situations properly is vital for your success. This course covers the important aspects of how stress is triggered and what you can do to reduce stress.

Mindful communication

Effective communication is vital to achieving your goals. In this course the mindful communication framework is used to practice effective communication.

Supervision

Supervision is an important part of your PhD. As a PhD candidate your will be supervised and will be supervising as well. This course covers the essential aspects of supervision which are then practiced with a real supervisor.

Effective meetings and negotiation

Meetings and negotiation are not always fun to attend and organise. Yet they are necessary. In this course a framework for effective meetings and negotiations is covered and practiced.

Giving and receiving constructive feedback

In this course the OEPS framework for giving and receiving feedback is covered and practiced. The OEPS framework is simple yet effective.

Time management

Juggling different tasks and responsibilities can become stressful if not managed properly. In this course the Getting Things Done (GTD) framework will be covered and practiced.

Learning goals

1. You have an overview of the various skills needed for effective academic research
2. You understand how stress is triggered
3. You can reflect on your own personal stress triggers and come up with ways to deal with stressful situations
4. You understand the mindful communication framework
5. You can use the mindful communication framework in various settings
6. You have an overview of the expectations regarding supervision. Both being a supervisor and a supervisee
7. You understand the mechanism of meetings and communication techniques that can be used in the various stages of meetings to make meetings more constructive.
8. You can use the OEPS framework to give and receive feedback
9. You know how to handle negative feedback
10. You understand the GTD framework and can use that in your daily work.

General Information

Target Group	PhDs and postdocs
Course level	General, post graduate
Group size	A maximum of 12 participants
Course duration	3 days. Given 2-3 times per year
Prior knowledge	None
Home work/ self- study	Minimal
Language	English
Credit points	1.2 ECTS
Name lecturer	Youssef El Bouhassani (y.elbouhassani@gmail.com)
Teaching method	Lectures and discussion groups
In-person	Wageningen University campus. Note: Room and building will be communicated to registered and confirmed participants about one week before the start of the course.