Helmholtz Transferable Skills Courses

IHRS BioSoft fellows traditionally participate in three Helmholtz Transferable Skills courses that accompany the work on the thesis projects. The courses have originally been developed by Imperial College London jointly with the Helmholtz head office and the community of Helmholtz school coordinators. Using a peer-based approach, they focus on teamwork, leading others, leading self, and career development.

This will be achieved through:

• A safe yet challenging course environment that will encourage participants to explore and identify the key elements of team working, networking, effective communication, planning and project management.
• A balanced and structured program of exercises and review sessions will provide a variety of learning situations allowing participants to identify and take away relevant lessons.
• A range of group situations where participants will be encouraged to share feedback with their peers on their overall effectiveness.
• A learning journal and course notebook will be offered to aid the learning process of participants in their own working environment.
• Encouragement to create an ongoing level of support from their learning groups will enable continuing networking, coaching and further group interactions.
  

Research Skills Development Course (first-year students)

The course has been designed to develop both personal and research effectiveness. The course addresses several development areas, such as personal effectiveness, teamwork, networking and communication skills.

Leadership Skills in Research Course (second-year students)

This second course will build on key aspects of the first course and will focus more on leadership and the challenges of leading teams, particularly in a research environment. The course will focus on three aspects: leading self, leading others, and leading projects.

Career and Leadership Development Course (last-year students)

This course aims to provide postgraduate research students with an opportunity to build their understanding, skills, and confidence in the key areas of career planning, career development, and the development of their leadership style.

By the end of the course, participants should:

• Have a clear understanding of the key elements of leadership.
• Feel empowered to be authentic in their leadership style.
• Have experienced a range of leadership styles through working with colleagues.
• Understand career planning and how to take ownership of the process.
• Have an understanding of the skills and competencies organizations require.
  

Online and face-to-face courses - Helmholtz-wide networking opportunities
The courses are offered both as online and face-to-face boarding courses. They are led by a British trainer team and attended by PhD students from all over Germany based at one of the 18 Helmholtz centres.

Registration
All three courses are typically offered several times each year. The dates are announced on the IHRS BioSoft community pages, where also information on how to register is provided. Alternatively, fellows can also participate in equivalent transferable skills courses offered by their host institutions.

Neuroscience
Physics
Chemistry
Biology
@ Aachen, Bonn, Cologne, Düsseldorf, and Jülich