Workshop How to Shape your Career and Present (yourself)

About the workshop (1 ECTS)

This OIKOS workshop combines two topics: career perspectives and presentation skills.

Morning session

Before lunch two OIKOS alumni will discuss their career paths with you (why this path, what do you need, how to prepare yourself, etc.). First Aniek van den Eersten (PhD 2019) will discuss her choices and job outside Academia. After she finished her PhD research on metaphors in Herodotus within the “Anchoring Innovation” programme of OIKOS, she found her place at the Dutch Research Council (NWO). At NWO she focuses on thematic research programming and works with topics such as the circular economy and the sustainability of urban environments. She would like to tell you more about how she ended up working at NWO and will reflect on her decision to look for a job outside the university, which steps she has taken to do so (including tips!) and what exactly her current job entails. Then Saskia Peels-Matthey (PhD 2014) will explain her career history and - choices, what she did and where. After her PhD, she moved abroad for a postdoc, and then worked outside of academia for almost a year, exploring a career of commercial strategic consulting. Afterwards she returned to the University. She will tell you more about the pros and cons, challenges and pitfalls of academic and non-academic careers.

Afternoon session

After lunch we will focus on presentation skills. Academia is about more than just research qualities: (research) communication and presentation plays an increasingly important role. (Scientific) presentations for colleagues or to a broader public, a job interview or an interview for a grant application are just a few examples that underline the importance of presenting (yourself) in (and outside) academia. Research Master students and PhD candidates also have to deal with this. In this interactive workshop you are therefore going to work on the improvement of your presentation skills. The first part of this workshop pays attention to presentation-strategies, for example: how to structure your presentation; how to adjust your presentation to your audience; and how to design adequate slides. The second part of this workshop is more about delivery and (non) verbal communication, such as body language, interaction with your audience, use of voice, answering questions, and (if necessary) pronunciation. Special attention will also be given to presentation fear and how to deal with it. You will be asked to study some relevant literature and/or prepare a short presentation before the workshop.

This part of the workshop is taught by Drs. Kick Moors & Hermen Visser MSc. Their company, Visser Visible Communication, specializes in communication by academic staff to audiences within and outside academia. They helped a number of OIKOS members prepare for e.g. ERC/VENI/VIDI interviews.

The afternoon workshop requires some preparation. Participants will receive further information about this after registration.

Program

Registration

Registration is now open for OIKOS ReMa- and PhD students. To register, please send an email to oikos rug.nl by 31 January at the latest. When registering, please mention your name and email address, any dietary requirements, as well as whether you want to join us for the 'borrel' afterwards.

NB: If you have any questions about this workshop, feel free to contact the OIKOS-coordinate.