Managing difficult situations (in-person)
Thursday, 29 January 2026, 9.30am to 12.30pm
The aim of the course is to provide participants with an awareness of what causes difficult situations / behaviour, a set of skills for managing them, and opportunities to practice the skills.
Podcast your science (online)
Thursday, 29 January 2026, 9.30am to 12.30pm
From inception to publication this practical session delivered by Emily Elias, journalist and producer of the Oxford Sparks podcast series, is a whirlwind tour through the basics of how to share your research in an engaging manner through podcasting.
Scientific writing: core skills (in-person)
Wednesday, 04 February 2026, 9.30am to 5pm
This one day course provides a sound grounding in the core skills needed to produce accurate and effective scientific writing.
Sci-Comm Skills Lab (in-person)
Thursday, 05 February 2026, 10am to 4pm
Learn how to turn complex research into clear, engaging stories that connect with any audience. This interactive workshop covers practical techniques for shaping your message, avoiding jargon, and using visuals and analogies to make ideas stick. Perfect for researchers looking to communicate with impact at events, in the media, or online.
Cultivating resilience and self-care for ourselves and others (online)
Monday, 09 February 2026, 10.30am to 11.30am
What does it mean to be resilient, what does self-care really mean and how can we best support ourselves and others?
How to do a Career Development Review, for reviewers (in-person)
Wednesday, 11 February 2026, 9.30am to 11am
Regular meaningful Career Development Reviews are an important part of developing a positive research culture.
Engaging with controversial and sensitive topics (online)
Thursday, 12 February 2026, 1pm to 3.30pm
Engaging with sensitive or controversial topics in research requires a thoughtful and strategic approach, especially when communicating with diverse audience groups.
Academic Writing with AI (online)
Monday, 16 February 2026 to Monday, 09 March 2026, 10.30am - 12.30pm
Unlock the potential of AI to enhance your academic writing with this new course offered by the University of Oxford's Language Centre. Designed specifically for Oxford MPLS students and staff, the Academic Writing with AI course provides a structured approach to effectively integrate AI tools at each stage of the writing process.
Ethical dilemmas in Authorship, Publication and Peer Review (in-person)
Tuesday, 17 February 2026, 10am to 12.30pm
Explore the ethics behind research practice. This interactive workshop examines authorship, publication, and peer review through real-world dilemmas. Develop practical strategies for integrity, respectful dialogue, and sound decision-making. Completion of the online module is required before attending.
Stakeholder Mapping for Academic Policy Engagement (in-person)
Jose Rojas Alvarado and Naomi Gibson
Tuesday, 17 February 2026, 2pm to 4pm
Who do you need to engage with in the policy world to achieve impact?
Negotiation & Influencing Skills (in-person)
Wednesday, 18 February 2026, 9.30am to 5pm
This workshop aims to help build confidence and skills for those who wish to influence and achieve mutually beneficial goals with their peers, managers and stakeholders.
Non-medical Systematic Reviews – Part 1 (in-person)
Wednesday, 18 February 2026, 2pm to 3.30pm
Systematic reviews are a powerful tool for synthesising and evaluating evidence from published research.
How to prepare for a Career Development Review, for reviewees (in-person)
Thursday, 19 February 2026, 9.30am to 11am
A positive Career Development Review conversation can play a really positive role in your professional development.
Project management: the essentials (in-person)
Thursday, 19 February 2026, 9.30am to 4pm
The focus of this course is to provide a practical ‘project management toolbox’ that you can use in your daily work.
An introduction to neuro-inclusion (online)
Monday, 23 February 2026, 10.30am to 12pm
Research Data Management (in-person)
Tuesday, 24 February 2026, 12.30pm to 2pm
Research data is often at the heart of scientific projects, it’s what you spend hours in the lab generating or in the field collecting. It forms the basis of your analysis and underpins your arguments in papers and theses.
GROW: Rapid Design Thinking using AI
Tuesday, 24 February 2026, 1pm to 3pm
Discover how to combine creative problem-solving with AI-powered tools in this fast-paced, hands-on workshop. You’ll learn the essentials of Design Thinking, practice refining real-world challenges, and explore how AI can accelerate ideation and solution development. Bring a problem from your research area—or use one we provide—and collaborate with peers to generate innovative ideas.
Get that job (in-person)
Wednesday, 25 February 2026, 9.30am to 1pm
An interactive workshop for researchers on making successful job applications.
You and your Supervisor (in-person)
Wednesday, 25 February 2026, 10am to 1pm
This course provides information and introduces strategies to enable DPhil students to develop an effective working relationship with their supervisor.
Non-medical Systematic Reviews – Part 2 (in-person)
Wednesday, 25 February 2026, 2pm to 3.30pm
This session covers developing your systematic review search and selecting sources for peer-reviewed and grey literature.
Three Minute Thesis (3MT) Training Session (in-person)
Thursday, 26 February 2026, 10am to 12pm
A 50,000 word thesis would take 7 hours to present; how about in just 3 minutes with the aid of a single slide?
Scopus searching for MPLS (online)
Friday, 27 February 2026, 10am to 11am
Unlock the full potential of your literature review with Scopus, a vital database for science. Scopus indexes over 100 million records, including articles, conference papers, book chapters, and more.
Scientific writing: core skills (in-person)
Tuesday, 03 March 2026, 9.30am to 5pm
This one day course provides a sound grounding in the core skills needed to produce accurate and effective scientific writing.
An introduction to EDI (online)
Tuesday, 03 March 2026, 10.30am to 11.30am
We will look at the core components of EDI and consider how and why EDI matters to all of us.
Getting Started in Public and Community Engagement with Research (online)
Thursday, 05 March 2026, 2pm to 3pm
This session provides an introduction to public and community engagement for anyone interested in getting started or looking for a bit of inspiration.
Herstory: Weaving Authentic Academic Narratives - in-person event
Monday, 09 March 2026
On Monday 9th March join us to celebrate International Women’s Day (Sunday 8 March). This IWD we are spotlighting women’s voices and stories with a day of reflection, practice, and conversation for women in academia and research. Using the metaphor of weaving, this event explores how we can create consistent yet flexible narratives of our work across different contexts from academic CVs through social media, online profiles, and everyday conversations, creating rich accounts underpinned by consistent themes.
Thriving in Research: core strategic skills and mindsets for research impact (in-person)
Tuesday, 10 March 2026, 10am to 3pm
The way we work and interact with our peers and wider networks, has a huge influence on research outputs and outcomes. This workshop explores a set of core skills and mindsets to help you thrive in research and positively influence your working environment and teams. You will also be able to share your lived experience with peers and participate in focused discussions.
Get that fellowship (in-person)
Wednesday, 11 March 2026, 9.30am to 12.30pm
Gaining a research fellowship is a major step on the academic career ladder.
GROW: Building Social Ventures: Lessons from Oxford University Innovation (online)
Philippa Christoforou, Social Venture Lead, Oxford University Innovation
Wednesday, 11 March 2026, 12.30pm to 2pm
Join Philippa Christoforou, Social Venture Lead at Oxford University Innovation, for an inspiring GROW session on building businesses that create positive social and environmental impact. Discover practical strategies for turning research into ventures that tackle global challenges, and learn how to embed purpose and sustainability into your entrepreneurial journey.
DPhil Bootcamp: Building healthy, productive habits (in-person)
Tuesday, 17 March 2026, 9.30am to 3.30pm
The MPLS DPhil Bootcamp is a one-day workshop that helps new doctoral students build sustainable habits to support their research and their future careers. Through practical sessions and expert insights, participants learn strategies for resilience, productivity, and making the most of Oxford’s opportunities.
How to peer review journal papers (in-person)
Tuesday, 17 March 2026, 2pm to 5pm
The ability to review manuscripts should be a core skill of every research scientist.
Time Management (online)
Dr Catherine Seed & James Cunning
Wednesday, 18 March 2026, 10am to 12pm
Being able to manage time effectively will help you to be more successful in all aspects of your life.
Telling stories that matter: Communicating your research through story (in-person)
- All
- Communications
- DPhil students
- Presentation skills
- Public engagement
- Research staff
- Writing skills
Thursday, 19 March 2026, 10am to 4pm
Discover more about how to craft and apply storytelling skills to communicate your research
Coaching Skills for Leaders (in-person)
Dr Justin Hutchence, Dr Catherine Seed & Louisa Trevail
Tuesday, 24 March 2026, 1.30pm to 5pm
Coaching skills can help you build positive and effective working relationships with all those you work with. Coaching is a highly impactful approach to people development and can support individuals to identify goals, gain insights into challenges, consider options and plan actions. They are a valuable asset to leaders and managers and can be useful in a range of workplace conversations, such as feedback, delegation and career development reviews.
Completing Your DPhil (in-person)
Dr Justin Hutchence & Dimitra Rigopoulou
Thursday, 26 March 2026, 9.30am to 12.30pm
If you are nearing the end of your DPhil, this workshop will help you develop a plan for completing your DPhil and prepare for the viva.
Optimise your time at Oxford: Research Staff Induction (in-person)
Wednesday, 22 April 2026, 12pm to 2pm
Congratulations, you have got a research post at Oxford. But, what next? How do you manage your time at Oxford?
First Principles for Scientists: Enterprise & Innovation (in-person)
Thursday, 30 April 2026 to Thursday, 11 June 2026
Achieve greater impact and stronger collaborations by adopting these first principles approaches to analysing and implementing ideas and developing your research strategy.
Three Minute Thesis (3MT) Training Session (in person)
Thursday, 30 April 2026, 10am to 12pm
A 50,000 word thesis would take 7 hours to present; how about in just 3 minutes with the aid of a single slide?
Thesis and report writing (in-person)
Tuesday, 05 May 2026, 9.30am to 1.30pm
The thesis and report writing course is relevant for research students at any stage.
Being an effective bystander (online)
Tuesday, 05 May 2026, 10.30am to 11.30am
What does it mean to be an effective bystander? How do we best challenge behaviours and practices which can potentially disadvantage staff and students?
Interviewing for podcasts (online)
Thursday, 07 May 2026, 9.30am to 12.30pm
You are behind the mic, ready to record your first podcast ... but wait! What do you ask? This hands-on training session helps you navigate the world of podcast interviews.
Exploring and overcoming imposter phenomenon (in-person)
Monday, 11 May 2026, 9.30am to 12.30pm
Most people experience self-doubt at some point in their life. We may not feel as knowledgeable as our background suggests or we may attribute our success to luck, secretly feeling that we are not as competent as others perceive us to be. Such thoughts and associated emotions are sometimes referred to as impostor phenomenon (IP). It is difficult to say how many people experience IP as not everyone wants to discuss it. However, some research suggests it is common amongst high achieving individuals such as those working within academia.
Cultivating resilience and self-care for ourselves and others (online)
Tuesday, 12 May 2026, 10.30am to 11.30am
Get that fellowship (in-person)
Wednesday, 13 May 2026, 9.30am to 12.30pm
Gaining a research fellowship is a major step on the academic career ladder.
Difficult conversations and the importance of giving and receiving feedback (online)
Thursday, 14 May 2026, 10am to 11am
We will look at the core components of how to give and receive feedback and why not doing this can sometimes lead to avoiding having some conversations.
Embedding Public Engagement in Research Grant Proposals (online)
Dr Catherine Seed & Dr Michaela Livingstone-Banks
Thursday, 14 May 2026, 1pm to 4pm
Are you preparing a research grant proposal? Funders increasingly expect applicants to demonstrate how their work will benefit society. Public engagement with research (PER) is one of the most effective ways to do this.
Effective Communication: content, clarity and confidence
Wednesday, 20 May 2026, 9.30am to 4.30pm
To build participants’ confidence and skills in presenting themselves and their work in different situations and to difference audiences.
Scientific writing: core skills (in-person)
Thursday, 21 May 2026, 9.30am to 5pm
This one day course provides a sound grounding in the core skills needed to produce accurate and effective scientific writing.
Podcast your science (in-person)
Thursday, 21 May 2026, 9.30am to 4.30pm
From inception to publication this practical session delivered by Emily Elias, journalist and producer of the Oxford Sparks podcast series, is a whirlwind tour through the basics of how to share your research in an engaging manner through podcasting.
Introduction to Presentation Skills (in-person)
Tuesday, 26 May 2026, 9.30am to 12.30pm
If you have little or no experience of giving presentations, this course is for you.
