Completing Your DPhil (in-person)
Dr Justin Hutchence & Professor Dimitra Rigopoulou
Friday, 27 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.
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.
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
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.
DPhil Bootcamp: Building healthy, productive habits (in-person)
Tuesday, 17 March 2026, 10am to 4pm
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.
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.
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.
Open Access for MPLS (online)
Oliver Bridle and Rachel Scanlon
Tuesday, 10 March 2026, 10am to 11am
This session demystifies the processes of open access publishing.
Herstory: weaving experience into a coherent, confident story - 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.
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.
Managing difficult situations (in-person)
Thursday, 05 March 2026, 1.30pm to 4.30pm
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
Get that job (in-person)
Wednesday, 25 February 2026, 9.30am to 1pm
An interactive workshop for researchers on making successful job applications.
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.
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.
An introduction to neuro-inclusion (online)
Monday, 23 February 2026, 10.30am to 12pm
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
Three Minute Thesis (3MT) Training Session (in-person)
Wednesday, 28 January 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?
An introduction to anti-racist allyship (online)
Hannah Ravenswood and Daisy Hung
Tuesday, 27 January 2026, 10am to 11.30am
We will look at what it means to be an Anti-Racist Ally, by considering the role that power, privilege (especially white privilege), and white fragility have and to feel confident using bystander interventions when needed.
Advanced presentation skills (in-person)
Tuesday, 27 January 2026, 9.30am to 12.30pm
This session is for people who have experience of presentations and want to hone their skills.
Your Successful DPhil (online)
Tuesday, 27 January 2026, 9.30am to 12.30pm
This course will help you kick-start your DPhil.
Responsible Research and Innovation (in-person)
Sarah Callaghan & Sally Charles
Monday, 26 January 2026, 9.30am to 5pm
The aim of the course is to enable researchers to adopt a responsible approach when considering the positive and negative aspects of their research, including the moral, ethical and societal impacts of it.
Interviewing for podcasts (online)
Thursday, 22 January 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.
An introduction to EDI (online)
Tuesday, 20 January 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.
Optimise your time at Oxford: Research Staff Induction (in-person)
Wednesday, 14 January 2026, 12pm to 2pm
Congratulations, you have got a research post at Oxford. But, what next? How do you manage your time at Oxford?
Coaching Skills for Leaders (in-person)
Dr Justin Hutchence, Dr Catherine Seed & Louisa Trevail
Wednesday, 10 December 2025, 9.30am to 1pm
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.
Interviewing for podcasts (online)
Thursday, 04 December 2025, 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.
GROW: Unlocking Innovation: Problem-Solution Fit for STEM Ventures (online)
Shannon Collins, Lightwork Enterprise in collaboration with Oxford Saïd Entrepreneurship Centre
Wednesday, 03 December 2025, 12.30pm to 2pm
At the heart of transformative science and technology ventures lies the ability to ensure innovations genuinely solve real-world problems. Whether developing new research, launching a startup, or advancing industry solutions, problem-solution fit is the foundation that distinguishes impactful work from mere novelty. Understanding authentic customer needs, and rigorously validating your ideas, makes all the difference in creating meaningful innovation that truly matters.
Being an effective bystander (online)
Tuesday, 25 November 2025, 10.30am to 11.30am
Thesis and report writing (in-person)
Tuesday, 25 November 2025, 9.30am to 1.30pm
The thesis and report writing course is relevant for research students at any stage.
Scientific Writing: Getting Your Paper Published (in-person)
Thursday, 20 November 2025, 9.30am to 5pm
This course will look at the aspects you need to consider when constructing your paper; demystify peer reviewed journals by giving insider insights from science journal editors and show you what they really want.
How to prepare for a Career Development Review, for reviewees (in-person)
Thursday, 20 November 2025, 9.30am to 11am
A positive Career Development Review conversation can play a really positive role in your professional development.
Podcast your science (in-person)
Thursday, 20 November 2025, 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.
Time Management (online)
Dr Catherine Seed & James Cunning
Wednesday, 19 November 2025, 10am to 12pm
Being able to manage time effectively will help you to be more successful in all aspects of your life.
