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Besides on-the-job technical training, IMDEA Materials Institute is committed to train the Institute’s staff in “soft” or transversal skills. Those competences are relevant to a broad range of occupations and sectors (academic research or teaching career, specialization in a given field or a career at industry or other type of organization) and are the building blocks for the development of the “hard” skills required to succeed on the labor market.
Below you can consult the history of courses that have already taken place and the ones that are currently under preparation. These courses are mainly targeted to Research Assistants, Research Associates and Principal Investigators. In all cases, their goal is to improve both the scientific performance and the career prospects of our staff.
- Career planning
- CV and Linkedin profile
- Preparing for a selection process (interview and negotiation)
Content and course length to be defined
- Relating to my audience and telling a story
- Defining my message, content and structure
- Key concepts in visual communication
- Focus on creating slide presentations
- Presenting your work. Concepts and practice
- Entrepreneurship fundamentals for researchers
- Design of a business model
- Design of a market research interview
- Patents: main concepts, ideas and importance
- How to detect research results worthing protection
- Strategies for software management, protection and exploitation
- The importance of the interview
- Screening CVs and preparing for the interview
- During the interview
- Evidence-based evaluations and decision-making. Unconscious biases
The importance of transferable skills inside/outside academia. Practical tools to identify skills for your CV and professional social networks.
Strategies to explore new profesional pathways/scientific careers: job hunting and hiring process.
Networking efficiently inside/outside academia.
CV, prodessional resumes and selection processes.
Round table discussion and Q&A session: Life after the PhD. (real examples from IMDEA Materials alumni)
How to improve fluency and gain confidence speaking in public
Learn to prepare engaging presentations
Learn to improvise, develop memorization strategies and understand body language
Mock presentations and monologues
European funding opportunities in Horizon Europe
Other European and Spanish funding opportunities
All this for what?
Evolution of the papers
The headline and abstract
The introduction
Discussion and conclussions
Efficient writing
Autonomous learning
The most frequent errors
Fundamental principles for professional interactions
Key skills for effective communication
Enhancing your efficiency
Establishing and maintaining productive collaborations
Solving conflicts
Team development
The start-up as an experiment
The problem: identifying and validating the problem
Customer development: discovering the customer
The solution: unique value proposition
The pivot: discovering the right opportunity
Modelling the revenue streams: revenue models and validation
Being unique: the unfair advantage, IP, competitive advantage, barriers
Reaching the customer: channels and metrics
Basic financials for start-ups
Team, culture and processes
Start-up management: the hardware case
Pitching to investors: business plan, resources, needs, risks
Intoduction - why confidence matters
Speaking clearly and vocal variety
Memorization techniques
Improvising and dealing with nerves
Pre-work
What the media wants and how to be a proactive communicator
“MoJo” Mobile journalism basics and other tools
Non-traditional communication, non verbal language, visuals and more
On-camera, mock interviews and feedback
Take home package: a brief survival book on how to deal with the media
Markets and numbers
Business models and pricing strategy
Fundamental concepts of financial planning
Creativity: where are you?
Self-check of creative moments
"What if..." Meet your new best friend
Everything a paperclip has to teach you
Put a SCAMPER in your life… and a few more techniques to use when you need them
That everyday object has the answer your project needs
Silence is your ally. Relaxation techniques to do even at the office
If you don't like it, change it. If you love it, improve it. How to speed up your mind with daily exercises
Give me a paper and a pencil and I'll move the world. Drawing techniques to capture ideas
Introduction (opening and presentation, introduction to Horizon Europe framework programme for research and innovation)
Professional management of projects. PMI standards (the great game of the goose, qualities of a good project manager, adapting PMI standards to R&I projects)
Management of Horizon Europe projects (project phases and lifecycle, coordination structures and jargon)
Agile organizations and transformational leadership
Shared leadership
Best known methods about email communication
Giving and receiving feedback
Effective meetings
Goal setting
Negotiation: getting to yes
Mental calmness
Vital body
Emotion management and time management
Fluid relationships
Results protection and valorisation.
Licensing.
Workshop: Understanding your own skills. Personal strategies for future professional transition.
Workshop: Practical tools to identify skills for your CV and professional social networks.
Round table discussion and Q&A session: Life after the PhD. (real examples from IMDEA Materials alumni: Alicia Moya (Research Associate at UAM), Nathamar Dudamell (Product Assurance Coordinator at GMV) and Marcos Rodríguez (Structural Engineer at Siemens Gamesa))
Analysing and managing critical success criteria
Introduction to persuasive writing: concepts, techniques and tools
Enhancing proposal “readability”: importance, techniques and tools
Introduction
Theatre of business models
Conclusion analysis and consolidation of concepts
Business modelling: Team work over a real case
How to innovate business models and chaired discussion around real cases
Uptake of new technologies: Loop, dynamics and decision-making
Economic and finances: Basic concepts and quantitative techniques; Study cases
Giving value to innovation projects: Basic concepts and quantitative techniques; Study cases and discussions
Before writing / Writing / Formatting the document / Defending the Thesis
More recommendations
Introduction
Professional management of projects. PMI standards
Management of H2020 projects
Pre-work
What the media wants and how to be a proactive communicator
“MoJo” Mobile journalism basics and other tools
Non-traditional communication, non verbal language, visuals and more
On-camera, mock interviews and feedback
Take home package: a brief survival book on how to deal with the media
The Research Career Development in the 21st Century – being a researcher in the European Union
Non-academic careers for researchers – thinking outside the box
What the media wants and how deal with the media
Q&A session
The startup as an experiment
The problem: identifying and validating the problem
Customer development: discovering the customer
The Solution: unique value proposition
The Pivot: discovering the right opportunity
Modelling the revenue streams: revenue models and validation
Being unique: the unfair advantage, IP, competitive advantage, barriers
Reaching the customers: channels and metrics
Basic Financials for startups
Team, culture and processes
Startup management, the hardware case
Pitching to Investors: business plan, resources, needs, risks
Spontaneous creativity: map of techniques
Introduction to the integral building of R&I project ideas
Informed creativity: map of techniques
Study case: integral idea building
Technology watch for R&I project building
Study case: gap analysis
Wrap up and conclusions
What does economics means in general terms?
What is economic and financial information used for?
Main economic and accounting concepts
R&D&i project budget
Case study
Best known methods about email communications
Leadership and teamwork
Giving and receiving feedback
Effective meetings
Goal setting
Negotiation
Patents, copyrights, designs and know-how
Ownership, management and exploitation of results
Why do I need management skills?
What is a project?
What is project management?
An introducion to project management
An overview of all project management areas, with special focus on the application to a PhD Thesis
Useful resources
Preparation of R&D&i proposals
Evaluation of R&D&i proposals
Get an innovative idea to be funded
Support programs along the R&D chain
The European R&D&i framework program H2020
Project proposal structure
Case study: from idea to a successful project
Library search & papers writing
Effective presentations
Location
C/ Eric Kandel, 2
Tecnogetafe
28906, Getafe, Madrid (Spain)