Course

PhD Presentation Skills (Blended: online + face-to-face)

Would you like to feel more confident about telling the ‘story’ of your research? Coherently communicating your scientific findings has never been more important, especially given the proliferating multimedia and face-to-face channels of communication in the current era. This course has thus been developed by the Language Centre to support you in developing the skills you need to clearly and confidently speak about your scientific research to colleagues and lay audiences.

The course content is intended to help you develop the skills to present a clear and compelling scientific narrative. In other words, you will learn to tell the ‘story of your research’ and take your audience by the hand as you narrate your scientific process. This includes creating appropriate visual aids, developing audience awareness, delivering and structuring your talk, as well as confidently handling Q&A sessions. You will also have the opportunity to polish your oral communication skills as well as use language more effectively. Moreover, the syllabus covers a wide range of issues that should be considered when preparing presentations in English for multilingual audiences in a variety of digital and face-to-face contexts.

You will be required to give 3 practice presentations during the course. You may choose to give a newly created presentation for an upcoming congress; you are also welcome to practice a presentation that you have already delivered. *Zoom is used as the **main course platform and each session is recorded. Recorded presentations will be accessible via video links provided by the tutor and may be used for additional feedback purposes.

*You are required to download the Zoom desktop app onto your device for this course.

**The final 2 sessions will be held face-to-face at Science Vision for UM students only.

Format 

  • Course duration of 10 weeks, ***90-minute weekly webinars at a fixed time
  • Practice delivering 3 presentations designed for professional and lay audiences
  • Focused feedback from the tutor and classmates

*** The duration of each class is subject to adjustment; please pay attention to all pre-course communication.

Course requirement

You must give all required presentations and attend 8 out of 10 webinars in order to receive the course certificate.

Duration

Course duration of 10 weeks, ***90-minute weekly webinars at a fixed time.

Group size

The course can accommodate 10 participants.

CEFR attainment levels

C1/C2

Recommended Literature

Syllabus

Certificate

This course is considered to be worth 1 ECTS depending on faculty policy.

Fees

€ 610

UM PhD candidates may be eligible for funding provided by their department or faculty. Please check with your employer whether you are eligible for such funding. If so, you are required to provide the Language Centre with:

  • name of the person responsible for payment
  • your faculty
  • your department
  • personnel number (700……)
  • For PhD candidates of FHML, MaCSBIO, M4I or Merln a maximum of three skills courses  (including this one) is funded until further notice. Providing department and personnel number is sufficient. 

If you are not eligible for departmental funding, the Language Centre will send you an invoice directly. Please note that registration is an agreement to pay.

Dates

The registration form shows the actual available groups. The course starts in principle multiple times per academic year. 

Registration

Please register using our registration form. Use status 'UM PhD candidate' if you are a PhD candidate.

 

“I can truly recommend the English Presentation Techniques course. Constructive criticism and practical tips for improvement allowed me to take my presentation techniques to the next level. I still use what I learned in this course today! "

Julienne Erckens | Marketing and Communications Manager | Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences

 

" During the 34th International Symposium on Forecasting in Rotterdam, I received lots of more questions and comments on my presentation than other presenters. I guess concentrating on few main points and having an effective opener allowed more people to follow. I also received constructive feedback on a poster at a conference a week ago. So, thanks for an effective presentations skills course."

Jan Lohmeyer | School of Business and Economics | Department of Quantitative Economics