NWO-Talent Days

Just doing good research isn’t enough to make it within the scientific world. Your career also depends on other than technical skills, such as writing, networking and planning. The 'Talent Days' series at het Vechthuis in Utrecht- an initiative of NWO - helps you develop those skills.

For whom?

If you’re a researcher at PhD or postdoc level you can register.

When?

The 2010 NWO-Talent Days will be held on Tuesday 23 March 2010 and Tuesday 12 October 2010. 

It is no longer possible to register for the Talent Day of 12 October. We have reached the maximum number of participants! There is no waiting list.

Registration

You can register by sending in the registration form on this site only. We will send you a confirmation of participation within three weeks.

Draft programme

Fee

Participation, including lunch, is free. However, participants will need to pay their own travelling expenses.

Workshops

Each participant can choose two workshops to attend, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Each Talent Day, we offer seven of the workshops listed below. You can register for these by filling in the registration form.

In 2010, NWO offers a number of new workshops, in order to meet participants' wishes as good as we can. Because our programme only has room for 7 workshops at one time, we will devide the themes below between two Talent Days. Therefore it is possible that a workshop that is on the schedule for the Spring Talent Day, doesn't do so for the Fall Talent Day. On base of the evaluations of all the new workshops, we will make a selection for the 2011 Talent Classes.

The workshops have professional workshop leaders. As there is a limit to the number of 30 participants per workshop, you might be allocated to a different workshop from those you specified.

1. Career development in academia by Sara Shinton or Ruth Winden
   More information to follow
   
   
2. Creative thinking by Marcel Stolk from Centrum voor Ontwikkeling van het Creatief Denken  (in Dutch)
   If you aspire to a career in academia you need to understand the opportunities and barriers ahead. The session will discuss and analyse academic progression criteria and relate these to strategic career planning. Participants will have an opportunity to share concerns and ask questions about the academic job market and to discuss the actions they must take to achieve their career goals. In a few hours you will have discussed and identified the best first steps on your academic path.
   
   
3. Developing your brand by Ruth Winden
   Have you “googled” yourself recently? Are you happy with what comes up about you in an online search? And what do your social networking pages say about you? The internet has changed recruitment for ever. For recruiters and job seekers, finding information about each other has never been easier. The majority of recruiters will check your online identity and form an opinion of you before you have even met in person. As we freely share opinions and information on the internet, often without regard for the consequences, web technology provides opportunities to enhance your career but also to hinder it. In this session we will look at the techniques for developing and disseminating a consistent, professional brand which will impress potential employers and allow you to exploit the technology available.
   
   
4. Management skills for beginners by Elroy Cocheret (in Dutch)
   As a PhD student, you are already developing leadership qualities. What’s more, academics with a PhD take on leadership positions far sooner than their contemporaries. Two good reasons to make sure you pick up a few more skills now! During an inspiring workshop, Dr Elroy Cocheret and his actors (bureau ElroyCOM) will help you to apply various leadership strategies in difficult situations. You can suggest the situations and during the workshop we shall help and advise each other. What makes you an effective leader? How do you engage people and convince them, how do you delegate and how do you deal with resistance? How can you use these skills during the course of your PhD research and during your subsequent career? Come and find some answers to these questions in this fun and highly informative workshop!
   
   
5. Media training by Jeanine de Bruin and Pauline Fokkelman from Hakuna Matata Science & Media (in Dutch)
   Avoid awkward moments of not knowing the answer to a friend’s difficult question or of stuttering as soon as you see a journalist’s microphone. This workshop trains you in communicating with ‘laymen’, such as family, friends, but also strangers and journalists. By the end of the day you can make the difference between the scientific and the journalistic value of your research. You will learn how to describe your research when being interviewed and how to deal with unexpected questions.
   
   
6. Networking by Dick van Vlooten from Di Cuore  (in Dutch)
   Networking is vital for your career, and this workshop shows you that it is fun, and not something you have to worry or feel nervous about. Networking is a natural skill which you can improve on. An intensive programme of exercises will show you the do's and don’ts of networking. During the session you will discover what your networking capacities and opportunities are and how you can improve on these. And finally you will see the importance of a strong network for the next step in your career.
   
   
7. Negotiating by Jeanine de Bruin from Hakuna Matata Science & Media and Brigitte Hertz (www.bhertz.nl) (in Dutch)
   How to gain the most out of a negotiating situation, or maintain your relationship? This workshop learns you how to deal with different situations with your colleagues and supervisors. We'll do this by learning how to stay focused on strategy and communication while negotiating.
   
   
8. Social media and your career by Sara Shinton
   Over the last few years, the internet has revolutionised the way we manage our careers. New Web 2.0 tools such as search engines, web profiles and blogs, online groups, digests and job portals, and most importantly, social media such as LinkedIn.com, Twitter, Facebook or Hyve offer exciting new opportunities but also real challenges to anyone wanting to manage their careers.  During this TalentClass, we will be making sense of the fast moving and sometimes bewildering world of online networking and marketing. Participants will get an overview of the most important online career management tools to help them gain greater visibility with the people who need to be aware of them and their research. Once we have looked at examples of researchers who have developed effective online identities, we will analyse our own examples of online activities and constructively support each other to develop effective and powerful online communications. After a careful analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of using social media, participants will develop individual, pragmatic and realistic strategies to make the most of the new Web 2.0, including the latest tips on using the internet for job search activities. 
   
   
9. Funding by Ties Huigens and NWO (in Dutch)
   Researchers can obtain a wide range of grants from NWO. At this workshop you will first of all receive general information about NWO grants, with an emphasis on the Veni grant from the Innovational Research Incentives Scheme. You will then be given the opportunity to pose questions about anything you want to know to a successful Veni grant winner and to NWO staff who are involved with grants such as Veni and Rubicon. What is important for the application? What is NWO's role in the selection process? Can I phone NWO for an explanation of the assessment? How should I prepare for the interview? As previously stated, the emphasis is on the Veni, as this is the most important grant for young researchers. You can find out more in advance by taking a look at www.nwo.nl/vi and the programme page of the Innovational Research Incentives Scheme.

   N.B. This workshop does not guarantee an allocation by NWO!

10. Write it right door Gadi Rothenberg and Dr Christopher Lowe van de University of Amsterdam 
    You did something and are convinced of your genius. Now you have to convince the rest of the world. That means writing a paper that gets published and then read. Writing is an integral part of scientific research; treat it with equal care and gravitas. Our workshop (and course) will help you achieve this goal.

Questions?

For more information, please contact NWO's Information and Communication department, phone: +31 (0)70 344 07 84, email talentendag@nwo.nl