Posts tagged course director
Radio Silence
Jul 18th
There have been lots of things going on around here of late, which has been great but has meant that I’ve not had the chance to write about them!
KESS GRADschools: in June I directed three GRADschools for the KESS programme. Directing is a bit strange; on some programmes, despite being front-and-centre for a lot of time it can feel like you’re a bit removed from the group. I’ve talked to other people about directing in the past, and of course this can vary wildly, but I’ve heard other people say similar. I didn’t get that a lot on the KESS GRADschools so far; what makes them really interesting is how personal they can feel. With smaller cohorts you can really get to know people a little more – and at the very least get to know everyone’s name. I’m facilitating on another KESS GRADschool next week, so am hoping that the weather improves!
Viva Survivor: I was in Manchester yesterday to deliver a Viva Survivor workshop; it’s two years since I did the first one, and I can’t believe that it has been that long, or quite how many I’ve done since that first one. It was doing Viva Survivor that I really started to feel confident with my facilitation style, and it’s been a motivator for lots of other ideas and opportunities since then. Including…
Viva Survivors: …this one! The Viva Survivors Podcast is going well; with so much work for KESS and then a short holiday, it was tough to stay on top of editing new material to put out. But last week I was able to upload two new podcasts, interviews with Dr Jennifer Cromwell and Dr Julia Collins. I’m conducting more interviews in the near future, and always on the look out for more people to talk to, so please get in touch! And follow @VivaSurvivors on Twitter (and me too).
New Ideas, New Challenges: August is going to be a quiet month in terms of going out and delivering workshops; I kind of expect that now, it’s part of working in the kind of area that I do. So, a month long holiday, right? WRONG! I’ll be working on new resources, a couple of projects that I have started, working even more to try and make Viva Survivors a really valuable resource for PhD candidates, and I’ll probably end up doing some odd jobs around the house as well.
OK, so in and amongst all that I might find time to take a day off…
First Year Skills Workshop
Mar 15th
In this post: recent First Year Skills Workshops, what they’ve been like and what comes next.
I’ve been fortunate enough to have been asked to direct several more First Year Skills Workshops at the University of Liverpool in the last few weeks; regular readers may recall that I directed three last autumn, and that I really enjoyed the work involved in leading these courses. The last two have been no different, but have also held their own challenges, surprises and delights.
Mealworm Cookies
Nov 3rd
I’ve been away from the site and the blog for a while because I’ve been busy getting married and going on honeymoon! Last week was really hectic after nearly a month off.
Monday was all about preparation. It needed to be, because I was going to be out of the office for the rest of the week delivering. On Tuesday morning I was in Manchester delivering another Viva Survivor course (which reminds me that I need to write something about these courses – I’ve delivered six of them now in the space of just over three months, and am booked for more in the New Year), and in the afternoon I raced back to Liverpool to prepare for my debut as a Guest Director on the University of Liverpool’s First Year Skills Workshop programme.
I’ve been involved with the FYSWs since 2008 as a frequent guest tutor; I love turning up for work when I’m on an FYSW. The participants are first year PGRs from different disciplines and backgrounds, and the point of the course is to offer an opportunity to work on a group project (typically putting together a research proposal), and reflect on the experience.
Last week my group were arguing that research should be directed towards mass farming of insects as a rich source of protein and nutrition. Their case was quite compelling, especially an efficiency argument about the ratio of grain to protein between cows and caterpillars…
…and to show that they really believed in their case they had an ace up their collective sleeve. The night before the presentation one of them sourced a recipe and ingredients to make mealworm cookies, which they offered up to the audience. As their group tutor I felt it was important to support them, and so ate one, taking a big bite before my brain had chance to back out.
It wasn’t bad actually, not really any different from a half-decent soft cookie, and didn’t look any different. Having just googled “mealworm” I’m quickly trying to suppress all memories… No, I’m joking. The great thing about FYSWs is the explosion and exposure to new ideas and different ways of thinking. It’s not just the participants who feel it: every time we tutors come away with a new view on the world.
…and possibly a new recipe to try out…
I’ll write more about Directing on the First Year Skills Workshops in the coming weeks: I’m booked in to run two more in November!