Effective presenting for PhD candidates
Gain confidence in telling the ‘story’ of your research. This 10-week course is designed to help researchers develop the skills to present a clear and compelling scientific narrative. We offer this course in two variations: fully on campus or blended (online + on campus sessions).
Would you like to feel more confident in telling the ‘story’ of your research? This 10-week PhD Presentation Skills course is designed to help researchers develop the skills to present a clear and compelling scientific narrative to multilingual audiences through English. It is suitable for researchers of any discipline and available blended: both online and face-to-face and on campus. In this course, you will learn about the three main types of academic presentations: the conference presentation, the lay audience presentation, and the poster presentation. This course is considered to be worth 1 ECTS depending on faculty policy.
Fast facts
- For PhD and post-doctoral candidates
- Two course options possible:
- On campus course (all 10 sessions take place in Maastricht)
- Blended course: 8 weekly 90-minute online sessions and 2 120-minute face-to-face sessions
- Maximum of 10 participants
- Receive personalised feedback on your presentation skills
- Certificate upon successful completion of the course
Taking this course greatly enhanced my ability to present research findings clearly and effectively to both academic peers and lay audiences. The tutor’s enthusiasm and dedication made the experience truly engaging, and her practical tips on slide design and presentation delivery were invaluable. As PhD students, we all need to effectively share our research - this course is an absolute must for anyone looking to elevate their presentation skills.
Pricing
- PhD candidates: €610
Course fee
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.
- For PhD candidates of FHML, MaCSBIO, M4I or Merln a maximum of three skills courses is funded until further notice. Upon registration you can select the payment option FHML and provide us with your personnel number.
- Other PhD candidates whose employer will cover the costs, will need to provide us with the following information when completing the registration: your personnel number, your department/faculty, budget or WBS number and name of the budget holder.
- You can of course also pay for the course yourself.
Course aims
The overall aim of the course is to increase your confidence and effectiveness as an academic presenter. This is achieved through a guided exploration of the essential components of an engaging presentation such as:
- knowing your audience,
- a strong beginning,
- the power of story-telling,
- using sign-posting language
- crafting effective slides,
- effectively using your voice through breath, intonation, pausing, and emphasis,
- using body language to present confidently,
- how to handle Q&A sessions.
Course requirements
You are required to give all 3 presentation types and attend 8 out of 10 sessions in order to receive the course certificate.
Participating in the Presentation Skills course was a great choice! I learned so much about presenting and the lay-out of presentations I hadn't even thought about. The feedback the tutor gave was very constructive and it transformed my standard presentations into being more appealing and engaging. The sessions were very well structured with much detail on diversity and inclusion. I was able to apply everything I had learned confidentially to my recent conference presentation, which made it a great success. I can really recommend this course!
Course Format
The course runs for 10 weeks with eight 90-minute weekly on campus lectures or online webinars at a fixed time, and two face-to-face sessions for live presentation practice.
You will deliver the three presentation types in a safe space and will receive personalised feedback on your strengths and weaknesses each time, both from the tutor and from fellow participants, from which you can learn and grow in skills and confidence. Groups are limited in size to a maximum of 10 participants.
In the blended course, Teams is used as the main course platform but the final two sessions will take place at Science Vision at the FHML campus in Maastricht, where your practice presentation will be recorded. Recorded presentations will be made accessible to you via video links provided.
Each week, you will be provided with home tasks to consolidate learning, which consists of videos to watch and reflect on.
Course level check
Not sure this course is for you? Do a free course level check to make sure that the course fits your level and expectations. Please send an e-mail to languages-intake-eng@maastrichtuniversity.nl.
Effective presenting for PhD candidates
NB As this course starts in February and September, registration opens in respectively December and July. For more info on our annual course schedule, click here.