The Daphne Jackson Trust provides three one-day courses tailor-made for Daphne Jackson Fellows. The courses provide our Fellows with the skills to support their success both during and beyond their Fellowship and provide opportunities for our Fellows to come together and support and advise each other. Courses are designed and facilitated by professional trainers and are held at locations around the UK.
Every Fellow should have attended each course by the completion of their Fellowship. The cost for each course is £200 (therefore a total of £600 over the course of the Fellowship). Travel to and from these courses may be claimed from the Extraordinary Expense Allowance. The courses contribute to the 100 hours per year retraining Fellowship requirements.
Details of course dates and venues will be circulated to all Fellows.
The three compulsory training courses for Fellows to attend during their Fellowship are:
1. Perfecting Performance: Confidence for professional career development and presentation skills
This is a high energy day, split into two parts, Confidence for personal and professional career development and Confident presentations, public speaking and networking. Lead by Davina Whitnall, an independent trainer and author who has worked with researchers for over 12 years. Participants will explore personal confidence for professional development through a series of interactive activities and perform short presentations, record their presentations and implement instant strategies to improve performance. Working with other fellows and exchanging ideas is a central part of the day.
2. Publishing a research paper.
As a researcher returning from a career break, you are under pressure to publish journal papers soon. The world of journals has changed rapidly in recent years, with new journals, open access publication, new kinds of peer review and new metrics. How do you navigate this daunting new world? How do you ensure your paper has as much impact as possible? How can you get published quickly? How do you deal with peer reviewers’ comments and rejection letters? This workshop will give you insider insights from Anna Sharman, a former journal editor and founder of Cofactor a scientific editing and training company, to enable you to publish papers most effectively.
3. Professionalisation – Next Steps
Gaining the award of a Daphne Jackson Fellowship is a fantastic achievement however it is only the first step in relaunching your research career. Focussing mainly (but not exclusively) on research careers in academia, this course is designed to help understand what steps you need to take next to re-establish your career. It will give you the opportunity to reflect on your career direction, the skills you have to offer and what you should do next. The tutor Jenny Rivas Perez is a researcher developer and a former Daphne Jackson Fellow. She understands how critical it is that you use the Fellowship not only to re-establish your research profile but to develop a range of skills to underpin your future career.
In addition to these training courses, the Trust holds a biennial Research Conference at which Fellows can present their work. A pre-conference event for Fellows will be held including a short training workshop and networking opportunities.