UNIVERSITY OF COLOGNE

To improve the style and structure of the participants’ English academic papers. The workshop will contain information on structuring an English language paper and abstract, vocabulary and punctuation, cultural differences in academic papers, the writing process, finding a narrative and tools and resources for improving one’s written English. 

To get the most out of the workshop, participants should bring a short text they have written themselves for peer review. In addition, participants will receive feedback on a text sample of up to 1,000 words.

More information can be found here. 

max. 14 participants

07 November 2024

9:00 - 13:00 CET

LaTeX is a powerful typesetting system ideal for creating high-quality academic documents. This workshop provides a comprehensive introduction to LaTeX, assuming no prior knowledge and starting with the basics. You'll learn how to structure documents, include figures and tables, use footnotes, and create cross-references etc. In the second part, we'll explore working with templates, such as those for dissertations and publisher-provided article templates. We'll also cover topics like dealing with citations, creating indexes, and handling larger projects. By the end of this workshop, you'll be ready to start your own project and have the skills to continue learning and solving specific challenges on your own.

• No prior experience necessary.
• You will need your laptop to participate as the course is mainly hands-on.
• You need to be able to connect to the internet via Eduroam.

max. 15 participants

Group of up to 5 participants. 
Regularly attending writing groups can not only serve as a source of motivation and bolster a writer's confidence but also enhance skills in:
• giving and receiving peer-review feedback
• understanding writing as a supportive group activity
• strengthening communication skills while refining and rehearsing your argument
• exploring diverse perspectives and styles

More information can be found here.

29 November 2024

9:00 - 17:00

Unspoken expectations from others or the lack of clearly articulated requests for help on our part can easily turn into a mental workload, which becomes increasingly difficult to handle over time.

"If only you had said something...!"
"But you always do that... don't you?"

In this interactive workshop, participants will have the opportunity to understand the concept of mental load and explore its effects. Throughout the seminar, participants will examine practical and actionable strategies that can help them gain more mental space in the future. Note: Mental load is often associated with motherhood and related responsibilities. However, this seminar focuses on mental load of all kinds!
Together with the trainer & systemic coach, participants will develop practical strategies and concrete solutions to reduce their mental workload and improve their work-life balance in the future.

Topics covered:
• Questioning beliefs and internal drivers
• Reality check: Verifying the accuracy of personal assumptions
• What drains and what replenishes my energy tank?
• Managing others' expectations and clearly articulating requests
• Organizing and managing mental load: examining concrete tools

more information can be found here

max. 10 participants

Academics across the world face increasing pressure to publish. Research shows that writing retreats have helped by creating dedicated writing time and building collegiality. A new form of ‘structured’ writing retreat was created to increase its impact by taking a community of practice approach. This paper reports on an evaluation, funded by the British Academy, in which participants were interviewed one year after structured retreat. They reported many changes in their approaches to writing and in their sense of themselves as writers and some of these changes were sustained on return to campus. This paper argues that structured retreat increases learning through participation and helps academics to mainstream writing in their lives and careers. We conclude by suggesting that, since publishing is a mainstream academic activity, it makes sense to mainstream this intervention in academic careers.

more information can be found here

min. 6, max. 8 participants

13 December 2024

9:00 - 17:00

The workshop provides information about the formal procedure, the requirements, the social setting of a Ph.D. examination and the dos and don’ts of a PhD examination. In this seminar we will use video recording as a tool to enable the participants to capitalize on their strengths and to improve their performance. This workshop places particularemphasis on preparing strategically one’s position in the lead up to the viva defense and dealing with the questions & answers session in the second part of the viva defense. On the first day, participants attend the workshop all together as a single group. On the second day, the participants join the trainer for a series of one-to-one sessions characterised by a dedicated tailor-made approach.

max. 12 participants

This one-day intensive workshop is designed for those who have already attended the introductory two-day course or who have already published an article. In this advanced session, you’ll engage in hands-on, guided exercises to refine your writing, focusing on structure, clarity, and overall impact.
To maximize the value of this workshop, participants should bring a draft of an abstract or introduction from a research article they wish to develop. Throughout the day, you’ll revise and polish your work in real-time, ensuring clear progress by the end of the session. A unique benefit of this in-person course is the opportunity to connect with peers at a similar writing stage in a supportive, collaborative environment where you can refine your ideas, and build confidence in your writing.

Aims:
• To deepen understanding of the principles of finding the story in your research
• To improve your ability to write clear, cohesive, and compelling academic texts.
• To provide practical tools and techniques for refining academic texts.
• To facilitate peer learning and feedback.

Objectives:
By the end of this workshop, participants will:
• Know how to apply tools and techniques to enhance clarity and cohesion in their work.
• Gain practical experience in revising and editing their own writing.
• Develop skills to critically evaluate and improve academic manuscripts.
• Discover and discuss how to harness the power of AI in your writing process.

Course Outline:
• Clarifying your storyline and defining your message
• Identifying common issues in academic texts
• Strengthening paragraphs through structure, cohesion, and flow
• Refining word choice and eliminating redundancy
• Practicing rewriting sentences for clarity and impact
• Applying learned techniques to your own texts
• Learn about the wealth of tools, including AI, that can streamline the writing process
• Peer review and feedback sessions

more information can be found here

max. 14 participants