LEADER Summer Course for PhD Students

Today many research universities produce more PhD scholars than they themselves can employ. Thus PhD graduates will face employment not only in universities, but also in research institutions, business, industry, ministries and governmental bodies.

This accentuates the need for an updated skills package for research talent. As a consequence the LEADER summer programme addresses the training needs of future research leaders in the complementary skills required to lead large-scale, collaborative research programmes and projects involving partners from multiple sectors (industry, business and/or public sector as well as academic institutions).

Current training is often discipline-specific and rarely addresses the complexity of issues involved in multi-institutional, international collaborative research projects. However, the reality of young researchers’ future projects is that they will most likely be multidisciplinary, project-based, multi-cultural, require substantial external funding and need to be communicated to a non-scientific audience.

LEADER provides PhD students with skills such as intellectual property management, communication, networking, fundraising, intercultural collaboration, entrepreneurship, team work and leadership skills. It will deliver tailored, inspirational, professional skills training through facilitated workshops to small groups of young researchers. The training will be put into a context and exemplified in seminars led by internationally renowned academic researchers who themselves are engaged in collaborative research within various thematic areas. Colleagues from business and industry will be involved in the delivery of training to ensure diversity of delivery and focus as well as to establish strong outreach potential.

You will experience multiple and varied methods of delivery as well as inspiring new challenges such as a visit to the Lego Learning Institute, where we will have an exclusive workshop.