CENTA Training and Professional Development
A major benefit of completing a PhD as a CENTA student is the access to a full programme of free training events which will help you develop professional scientific and transferrable skills beyond those you learn in your day-to-day research.
Whatever your career ambitions after CENTA, it is important to maximise your time as a PhD Researcher by developing the skills which are going to increase your professional competence and competitiveness. The demand for highly skilled science professionals in various fields both inside and beyond academia is growing, and CENTA training aims to produce confident and empowered individuals who have fantastic career options available to them post-study.
CENTA training is largely based on Vitae’s Researcher Development Framework. Vitae is the global leader in supporting the professional development of researchers. Additionally, training in known skills gap areas (such as those highlighted by NERC’s ‘Most Wanted’ lists) is prioritised, as well as the skills PhD employers tell us they would like to see more of. We encourage our Postgraduate Researchers to be active partners in their own development, and also implement training based on training wants highlighted to us by CENTA students via their individual Training Needs Analyses. Training is delivered by expert academic and professional trainers – and there’s even peer-to-peer training available through our ‘CENTA teaches CENTA’ scheme.
‘Remember: the product of a PhD is not your thesis, it is you’.
What kind of training does CENTA offer?
We offer training in both scientific and non-scientific areas across four training categories, which are:
- Theme Science and Technical Skills
This includes scientific and technical skills training, fieldwork training, statistics, software training etc.
- Research Management
This includes skills necessary to facilitate research, such as Research Ethics, Budgeting, Intellectual Property and more.
- Engagement, Impact and Enterprise
These are the skills necessary to maximise the communication and societal impact of science – publishing, policy, teaching, industrial engagement and more.
- Personal Effectiveness
At CENTA, we believe that researchers who are supported and empowered to reach their full personal potential will be the most impactful scientists. Personal effectiveness training focuses on self-development of skills such as leadership, confidence and teamwork, as well as ways to support good mental health and EDI practice.
What does the training look like?
Training at CENTA takes a variety of forms – some of it is in-person or hybrid, some of it is online, some of it is residential or out in the field. It can be anywhere in length and structure from an hour-long lecture to a week-long interactive workshop! It can also range from more basic introductory training at the foundation stage to more complex/niche masterclass-level training.
Some of the most popular regular training events we run are:
- The Speed PhD: a week-long residential where groups of 6-7 students team up to get a fictional character through their PhD – doing fieldwork, literature reviewing and creating a mini-thesis as a team with the help of one of CENTA’s expert academics.
- Day visits: Field trips to organisations which support CENTA’s Research, such as the Birmingham Institute of Forest Research (BIFoR), Twycross Zoo and Kew Gardens.
- CENTA Conference: an annual student-led conference where students across all cohorts can share their research, network, and have fun.
- Infohackit: A professionally-led online training programme in graphic design for impact in scientific posters, figures, presentations and more.
- Software Workshops: CENTA has recently run popular professionally-led workshops in R, GIS (ArcGIS & QGIS), Python, Cloud Computing Platforms and Bioinformatics Softwares.
- Personal Effectiveness Training: CENTA has run popular workshops about Mental Health in Academia led by famous advocate Dr Zoe Ayres and training in Networking Confidently with renowned trainer Sue Tonks.
- Other recent popular training events have included training in working with policy and governments, writing grants, applying for postdocs and fellowships, science communication and more.
Who delivers the training?
All CENTA-organised training is led by experts in their field, but we believe expertise comes from broad backgrounds, experiences and sectors. Therefore training may be led by academics who currently host a CENTA PhD student within their research group, members of our partner organisations such as Kew Gardens, BIFoR etc, paid professional trainers/consultants, or CENTA Alumni who are working in areas directly relevant to our PhD Researchers. The trainers have full creative control over how they run their sessions.
Additionally, we have a programme called ‘CENTA teaches CENTA’. If a student has a skill they would like to share with their peers, they can also host a training event and gain useful teaching experience (and CENTA Training Credits) at the same time!
How much training do we have to do?
We ask that all students aim to achieve 100 CENTA Training Credits during their studentship. These are allocated as 1 Credit per 3 hours’ worth of training. Any training, CENTA organised or external, counts towards the credits so long as it fits within the CENTA Training Categories. We encourage students to take a broad approach to their training and work towards their credit target with a mixture of CENTA-organised, external and online/self-paced training in both scientific and non-scientific/transferrable skills areas.
Most training is optional, allowing students to pick according to their needs and interests. Some training such as the Speed PhD is mandatory unless there are compelling reasons you cannot attend. We work with our students to make sure that all training is as inclusive and accessible as possible so that anyone who wants to attend a training event can do so.
CENTA Placements
All CENTA students have the opportunity to complete a 10-day placement gaining experience in an environment outside of their normal research as part of their studentship, for which CENTA can offer up to an additional £1500 support. Doing a CENTA placement is a great way to try working in other areas as diverse as policy and governmental, industry and entrepreneurial, outreach and science communication, not-for-profit sector and more – gaining experiences, skills and networks which are impressive to employers and help you to get a better understanding of the impacts and working areas of science beyond academia.
EDI and Accessibility of Training
At CENTA we understand that our students come from a diverse range of backgrounds, and we design our training to reflect this. CENTA wants to make sure that any student who wishes to attend training can do so on an equitable basis.
- Our trainers themselves bring diverse perspectives, with training being delivered by academics, industry professionals, professional skills trainers, and experts from different (and sometimes non-traditional) career paths, different career stages, and different backgrounds.
- We understand that attending training can also be challenging for various practical reasons, and we accommodate our students by supporting financially with travel, accommodation and other expenses should they need to attend CENTA-organised training in person, with the aim of eliminating our student’s out-of-pocket costs as much as possible. We make every effort to ensure that all students can benefit from our training and residential trips, and work together with students to make sure nobody is excluded from these on the basis of disability, neurodivergence, parental/caring responsibilities or other reasons.
- As part of the CENTA Digital Education Framework (CDEF) we also strive to make sure that wherever possible, all CENTA training has some online-accessible component, ranging from online delivery to hybrid events, to online hosting of training materials and resources.
- Our students are at the heart of all we do, and we openly encourage student feedback regarding training – and act upon it. We want to create an environment where all students feel empowered to talk to us openly about all aspects of their PhD, positive or negative, and see us as allies in their personal development as scientists.
Training Titles Delivered by CENTA2
The training curriculum at CENTA is innovatively designed to respond in real-time and in an evidence-based way to the changing landscapes of the UK Government and UKRI/NERC priorities, the most-wanted skills of our Industrial Partners and End Users, the most in-demand skills of the scientific careers market, and the Training Needs Assessments formulated by PGRs and their Supervisors. Our holistic approach ensures a range of training which covers both scientific/technical and more broadly transferrable skills, equipping our researchers to work confidently across sectors.
Coming up in 2025:
17th-22nd March 2024: CENTA Field TRiPP (Training Residential in Policy and Publishing: FKA Speed PhD) (Multiple Trainers)
CENTA Writing Retreat: 14th-16th and 19th-21st May 2025
2024
25th-29th November 2024: Using AI and Machine Learning in your research (Multiple Trainers)
9th-11th December 2024: An Introduction to Mixed Methods Models in R (Adrian Bowman)
18th November 2024: Workshop in Causality (Josh Larsen)
30th October-1st November 2024: 1st Year Pre-Residential Training: Confidence (Vikki Burns), Teamwork (Stephanie Smith) and Networking (Sue Tonks)
24th October 2024: Scientific Storytelling with ex BBC Journalist, Simon Hall
10th October 2024: CENTA Induction and Icebreaker 2024 (CENTA Staff)
23rd-24th September 2024: CENTA Student Conference 2024, NEC Birmingham
10th-13th June 2024: Intermediate and Further R (Adrian Bowman)
4th June 2024: Working with and co-producing knowledge with environmental stakeholders (Tim Majoribanks and Ksenia Chmutina)
20th-24th May 2024: Introduction to SQL and Linux (Martin Jones)
13th-15th May 2024: EnviroSPRINT (Multiple Trainers)
7th-10th May 2024: Introduction to R (Adrian Bowman)
8th-12th April 2024: Visualising Data with Python (Martin Jones)
18th-22nd March: Speed PhD 2024 (Multiple Trainers)
22nd-24th January: Connecting With Industry (Skillfluence)
2023
All year, rolling basis: Infohackit (Lucy Moore)
20th-21st November 2023: Qualitative Skills Methods Workshop (Gail Grant)
15th November 2023: Identifying aquatic macroinvertebrates – basics through to species level resolution (Kate Mathers)
3rd November 2023: Grant Writing Workshop (Karen Olsson-Francis)
31st October-1st November 2023: Speed PhD Pre-Training: Networking Effectively (Sue Tonks) and Teamwork (Stephanie Smith)
5th October 2023: CENTA Induction and Icebreaker 2023 (CENTA Staff)
14th-15th September 2023: CENTA Student Conference 2023, University of Warwick
6th July 2023: CENTA Visit to Twycross Zoo (Multiple Trainers)
8th June 2023: CENTA Visit to BIFoR (Multiple Trainers)
30th May-2nd June 2023: Python for Biologists (and others!) (Martin Jones)
28th April 2023: Scientific Communication with Lucy Wallace (Lucy Wallace)
31st March 2023: Analysis of Environmental Omics Data: Theory and Applied Examples (Jiarui (Albert) Zhou)
25th-30th March 2023: Speed PhD 2023 (Multiple Trainers)
10th February 2023: Introduction to Cloud Computing (ORACLE)
6th February 2023: Foresight and Futures Methodologies (Kenisha Garnett)
9th-12th January 2023: Introduction to GIS (ArcGIS and QGIS) (GeoData)
2022
All year, rolling basis: Infohackit
21st-22nd November 2022: CENTA Student Conference 2022, The National Space Centre
21st October 2022: Networking Effectively with Sue Tonks
10th October 2022: CENTA Induction and Icebreaker 2022
19th-23rd September 2022: Speed PhD Reloaded (Multiple Trainers)
9th September 2022: Writing NERC facility grant applications (Tiff Barry)
2nd September 2022: Working with Museums (Richard Butler & David Unwin)
2nd August 2022: Grass Identification with Kew Gardens (Maria Vorontsova)
13th July 2022: NERC Careers Intensive (Joint DTP/CDT Hosted)
27th June 2022: Introduction to Sequencing Platforms and Bioinformatics (Michael Macey)
20th June 2022: Using Visual and Video Media to Communicate Science (Simon Clarke)
25th-30th April 2022: Speed PhD 2022 (Multiple Trainers)
8th April 2022: Introduction to Project Management (Stephanie Smith)
25th March 2022: Stable Isotope Applications in Environmental Science (Ryan Mushinski)
22nd-25th 2022: Introduction to R Workshop (Matthew Gemmel)
22nd January 2022: CENTA Teaches CENTA: The Brilliant Club (Sophie Alexander)
17th January 2022: Working strategically with government to utilise environmental data (John Remedios)
2021
All year, rolling basis: Infohackit
16th December 2021: Communicating Environmental Science to Local Authorities and Communities (Joshua Vande Hey & Emma Ferranti)
6th December 2021: Navigating Life as an International Postdoc (Edwin Baynes)
5th November 2021: How to Write and Publish a Scientific Paper (Ryan Mushinski)
26th October 2021: Dr Zoe Ayres: Mental Health in Academia (Zoe Ayres)
22nd October 2021: Managing Expectations: The Supervisor-Student Relationship (Pallavi Anand, Marcus Badger)
6th October 2021: CENTA Induction and Icebreaker 2021 (CENTA Staff)
9th-10th September 2021: CENTA 2021 Student Conference, University of Birmingham
23rd June 2021: The role of expedition science in ecology and environmental science (Operation Wallacea)
23rd April 2021: Carbon Cycle in Soil Systems (Gary Bending)
1st-3rd April 2021: Speed PhD 2021 (Grant Writing Online Exercise) (Multiple Trainers)
22nd January 2021: Thesis writing workshop
15th January 2021: Qualitative Research Methods: Interviews and Focus Groups
2020
All year, rolling basis: Infohackit
2nd December 2020: Writing Science for Non-Expert Audiences
1st October 2020: CENTA Induction and Icebreaker 2020 (CENTA Staff)
23rd September 2020: Data Tree Webinar
2nd-4th September 2020: CENTA 2020 Student Conference (Online)
20th March 2020: ‘Planning Your Thesis’ Workshop
10th March 2020: NERC Careers Intensive (Joint DTP/CDT hosted) (Multiple Trainers)
1st March 2020: CENTA R Workshop 2: Linear Statistical Modelling in R
1st-7th February 2020: Speed PhD 2020 (Multiple Trainers)
2019
13th December 2019: CENTA Photography Workshop
9th December 2019: CENTA Chromatography Masterclass
27th November 2019: CENTA R Workshop 1: Introduction to R and R Studio
19th-21st November 2019: CENTA Trip to British Geological Survey (Multiple Trainers)
6th October 2019: Project Management Workshop (Multiple Trainers)
1st October 2019: CENTA Induction and Icebreaker 2019 (Multiple Trainers)
1st-2nd September 2019: CENTA 2019 Student Conference