Program

The following courses are offered in English to enable doctoral candidates of Mainz University who do not have a good command of German to also gain further qualification. Participants should therefore be able to understand and speak English.

In Winter/Spring 2012, the following courses will take place:

Presenting in English (March 7 and 8, 2012)
Applied Project Management: Getting a Grip on Your PhD Thesis (March 28 and 29, 2012)
New: Aiming towards a career in research - career options in academia (February 28, 2012)

Registration

In order to sign up and participate in the courses, you have to be registered with the General Postgraduate Program: http://zope.verwaltung.uni-mainz.de/eng/promo/allgemeines/anmeldung

To sign up for a course, please use the course registration form.

Incoming registrations will be considered in order of arrival. However, the organizers reserve the right to treat the registration of foreign doctoral candidates preferentially.

Presenting in English

Deadline for registration: February 10, 2012

Course description
Presenting in your own language is difficult enough, but in today’s global environment more and more post‐graduates are required to attend international events and/or present their research in English. This 1.5 day seminar will look at what makes an effective presentation, focusing on language skills, non‐verbal communication and intercultural issues.
Participants will be required to give a five minute presentation on their area of research which incorporates skills learnt during the course. Feedback will then be given.

Target audience

(Foreign) Doctoral candidates of Mainz University

When

Wednesday, March 7, 10 am - 6 pm and
Thurdsday, March 8, 9 am - 2 pm

Where

Institute of Psychology, Binger Str. 14-16 (Taubertsberg), Raum 01-151

Course instructor

Ellen Rana, English Language Lecturer at the University of Applied Sciences Koblenz

It will be looked at:

the differences between oral and written communication in English
structuring and delivering oral presentations to meet the requirements of an international audience
simple rhetorical techniques
interacting with an audience: models of clarifying, responding to and dealing with questions
non‐verbal communication ‐ what your body language is really saying
small talk in English, especially for conferences or meetings

Course objectives

to help students overcome their difficulties with English pronunciation through concentrating on common and individual pronunciation problems
to appreciate the difference between spoken and written communication in English
to enhance studentsʹ ability to structure and deliver oral presentations in English and to deliver complicated subject matter clearly and effectively
to develop studentsʹ confidence to participate in seminars, workshops, international conferences and other kinds of academic discussions

Maximum number of participants: 14

Applied Project Management: Getting a Grip on Your PhD Thesis

Deadline for registration: March 2, 2012

Course despcription
Succesfully compiling a Ph.D thesis is a demanding task that involves more skills than just writing. It is a project in the sense that it often involves several stakeholders (e.g. fellow Ph.D. students, professors, technicians ...), it has a beginning and an end and the outcome is a unique product.
Knowing key elements of project management will therefore help you getting a grip on your Ph.d. thesis.

Target audience

(Foreign) Doctoral candidates of Mainz University

When

Wednesday, March 28, 9 am - 5.30 pm and
Thursday, March 29, 9 am - 5.30 pm

Where

Will be announced soon

Course instructor

Dipl.-Psych. Matthieu Kollig, GlobalPilots

It will be looked at

project phases
realistic scheduling; defining SMART targets
delegating work
identifying and communicating with stakeholders
monitoring and evaluation
risk management
aspects of intercultural project management

In order to prioritize and adapt the contents to the specific needs of the participants, they will be contacted via e-mail preceding the course. The list may thus be modified.

Course objectives

Participants ...

... know project management skills that facilitate writing a Ph.D. thesis
... apply these skills to their respective Ph.D. thesis
... share and exchange their experiences

Maximum number of participants: 14

Aiming towards a career in research - career options in academia

Deadline for registration: February 3, 2012

Course despription
This workshop informs about different career options in academia comparing the German system with different international counterparts like e.g. the American system. It offers the opportunity to talk about chances and risks of a research career.

Target audience