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Connecting with Industry

Connecting with Industry is a certificated, interactive on-line programme that equips researchers with the tools, skills and confidence required to work more effectively with industry.  The programme offers a blend of group working with peers and individual study to explore key concepts and apply new skills and tools to current situations.

Working on the Connecting with Industry Programme is really beneficial for people like me, as it gives me the chance to connect in to some really enthusiastic people at the start of their careers. The questions they’ve asked have helped to challenge me on what me and my team are doing and how we do it, and it’s great to get those outside perspectives on the work we do. It also represents a great potential recruitment pipeline, and I’ve recently hired a new team member who I met through one of these events!

Rosh Sellahewa

What this programme offers, as attendees prepare to transition out of the post-doc years is beyond compare. I only wish I could have attended when I was a PhD student student, making the move into both advising industry in my specialist research area, and self-employment nearly 20 years ago. Skillfluence have cracked a tough nut in this offering.’

Suzanne Doyle Morris

PROGRAMME OVERVIEW

The programme is organised into 6 modules, typically run on weekly cycles over 6 weeks. Each module includes self-study elements, a live on-line workshop with peers, application activities and a conversation with industry session. Below is an overview of the key topic areas covered in the programme.

Exploring Opportunities in Industry

Learn what it takes to successfully transition to a career in industry. Consider a range of career paths based on your skills, values and interests; learn what it’s like to work in industry and understand more fully what it takes to get your “dream job”.

Discovering Where You Add Value in Industry

Explore challenges, problems and opportunities facing a specific industry. Work to connect-the-dots between these issues and your research, skills and interests, helping you discover opportunities for how you can add value in industry.

Speaking the Language of Business

Learn key business frameworks and terminology, enabling you to more effectively speak “the language of business”. This will help you engage more confidently with businesses, translating your research and academic experience in a way that is relevant to businesses.

Communicating your Value to Industry

Learn how to develop clear and impactful communication that articulates to business and industry how you can add value. As a result, you’ll feel more confident and motivated to pro-actively engage with industry and businesses.

Positioning Yourself as an Expert to Industry

You’re provided with a roadmap for how to become recognised by industry as an “expert”. Learn to take a strategic approach to presenting yourself to industry and identify specific actions to establish expert status in the mind of industry.

Building Meaningful Relationships with Industry

Apply a framework for thinking strategically about growing and nurturing professional relationships. Consider your goals and develop a plan to pro-actively develop relationships in a way that helps you deliver greater impact.

  • It’s a really eye-opening course. My motivation was boosted and I realised there was something impactful I could do to change people’s lives.

    Dareen Assaf, PhD Candidate - Institute of Education, Sheffield Hallam University

  • You were awesome at facilitating the workshops. I loved the way you skillfully ensured we kept on track and achieved the learning outcomes. As an entrepreneur and researcher, I loved the session and will definitely be part of my toolbox. Thanks again!

    Joojo Kye-Sarpong - PhD Student, Health Intervention, Psychosocial Intervention & Addiction Treatment, University of Sunderland

  • Communicating effectively and addressing your contacts with the appropriate language were the two most important lessons I learnt during this programme. The sessions helped our group socialise and bond in a very interesting and productive way.

    Lydia Marinou, PhD Student, University of Glasgow, Cardiovascular Research

  • This course is such a practical course. It not only highlights the importance of research skills to industry, but how to properly present these skills to industry.

    Princess - PhD, Entrepreneurial Ecosystems, Sustainable Entrepreneurship & Sustainability, The Open University

  • Really useful course that offers practical ways to connect and understand industry.

    Lauren Eades, PhD Student at Leeds Institute of Cardiovascular & Metabolic Medicine

PROGRAMME STRUCTURE

Connecting with Industry is a rich, varied and engaging skills development programme. The course is hosted on our e-learning platform where you can access course content and downloadable resources.

Self-Study Lessons

Multimedia content covering key concepts, frameworks and principles. This includes video lessons, recorded interviews with subject matter experts, selected readings and links to externally hosted materials. You have access to this material throughout the programme.

Live on-line Workshops

Interactive zoom-based group workshops that give you the opportunity to activate tools and skills with your peers in a supportive environment. We apply a range of tools to support group work and collaboration, including online breakout rooms, virtual whiteboards and digital collaborative spaces.

Application & Action

Each module includes 1 key application activity. These activities encourage you to apply the principles and tools to your situation. The insights gained through these activities are captured in a learning log which is submitted for review at the end of the programme.

Downloadable Resources

You have access to a range of downloadable resources throughout the programme, including pdf’s of presentation slides, worksheets & templates and a selection of short texts. These materials become a valuable part of your resource & skills toolbox.

Conversations with Industry

Facilitated group discussions with professionals experienced working in, or with, industry. The “Conversations” are live interactive forums with diverse guests who provide context, inspiration and real-world stories. They also offer the opportunity for you to expand your network and build relationships with key industry contacts. It’s not uncommon for these events to lead to opportunities beyond the programme, such as placements, joint research projects or employment.

Time Commitment

Expect to spend 2.5 – 3.5 hrs per week to successfully complete this certified programme. This includes 1 x 1.5 hr online group workshop per module, with the rest of the time spent on self study and application activities to be completed on your own schedule.

Custom Programme Elements

We’ve designed additional programme elements that are often included to further enhance the learner experience. 

Professional Coaching

You receive one-to-one coaching immediately relevant to your personal situation. This helps you build momentum in a specific area, whether it’s exploring career options, starting a business, commercialising research or connecting with potential partners. This provides an opportunity to gain additional insight, receive individual feedback and expand your network and connections in industry. Coaching is a proven approach to drive rich learning and development and can have a significant impact on your progression after the programme.

MultiMind Live Challenges

Fast-paced, complex, stimulating challenges where you work in teams to understand and apply your learning to create potential solutions for real business situations. The challenges require your teams to work at speed, allocate tasks effectively and combine multiple strands to create a quality output. The challenges develop skills, increase confidence, strengthen relationships and establish meaningful connections with industry. Challenges are set by companies or social enterprises and focus on genuine opportunities or challenges facing the organisation.

  • Are you terrified at the thought of having to find your own role in order to make a living outside of academia? Then do this course, even it you have no clue about what you want to do!

    Sally King, PhD student in the Department of Global Health & Medicine at King's College London

  • An amazing course to get you thinking about the aspects of shifting from academia to a career in industry, how to effectively research a potential company of interest and how to sell yourself and the skills you have developed.

    Divya Popat, DPhil Physical and Theoretical Chemistry at University of Oxford

  • It’s an excellent progamme that gives some very valuable insights into getting a job in industry and how to effectively communicate your value. The connections you make with peers during this course is also very valuable.

    Scott Bonner, DPhil Student at University of Oxford

  • The course was fantastic – exceeding all of my expectations. The content was clear and the practice with other group members gave me confidence to share my thoughts and practice using the industry tools in a safe space. As a result of this course I feel more confident in my ability to deliver impact with my research.

    Victoria Milner - PhD Studen, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London

  • This is a realy good course to help you figure out what you may want to do moving forward and to explore future career options.

    Cavyn Mitchel - Doctoral Researcher, Intersections of Trans Studies & Disability Studies, Brunel University London

ABOUT SKILLFLUENCE

We are a specialist training and skills development company who focus on helping researchers develop the skills and confidence to work more effectively in, or with, industry.  We identify best-in-class tools and processes and package them into programmes that meet the unique needs of researchers. During the last 5 years we have worked with more 40 universities in the UK and Europe and trained over 5000 PhD students, early career researchers and academics.

Clients & Partners

We've run Connecting with Industry programmes for PhD students and researchers from a rapidly growing list of top universities.
University of Oxford CDT 
 
King's College London University of London DTC 

  • If you want someone to go that extra mile to provide professional training material to suit your requirement I would have no hesitation in recommending them.

    Alison Gee, Enterprise Development Manager: Launch.Ed, Edinburgh Research & Innovation at University of Edinburgh

  • We employed Skillfluence to develop a series of training programs tailored towards science graduates. The facilitators were highly professional, easy to work with and they listened and responded to our specific training needs with excellent suggestions and a bespoke program. The workshops delivered our training goals and got excellent participant feedback. We are very happy with Skillfluence and will be using them again in the future.

    Course Coordinator, Biotechnology Masters

  • Alison presented the communication skills and career workshop at the European Congress of Biotechnology as initiated by the Young European Biotech Network. It was a pleasure to collaborate with Alison. Her presentation was well designed and contained many important advises for young scientists. She did a fantastic job in encouraging the attendants to get out of their seats and practice their communication skills during the presentation.

    Dr Robert Schwamborn, Chairman of the Young European Biotechnology Network

  • “This is my first time to learn about job interviews and Ph.D experience, especially UK job description which is new for me. Therefore, I learned significant details and technique from this workshop and found out it’s very useful for my future.”

    Napisa Patthara Prachayaku, University of Glasgow Biotechnology Masters Student