Course Type: Online-Workshop

Target Group: Postdoctoral researchers

Postdoctoral researchers frequently utilize project management skills in their day-to-day work. Moreover, transitioning to a role as a project manager is a popular career trajectory for many postdoctoral researchers.

In light of this, the workshop is designed with dual objectives: First, to provide you with new ideas to improve the management of your ongoing academic projects, and second, to teach essential project management techniques that position you to thrive in diverse project management roles.

On the first day, we will address classic project planning (covering scope, work breakdown structures, estimation, critical path analysis, risk management and tools), agile planning (highlighting values, roles, artifacts, and processes in Scrum), stakeholder management (discussing stakeholder analysis and communication), and best practices for monitoring project progress and steering project execution.

Recognizing that the applicability of project management techniques varies based on the scale (individual or collaborative) and nature (academic or non-academic) of projects, the second day offers tailored sessions. Participants can choose to either participate in the morning or afternoon session. The morning session will further explore project management topics particularly relevant for non-academic, collaborative endeavors (such as fostering alignment in teams, defining the role of a project manager, and nurturing a learning-centric environment). The afternoon session will zero in on topics especially relevant to predominantly individual academic projects (like efficient knowledge management and strategies for self-motivation).

The online workshop will be complemented by a subsequent transfer exercise (approximately 3 hours) where participants either apply workshop techniques to their current project or build a project management portfolio that showcases their skills to potential employers.

Contents in brief:

• Classic project planning
• Agile planning (Scrum)
• Monitoring progress and driving project execution
• Stakeholder management
• The role of the project manager
• Creating alignment in project teams
• Project closure and improving future performance
• Knowledge management

Counting towards the Certificate "Leadership, Management, Science Communication and Knowledge Transfer" (Module II, 16 AE).

Philosopher. Data scientist at eduki.com. Previously, Post-Doc at the Berlin School of Mind and Brain at the Humboldt-University in Berlin and PhD in philosophy at the Research School for Social Sciences at the Australian National University. Educated at the FU-Berlin, the University of Heidelberg and Oxford University. Publications on philosophy of mind, action theory, metaethics and applied ethics. Work area as a trainer: project- and self-management for PhD students and Post-Docs.