Skills training sessions contribute towards the Exeter Award.
Grand Challenges Skills Training
Grand Challenges skills training sessions are designed to equip you with skills that will help you to excel in your challenge. They will also help during your degree and in your working life after graduation. All sessions are optional and you can choose which ones you would like to attend, based on which skills you want to enhance. All sessions contribute towards the Exeter Award.
Below are details of the sessions that will run in May and June 2024, some online and some in-person so that students will be able to attend skills sessions even if they are not in Exeter or Penryn.
Two weeks before Grand Challenges
All of these sessions are delivered as 2 hour workshops (unless otherwise stated).
The UN Sustainable Development Goals are part of a new global sustainable development agenda which aims to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. The 17 goals and 169 associated targets describe the environmental and social challenges that governments, organisations and individuals will need to overcome if we are to deliver this vision. How do we translate these big picture concepts into local and meaningful action? This session will look at what the University of Exeter is doing to support these goals in practice and the action that individuals can take to make a difference. We will also explore how businesses are using the goals in developing and delivering their own sustainability agendas and what this means for graduate recruitment.
Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
On successfully completing the session you will be able to...
- Describe the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the background to their development
- Explain the importance of interdisciplinary thinking in achieving the Goals and how Grand Challenges exemplifies this;
- Appreciate the role of Higher Education Institutions and business in delivering the Goals;
- Identify ways that you can support the delivery of the Goals, personally through the choices you make and the action you take;
- Describe how the UN Goals apply to the commercial awareness needs of employers.
This session will help you plan and effectively deliver presentations in a variety of contexts.
Presentation skills are vital - you probably need them at University, you definitely need them in business and they are often used as part of the selection process in the graduate jobs market.
At the end of the session participants will be able to:
- Identify the characteristics of an effective presentation
- Structure an effective presentation
- Identify techniques for maintaining audience interest
- Identify techniques for coping with nerves
- Plan and deliver a short presentation
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Deepen your understanding of intercultural communication skills and what they might look like in a team. A collaboration between INTO and the Career Zone, this workshop explores the theory underpinning intercultural communication, what can go wrong and what it looks like when it is successful, and an opportunity to test these skills in a safe and supportive environment. This session will help to equip participants with the knowledge and skills to work well with people from around the world, which will help you in Challenges, your studies and future workplaces.
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This workshop offers you the opportunity to explore the skills needed for successful collaboration and communication. We use communication skills and work in teams throughout our studies and in work, but how do we know what we are doing is effective?
We will work through a series of activities to practise and develop our active listening and teamwork skills and take time to consider what is required to work collaboratively in a group.
In this workshop you will:
- Develop understanding of what good communication looks like and how we can demonstrate these skills.
- Recognise the pitfalls experienced when communicating within a team.
- Practice team working skills and reflect on how communication effects collaboration.
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- Communication and Collaboration Skills (In person at Streatham) Monday 20 May 13:00-14:30
- Communication and Collaboration Skills (Online) Tuesday 28 May 9:30-11:30
- Communication and Collaboration Skills (Online) Friday 31 May 15:00-16:30
Put your teamwork and communication skills to the test in our Virtual Escape Room. In teams you will solve a series of puzzles to practice your skills under pressure.
This fun and experiential session gives you the opportunity to reflect on how you communicate and how can you use the different strengths of a group when working together, all of which will be helpful in Grand Challenges, in work, and in your studies.
Project management is a key part of many a graduate role. Through this session, you will develop and deepen your knowledge of a project manager. By getting “hands on” experience in a practical collaborative project, you will understand the phases of project management and some of the key tools used to ensure projects are delivered on time and within budget.
By the end of the workshop, participants will:
- Appreciate the role and responsibilities of the project manager.
- Understand the project management process as a series of phases which must be managed centrally
- Understand the different factors which must be considered as part of project management expectations
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This workshop will help you develop your knowledge and understanding of the planning stage of a project. Project planning is an important precursor to the project management stage.
By the end of this workshop, students should have:
- Understood what a project is
- Understood that project planning is a key aspect of project management
- Learnt how to compile a project charter and give a brief overview of a project
- Understood key concepts such as objectives, scope, deliverables, critical success factors, stakeholders
- Learnt about the key techniques for planning a project
This workshop will cover the skills and psychology of successful negotiating and provide you with a set of principles that will work not just between you and your housemates but in the cut-and-thrust of business too.
Negotiation is the art of getting what you want and keeping everyone else happy at the same time.
At the end of the session participants will be able to:
- Define what is meant by negotiation and apply that to a number of different contexts.
- Identify factors that can determine the outcome of a negotiation.
- Plan a strategy for successful negotiation.
- Understand the principle of ‘win-win’ negotiations.
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This session will help you to manage your time more effectively, identify stress points and ways of dealing with them.
If you find it difficult to achieve what you want and feel overwhelmed by the number of things you have to do, this workshop will provide some tools to help you.
At the end of the session you will be able to:
- Identify how your time is wasted
- Identify when you are under stress
- Develop strategies for time and stress management
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This session aims to help you learn how to build new relationships to expand your network of professional contacts.
“It’s not what you know, it’s who you know” – how many times have you heard that one?
Unfortunately it’s often true, especially in the jobs market with some reports claiming as many as six out of ten jobs are not even advertised, but arise out of the ‘hidden market’.
Contacts are important, and can help you get a job as well as sustain your career.
At the end of the session participants will be able to:
- Explain why networking is important
- Identify networking skills
- Identify ways of describing themselves and their career goals succinctly
- Recognise and take advantage of a networking opportunity when it arises
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Problem Solving is one of the skills identified by the World Economic Forum as being of most relevance. Graduates who are able to solve problems creatively will be in increasing demand as we continue on the forth Industrial Revolution.
By the end of the session, students will:
- Identify the skills required for problem solving.
- Define a problem clearly.
- Use tools and strategies to problem solve
- Understand the Decision Making process to solve problems
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This workshop offers students the opportunity to consider the idea that assertiveness skills can be developed by using simple techniques, and how this can benefit the individual and their future working life. The workshop will offer participants an insight into the importance of assertiveness & confidence skills through small group discussions. By the end of the workshop, students will have:
- Identified the meaning & benefit of assertiveness skills
- Gained an insight into your behaviour and others
- Examined the skills required to develop assertiveness
- An introduction to tools and practical techniques to improve confidence, emotional intelligence and assertiveness
- Practised assertiveness to develop effective communication
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This workshop offers students the opportunity to consider the idea that resilience skills can be learnt over time by altering our thought processes, and how this can benefit the individual and their future working life. The workshop will offer participants an insight into the importance of resilience skills through small group discussions.
By the end of the workshop, students will:
- Understand what resilience is and its importance
- Relate the application of resilience skills to your current and future lives
- Reflect on your current resilience levels and identified actions to increase them
- Gain an insight into research and current thinking on resilience and associated themes
- Explore best practice and shared ideas for developing your resilience skills
- Experience practical techniques and methods which could contribute to developing your resilience skills
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This workshop will give you the opportunity to begin developing your strategic thinking skills and consider how using commercial awareness affects business decisions.
By the end of this workshop, students will have:
- Gained an understanding of ‘Strategic Thinking’ and why it is useful.
- Started to consider how to introduce practical steps to develop ‘Strategic Thinking’ skills.
- Experienced applying ‘Strategic Thinking’ skills to carry out a group task.
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Increasingly employers are seeking candidates with both public speaking and also debating skills; the latter enabling influencing interventions such as persuading stakeholders in the value of your message in commercial and governmental settings. Debating skills may feel a somewhat exclusive and esoteric skill but with practice it is a skill that can be gently mastered.
In this workshop you will learn about techniques to master the craft of debating, the format of debates, the etiquette of debating, techniques to convince an audience.
This session is designed for specifically for students who are unfamiliar with debating skills. It is recommended though not essential to attend the following sessions which form part of the Oratory and Auditory suite of skills sessions: Introduction to Public Speaking; Persuading, influencing and negotiating skills; Communication and collaboration. However, attendance of these sessions is not a mandatory prerequisite.
By attending this workshop you will learn how to:
- Persuade listeners to consider your viewpoints.
- Defend your viewpoints using structured mix of logic and emotion.
- Adapt your verbal communication to the needs of any audience.
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Do you have a fear of public speaking with the idea of speaking to an audience brings you out in sweaty palms? Public speaking is a valuable employability skill which is often used in roles of advocacy where you are persuading an audience in the value of your message. Public speaking can feel understandably frightening but with experience it is a skill that can be gently mastered.
In this workshop you will learn about techniques to master foundation skills in public speaking, learning techniques to efficiently and confidently tell your message to an audience, and of methods that can help allay anxieties about public speaking. This session is designed for specifically for students who are unfamiliar with public speaking and may harbour anxieties about public speaking.
By attending this work-shop you will:
- Learn how to structure a public speech
- Learn how to effectively convey your message
- Discover how to manage public speaking nerves
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Writing about your Grand Challenges experience on LinkedIn is a great way to showcase the skills that you have developed as part of the process.
This interactive session will help you to make the most of LinkedIn, showing how to develop your profile and take advantage of LinkedIn networks
The session will help you understand how LinkedIn works, what to include in your LinkedIn profile and how to use LinkedIn to make you more employable. In particular, how to develop your networks, how to search for work opportunities and how to improve your commercial awareness.
This session is an hour long.
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During Grand Challenges Week
A range of exciting bespoke sessions will be offered during Grand Challenges Week, these being some of the sessions that were done in the past. These sessions are an hour and a half long (unless otherwise stated). You will be able to book onto them via Handshake.
This workshop offers students the opportunity to learn about the use of entrepreneurial behaviour for social rather than generating profit.
By the end of this workshop, students will have:
- Learnt what is meant by social enterprise and what differentiates it from business entrepreneurship
- Learnt about the qualities required by social entrepreneurs
- Reflected on how their experiences and interests could be used to generate value for others as a social enterprise
This session covers what digital marketing is, why it is used and the pros and cons of using it. Students will understand how to launch and manage a campaign, identify, engage with and build their audience and evaluate the impact of a campaign.
At the end of the session you will be able to:
- Appreciate the value of engagement through digital marketing and understand that it is more than just posting social media messages
- Identify the digital platforms best for their campaign
- Have a clear starting point for launching a project, from initial concept idea to getting it off the ground
- Understand evaluation techniques for assessing the success of a campaign
Groups will have 30 minutes to get suggestions from a presentation coach on how to add impact and clarity to their presentations. Tips are likely to include;
- Starting and ending presentations with impact
- Conveying confidence with verbal and non verbal behaviour
- Answering the three key questions
- Using metaphors and stories
- Visual design and usage
- Handling questions assertively
Spaces are limited and will be bookable during Grand Challenges Week.
Sally Flint will be sharing the power of storytelling to get your point across and persuade others. This session will introduce you to storytelling concepts as you continue to think about your output for Grand Challenges.
Sally is a lecturer and teaches Creative Writing, English and Publishing at all levels and work with other organisations on providing workshops in the community.
Sally's work as a poet, climate activist and my research into ekphrasis informs my approach to teaching - ie one art can inspire another and promote thinking beyond the frame. Sally currently working with climate scientists and medical professionals on creative approaches to planetary health.
Asynchronous Sessions
Join these asynchronous skills sessions at any time, at your own pace, in your own space.