SPERO Explore: How to think entrepreneurially about your career (for doctoral students and ECRs)

Overview

This free 2-hour workshop for UCL doctoral students and other early career researchers will focus on marketing your skills to future employers, through the lens of entrepreneurship.

Even if you don’t have entrepreneurial ambitions, this workshop will help you reframe the skills you're developing during your time as an early career researcher.

It will help you heighten the impact of your research and think about future career paths.

UCL doctoral students will receive one DocSkills training point via InkPath and the Doctoral School when you complete this workshop.

Who it’s for

This course is for UCL:

• MRes students
• doctoral students
• post-doctoral researchers
• early career researcher staff members (within 6 years of graduating from doctoral studies)
• research students who graduated from UCL within the past 2 years

You don't need any prior business experience to attend. You don't need to be an aspiring entrepreneur or already have a business idea.

What to expect

This workshop will be very practical and interactive.

You’ll receive an email with pre-workshop information, instructions and questionnaire approximately 24 hours before the start of the workshop.

What you'll learn

This workshop will help you: 

• start to recognise your existing enterprise skills
• see that entrepreneurship is about more than just starting a business
• consider a wide number of career paths including portfolio careers, side hustles and career pivots

By the end of the workshop, you'll be better able to:

• identify and market your enterprise skills 
• apply entrepreneurial tools to your current research and future careers
• confidently talk about your growing entrepreneurial mindset

About the tutor

Dr Emma Williams is on a mission to enable researchers to take their next career step positively and proactively. Drawing on over 30 years’ experience in and around higher education – from being a physicist to training business owners – she speaks, writes and provides training on researcher development. Her favourite soapboxes include women’s development in universities and encouraging researchers to investigate all things enterprising. She brings creativity, empathy and usually a large coffee to her work.

Accessibility

If there is anything we can do to make this workshop accessible or comfortable for you, please let us know by emailing matt.harris@ucl.ac.uk

Photography

Filming and photography will take place at this event for promotional purposes. The photographs and recordings will appear on our website and social media channels. If you do not wish to be filmed or photographed, please let a member of staff know on arrival.

Date and times

Thursday, 6 June 2024, 9:30am to 11.30am.

Book your place

Book you place via InkPath.

If you cannot use InkPath, please complete the alternative booking form.

Read our privacy notice to understand how UCL Innovation & Enterprise will deal with your personal data.

UCL Innovation & Enterprise reserves the right to make changes to the programme, location and/or speakers without prior notice. Such alterations are occasionally necessary due to circumstances beyond our control.