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The Bloomsbury Postgraduate Skills Network is a network of leading Higher Education institutions, founded by UCL in order to share best practice in skills training for Doctoral Researchers.
The Bloomsbury Postgraduate Skills Network (BPSN) is a network of leading London-based Higher Education institutions, which was founded by UCL to share best practice in skills training for Doctoral Researchers in the Bloomsbury area. The purpose of the shared skills training programme is to allow Doctoral Researchers additional opportunities for skills training through attending training courses and workshops at other member institutions.
BPSN currently consists of the following member institutions:
- University College London (UCL, founding member)
UCL is amongst the best universities in the world. Academic excellence and disruptive thinking have been the status quo since 1826. We teach our students how to think, not what to think. UCL is sharing almost 50 training events with BPSN, many of which are exploring different career paths and what it takes to get there.
Contact: docskills@ucl.ac.uk
- Birkbeck
Birkbeck is a world-class research and teaching institution, a vibrant centre of academic excellence and London's only specialist provider of evening higher education – which means students can balance studying with work, family and other commitments.
Contact: research-degree-exams@bbk.ac.uk
- City St George’s University
City St George’s is a powerful multi-faculty institution with a distinctive focus on professional education and research at the frontier of practice. Following a recent merger, City St George’s has campuses in Clerkenwell, Moorgate, and Tooting. Day in, day out, year in and year out, City St George’s transforms the lives of around 20,000 students, creates new knowledge, supports business and the professions, and contributes to the global good of society.
Contact: doctoralcollege@city.ac.uk
- King's College London (KCL)
King’s College London is an internationally renowned university delivering exceptional education and world-leading research. King’s hosts over 4000 postgraduate research students who contribute to Kings’ vision to drive positive and sustainable change in society and to make the world a better place.
Contact: doctoraltraining@kcl.ac.uk
- London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)
LSE is a world leading international social science specialist university, based in the heart of London.
Contact: phdacademy@lse.ac.uk
- London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM)
The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine is one of the world's leading public health universities. Our vision is to help create a more healthy, sustainable and equitable world for everyone, because we believe our shared future depends on our shared health.
Contact: transferableskills@lshtm.ac.uk
- School of Advanced Study (SAS)
The School of Advanced Study (SAS) promotes the arts and humanities in the UK. It helps researchers showcase their impact on the broader research and innovation landscape and the influence of their research on policymakers, communities, and individuals. Our well-known specialist institutes and centres provide an interdisciplinary environment for researchers to collaborate on issues related to society, culture, economy, and the environment.
Contact: kremena.velinova@sas.ac.uk
- School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS)
SOAS is a research-intensive institution specialising the study of Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. It aims to challenge perspectives, foster debate, and empower students to question the global status quo while finding solutions to the world’s most pressing issues.
Contact: doctoralschool@soas.ac.uk
- Royal Veterinary College (RVC)
As one of the world's leading specialist veterinary and biological science research institutions, the RVC brings together talented individuals; all of whom share a passion for human and animal health and welfare. Our programmes have international appeal and attract students who go on to become practicing veterinarians, research scientists, veterinary nurses and leaders in industry and government.
Contact: pgadmin@rvc.ac.uk
- Queen Mary University of London (QMUL)
Queen Mary University of London is a top UK university grounded in our East London roots with a global reach, including campuses in China, France, Greece, and Malta. Throughout our history, we’ve fostered social justice and improved lives through academic excellence. We continue to embrace diversity of thought and opinion in everything we do, in the belief that when views collide, disciplines interact, and perspectives intersect, truly original thought takes form.
Contact: doctoralcollege@qmul.ac.uk
Explore a variety of courses available from The Bloomsbury Postgraduate Skills Network:
- UCL
myUCL Careers: If you are a BPSN student wishing to reserve a place on UCL Careers courses, please email UCL Careers directly on: careers.researchers@ucl.ac.uk. You will be unable to sign up via myUCLCareers as this requires a UCL associated email address.
- Birkbeck
Date: Course Title: N/A There are no courses available for Term 3 of 2025/26.
- City St George's University
Date: Course Title: 1 April 2026 Using Search Strategies and Digital Tools for your Research 7 May 2026 Holly Prescott: Similar Skills, Different Worlds: Project Management in and Out of Academia 12 May 2026 A Systematic Review: Results and Discussion
- King's College London
Date: Course Title: 13 April 2026 Making the Most of Conferences 15 May 2026 Writing for Publication in the Arts & Humanities
- School of Advanced Study
Date: Course Title: 27 April 2026 Writing an Introduction 11 May 2026 Writing and Publishing Academic Articles in the Humanities 14 May 2026 Enhancing Social Presence - Building Your Personal Brand 18 May 2026 Writing the Main Body of Your Work 28 May 2026 An Introduction to Open Access Publishing: How to Get Your Work Published as Open Access 1 June 2026 Writing Conclusions 08 June 2026 Overview of Books Publishing 11 June 2026 LinkedIn Lab 15 June 2026 Revising your Work 16 June 2026 How to Help Your Book Find its Market 22 June 2026 Research as Storytelling: Retelling Your Research in Different Ways 25 June 2026 Narrative CV 29 June 2026 Writing for Different Audiences: Academic Blogging and Other Formats
- London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
Date: Course Title: 5 May 2026 Getting the right things done: take control of your task management 2 June 2026 How to be assertive without damaging your working relationships 11 June 2026 Producing Data Management Plans for research funders 24 June 2026 Using conceptual frameworks for research
- London School of Economics
Date: Course Title: 8 May 2026 Navigating professional setbacks: how to bounce back from perceived failures 22 May 2026 All by myself: managing isolation and loneliness throughout your PhD 26 May 2026 Storytelling for researchers 1 June 2026 Persuasive Speaking: Q&A 3 June 2026 Blogging for Researchers 5 June 2026 What comes next: overcoming post-PhD anxiety 16 June 2026 Academic Writing: Introductions and Literature Reviews
- School of Oriental and African Studies
Date: Course Title: 8 May 2026 Introduction to NVivo
- Royal Veterinary College
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Date: Course Title: 23 April 2026 PhD Word Training
- Queen Mary University London
Date: Course Title: 21 April 2026 Publishing in academic journals: Do’s and Don’ts of research article writing 23 April 2026 Creative Approaches in Participatory Research PhD Theses: What Is Feasible? 24 April 2026 Virtual Writing Retreat 6 May 2026 Managing your time and workload in a research environment 29 May 2026 Virtual Writing Retreat 26 June 2026 Virtual Writing Retreat 31 July 2026 Virtual Writing Retreat
Registering onto BPSN Courses
If you are a UCL Doctoral Researcher, you can book onto courses from partner institutions through the BPSN-Inkpath platform.
Please visit the BPSN-Inkpath: FAQ webpage to find out how to set up an account, how to navigate the platform or for any other questions you may have.
