Institute of Molecular Genetics of the Czech Academy of Sciences
The Elements of Science course is an intensive one-week career course for 36 advanced biomedical PhD students (ideally third year PhD and above), organised by IMG in collaboration with IOCB. The course focuses on developing softskills (primarily forms of communication) and positive motivation for research.
The course capacity has already been filled.
The course will include talks by selected lecturers from EMBO solutions, Andrew Moore (former editor-in-chief of Bioessays) on written communication, and Itai Yanai and Martin Schwarzer for a half-day Day Science/Night Science workshop on creativity training (yes, creativity can be encouraged and even trained). Other talks will be provided by local experts.
The workshops follow the same format as the EMBO course – small groups with instructors practice professional communication, communication with the general public and long term fellowship applications – each student presents and receives feedback. This course differs from similar local soft skills courses (KSPC) in its impact and intensity, active student participation, top-notch presenters, and focus on topics that were selected as important during the evolution of the EMBO YIP PhD course and were transformed into specific workshops. The course was developed as a Czech version of the EMBO YIP PhD course and divided by weekdays.
| Monday, June 23 | Science itself |
|---|---|
| 09:00 – 09:10 | Course opening |
| 09:10 – 10:00 | Self-introductions via elevator pitches |
| 10:00 – 11:00 | Opening science lecture (A. Moore) |
| 11:00 – 11:15 | Coffee break |
| 11:15 – 12:30 | Science Ethnography and Ecology |
| 12:30 – 13:30 | Lunch break |
| 13:30 – 18:00 | Day Science and Night Science workshop (I. Yanai, coffee break included) |
| Tuesday, June 24 | Communication |
|---|---|
| 09:00 – 11:30 | Written communication (A. Moore, coffee break included) |
| 11:30 – 12:30 | Editorial process and Peer review (P. Svoboda) |
| 12:30 – 13:30 | Lunch break |
| 13:30 – 16:30 | Interpersonal communication (C. Carret, coffee break included) |
| 16:30 – 18:00 | Tuning elevator pitches (group of instructors) |
| Wednesday, June 25 | General public |
|---|---|
| 09:00 – 10:30 | Talking to general public (A. Obr) |
| 10:30 – 11:00 | Coffee break |
| 11:00 – 12:30 | Research Ethics (P. Svoboda) |
| 12:30 – 13:30 | Lunch break |
| 13:30 – 15:00 | Science Journalists (P. Kasik) |
| 15:00 – 15:30 | Coffee break |
| 15:30 – 17:45 | General public presentation workshop (group of instructors) |
| 17:45 – 18:00 | Coffee break |
| 18:00 – 20:00 | Poster session with general public (soda and snacks included) |
| Thursday, June 26 | Funding |
|---|---|
| 09:00 – 10:30 | Team work and team management (P. Svoboda) |
| 10:30 – 11:00 | Coffee break |
| 11:00 – 12:30 | Grant writing introduction (L. Macůrek) |
| 12:30 – 13:30 | Lunch break |
| 13:30 – 15:30 | Fellowship application workshop I (group of instructors) |
| 15:30 – 16:00 | Coffee break |
| 16:00 – 18:00 | Fellowship application workshop II (group of instructors) |
| 18:00 – 21:00 | Dinner and socializing |
| Friday, June 27 | Career |
|---|---|
| 09:30 – 10:30 | Career paths (D. Stanek) |
| 10:30 – 11:00 | Coffee break |
| 11:00 – 12:30 | Research job interviews (P. Svoboda) |
| 12:30 – 13:30 | Lunch break |
| 13:30 – 15:00 | Panel discussion about career in science |