CompeTE+ Curriculum

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1. Academic Presentation Skills
2. Academic Writing
3. Citavi Basics
4. Database Research
5. Good academic practice
6. Publication strategies for academic texts
7. What is good scholarship? Fundamentals of the philosophy of science
8. Academic Writing
9. Time management

Content:
In this workshop, you will have the opportunity to practise your presentation skills in English and improve them through personalised feedback from the tutor. You will also discuss aspects of intercultural communication at international conferences. The course is conducted entirely in English.

Topics:

• Short presentations by participants
• Sample presentations
• The importance of intercultural communication

Event type: Workshop
Workload: 6 AE
Target group: PhD students, postdocs
Recommended stage of PhD programme:Research and writing phase

Content:
Publishing in English is essential for an academic career. In this course, you will learn about the key stylistic features you need to bear in mind when writing articles for English-language academic journals or conferences. The course is conducted entirely in English.

Topics:

• Differences between English- and German-language publications
• Choosing appropriate vocabulary and phrasing
• Formal requirements for English-language articles

Course type: Workshop
Workload: 8 AE
Target group: PhD students, postdocs
Recommended stage of PhD:Research and writing phase

Content:
This training course will teach you the key functions of the Citavi reference management programme. The programme helps you to research literature, organise sources and citations, and plan your next steps. It allows you to easily keep track of a growing pile of literature, citations and tasks.

Topics:

• Basic functions of Citavi
• Creating bibliographies
• Integrating citations into texts

Course type: Training
course Scope of work: 2 AE
Target group: PhD
students Stage of PhD:Preparation and initial phase

Content:
The university library provides access to a wide range of licensed and open-access subject databases. The range includes bibliographic, factual and full-text databases. Depending on the participants’ academic backgrounds, this training session will introduce selected databases and the search options available.

Topics:

• Introduction to selected databases based on the participants’ academic backgrounds
• Search options

Type of event: Training
course Scope of work: 2 AE
Target group: PhD
students Recommended stage of PhD programme: Preparation and initial phase

Contents:
Academic work, research and publishing are subject to the rules of good academic practice. This crash course will give you an overview of these guidelines and how to deal with academic misconduct.

Topics:

• Rules of good academic practice
• Dealing with research misconduct
• Plagiarism

Course type: Workshop
Workload: 2 AE
Target group: PhD
students Recommended stage of PhD programme: Preparation and induction phase

Contents:
In this workshop, you will learn what you need to bear in mind when publishing your research findings. The first part focuses on the doctoral thesis as a book, whilst the second part covers publications in specialist journals. You will also receive ‘crash courses’ covering the most important ‘basic knowledge for authors’, for example on copyright, open access, collecting societies and publishing contracts.

Topics:

• Printing subsidies, VG Wort, publishing contracts
• Introduction to current copyright law
• Open Access
• Pre-publication of parts of the doctoral thesis
• Peer reviews
• Good academic practice in publishing

Course type: Workshop
Workload: 10 AE
Target group: PhD
students Recommended stage of PhD programme:Research and writing phase

Contents:
How can hypotheses be scientifically tested? What are scientific methods? And what, in fact, is science? In this lecture, the fundamentals of the history and philosophy of science will be presented to you using numerous examples and experiments. You will learn about various traditions and schools of thought, as well as key concepts in scientific work such as induction, deduction, empiricism and falsification.

Topics:

• History of science
• Scientific progress
• Facts and experiments
• Induction – Deduction
• Schools of thought and traditions (Kuhn, Popper, Lakatos, Feyerabend)

Course type: Lecture
Workload: 5 AE
Target group: PhD students, Master’s students
Recommended stage of PhD studies:Preparatory and introductory phase

Content:
In this workshop, you will receive guidance and suggestions for drafting your texts. You will also learn the basics and methods of academic writing, which will enable you to draft your doctoral thesis and academic articles in a results-oriented manner. The workshop is open to PhD students from all disciplines, with a focus on engineering and the natural sciences.

Topics:

• Research question/abstract
• Content of academic texts
• Structure and organisation of academic texts
• Standards/requirements for academic texts
• Drafting a first version
• Dealing with writer’s block
• Stages of the writing process
• Time management

Course type: Workshop
Workload: 16 contact hours
Target group: PhD
students Recommended stage of PhD programme: Preparation and initial phase

Content:
PhD students and research project staff must strike a balance between their own standards for their work and the expectations of their supervisor or project leader, without letting their personal lives suffer as a result. The ability to organise oneself and good time management are essential prerequisites for this. This training course will teach you approaches and methods to help you overcome this challenge.

Topics:

• Stress-reduction methods
• Efficient working techniques and methods
• Self-analysis of your current personal situation
• Presentation featuring best practice solutions

Event type: Workshop
Scope of work: 14 AE
Target group: PhD students, postdocs
Recommended stage of PhD programme:preparation and initial phase

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1. Successful Leadership
2. Fundamentals of Project Management
3. Conflict Management
4. Team management
5. Start-ups from universities
6. Negotiation Training – Negotiating with Confidence
7. From Research Question to Value Creation – How Marketing and Entrepreneurs Think

Content:
What makes a good leader? And how can you become a good leader yourself? In this seminar, you will discover which personal leadership style you unconsciously favour and which other leadership styles can also be successful. You will also explore the specific challenges of leading teams with an international make-up.

Topics:

• Your own basic understanding of leadership roles and behaviour
• Overview of leadership styles and collaborative leadership
• Performance reviews and feedback discussions
• Employee motivation
• Fundamentals of negotiation

Course type: Workshop
Workload: 20 contact hours
Target group: PhD students, postdocs
Recommended stage of PhD programme:final stage

Content:
The ability to plan and carry out projects is a key competence for entrepreneurs and researchers. In this introductory course, you will familiarise yourself with the most important concepts, methods and tools of project management by working on your own example project. In addition, the course will explore the challenges and opportunities presented by internal and external project communication.

Topics:

• Basic concepts of project management
• Defining objectives and analysing the context
• Cost and resource planning
• Project management and control
• Project closure
• Team Roles and Processes

Event type: Workshop
Scope of work: 14 contact hours
Target group: PhD students, postdocs
Recommended stage of PhD programme: Preparation and initial phase

Content:
In this workshop, you will explore the origins of conflicts and your own behaviour in conflict situations. You will develop your conflict resolution skills and learn how to take the initiative constructively and conduct discussions when conflicts arise.

Topics:

• The origins of conflicts
• Fundamentals of conflict management
• Types of conflict and approaches to resolution
• Reflection on your own behaviour in conflict situations
• Guidance on raising criticism constructively
• Conducting Discussions in Conflict Situations

Event type: Workshop
Workload: 16 contact hours
Target group: PhD students, postdocs
Recommended stage of PhD programme:Research and writing phase

Contents:
What exactly does it mean to be a team player? How can I lead a team when I’m part of it myself? How do I put a team together if I have a say in the matter? And how do I deal with a team that I have to work with, but which has been put together by others? The workshop addresses these and other questions through a combination of theoretical input and practical exercises.

Topics:

• Team leadership as a team member
• Putting a team together
• Leading existing teams

Event type: Workshop
Workload: 20 AE
Target group: PhD students, postdocs
Recommended stage of PhD:Final phase

Content:
During this session, you will gain a general overview, using practical examples, of how an idea or invention can be successfully spun off into a business.

Topics:

• Case studies on successful and unsuccessful spin-offs: understanding the challenges and potential solutions
• Legal principles, liability risks and measures to minimise these risks
• Funding options and grants for start-ups

Course type: Crash
course Workload: 4 AE
Target group: Master’s students, PhD students, postdocs
Recommended stage of PhD studies:Final phase

Content:
In this workshop, you will learn easy-to-implement strategies for fair and effective negotiation, which will be reinforced through practical exercises and personalised feedback.

Topics:

• Key factors influencing communication in a negotiation context
• Soft vs. hard negotiation styles
• Negotiating using the Harvard approach
• Tips and tricks for negotiation rhetoric

Event type: Workshop
Workload: 20 contact hours
Target audience: PhD students, postdocs
Recommended stage of PhD:Final stage

Content:
In this workshop, you will learn about marketing tools and gain the theoretical and practical skills needed to analyse research questions and findings from a marketing perspective, for example for businesses.

Topics:

• Research and Marketing – an indispensable link
• How do customers make decisions? What are their needs? Why is it important to frame these in a way similar to a research question?
• How does marketing work and how are strategic decisions made?
• Strategic tools used by companies

Event type: Workshop
Scope of work: 8 teaching units
Target audience: PhD students, postdocs
Recommended stage of PhD:Final phase

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1. A successful research proposal for a PhD project
2. Submitting successful research grant applications
3. Research funding from the EU and worldwide

Content:
A well-written research proposal is essential for a successful application for a PhD scholarship. Furthermore, (potential) PhD supervisors often request a research proposal as a first step. In this session, you will receive important guidance on how such a proposal should be structured and what you need to bear in mind when writing it.

Topics:

• Structure and organisation of a research proposal
• Approach to drafting a research proposal
• Dissertation timetable

Course type: Workshop
Workload: 2 AE
Target group: Master’s students, PhD candidates
Recommended stage of PhD studies:Preparation and initial phase

Content: Research
projects in the field of applied sciences are predominantly funded through the acquisition of grants. It is essential to present your research idea convincingly and effectively in a grant application, whilst meeting the funding criteria. This course will equip you with the skills needed to write a successful application.

Topics:

• Funding principles and programmes
• How should a proposal be structured?
  • Practical session: reading applications and identifying errors
    • The reviewer’s perspective
    • Common sources of errors
• How do I write a grant application?
  • Exercise section: Writing sections of a proposal
    • Structuring Applications
    • Formulating the research objective, degree of novelty and proposed solution

Course type: Workshop
Workload: 16 contact hours
Target group: Master’s students, PhD students, postdocs
Recommended stage of PhD studies:Final phase

Contents:
Climate change, resource scarcity and civil security are key societal challenges that can only be tackled through joint action at European and global level. Numerous research funding programmes therefore aim to foster collaboration within international teams and promote the mobility and exchange of researchers and expertise.

The first part of the information session (I) will provide you with an overview of the world’s largest funding programme for research and innovation, the EU’s Horizon 2020 Framework Programme for Research.

In the second part (II), you will receive information on further funding programmes run by the federal government, the state and foundations to support international networking in research. Funding under these programmes can also be applied for to supplement or prepare for Horizon 2020 projects.

Topics (I):

• Introduction to the various programme areas within Horizon 2020 and the eligibility criteria
• Selecting programmes suited to research priorities and career stages
• How to approach the calls for proposals

Topics (II):

• Preparatory measures (BMBF/SMWK funding)
• Bilateral calls for proposals from the BMWi
• European Territorial Cooperation (INTERREG)
• Central Europe: Internationalisation of Education, Science and Research (IB of the BMBF)
• Research mobility (DAAD)
• Foundation funding

Event type: Information
session Scope of work: Part I 3 AE, Part II 2 AE
Target group: PhD students, postdocs, professors
Recommended stage of PhD:Final phase

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1. Argumentation training
2. Crash course in poster design using PowerPoint/Scribus
3. Fundamentals of Rhetoric
4. Media training
5. Professional Presenting

Content:
Whether at conferences, colloquia or during academic debates – your debating skills will be constantly put to the test during critical questions and discussions. In this training course, you will learn and practise how to persuade and counter arguments effectively. You will examine and evaluate the structure and content of arguments, and analyse your personal impact as a speaker.

Topics:

• How can a topic be developed through argument?
• How can counter-arguments be presented?
• What types of argumentative structures are there?
• How do you deal with criticism?

Event type: Workshop
Workload: 14 AE
Target group: PhD students, postdocs
Recommended stage of PhD:Final stage

Content:
In this crash course, you will learn the basics of academic poster design using PowerPoint or Scribus, with the help of a practical example. 

Event type: Workshop
Workload: 8 teaching units
Target audience: PhD students, postdocs
Recommended stage of PhD programme: Research and writing phase

Content:
In this workshop, you can acquire the rhetorical skills needed to deliver compelling presentations and speeches. You will explore how to present yourself as a speaker, how to connect with your audience, and how to convey your message clearly.

Topics:

• How do I present myself as a speaker? (Body language and vocal delivery)
• How do I connect with the audience?
• How do I convey topics and content clearly?
• Persuasive techniques in rhetorical communication
• Steps involved in preparing a speech

Event type: Workshop
Scope of work: 14 teaching units
Target group: PhD students, postdocs
Recommended stage of PhD studies:Final phase

Content:
Researchers are increasingly expected to make their research findings visible to the general public. But how do you get your research findings into the media? And how can you prevent the findings from being misrepresented? This is where media training comes in: the trainers will teach you how the media works, what you should bear in mind when dealing with press enquiries, and how to handle both straightforward and tricky questions when dealing directly with the media.

Topics:

• Behind-the-scenes processes: How does the press work?
• Why go to all that trouble in the first place?
• How do I get my topic into the media?
• How do I prepare for an interview?
• What rights do I have as the interviewee?
• What support does the HTWK Leipzig press office offer?

Event type: Workshop
Scope of work: 7 teaching units
Target group: PhD students, postdocs
Recommended stage of PhD:Research and writing phase

Content:
In this workshop, you will practise enhancing your communicative impact when giving presentations through a variety of practical exercises. As well as providing useful tips on structuring your presentations, the workshop covers the key principles of designing professional visual aids and presentation slides. You will also receive detailed feedback on how to improve your impact.

Topics:

• Factors influencing communication effectiveness
• Use of voice/speech/body language
• Questioning techniques/meta-language for clarifying audience questions
• Confident handling of critical questions and follow-up queries
• Planning, preparation and structure of successful presentations
• Visualisation techniques and professional slide design (e.g. using PowerPoint)

Event type: Workshop
Scope of work: 20 AE
Target group: PhD students, postdocs
Recommended stage of PhD programme:Research and writing phase