PhD Day 2023 - Skilling me Softly

12.30 – 13.00   Registration
13.00 – 13.15   Opening & welcome by PhD council
13.15 – 14.00   Plenary session: Renske de Kleijn
14.15 – 16.00   Workshop
16.00 – 16.30   Coffee & tea break
16.30 – 17.15   Plenary session: Daniël Seesink - BewustZoo
17.15 – 17.30   Closing by PhD council
17.30 – 21.00   Dinner Botanical Gardens

13.15 – 14.00   Managing feedback from your supervisor: pitfalls & suggestions
Renske de Kleijn | Assistant Professor UMC Utrecht

Dr. Renske de Kleijn works at biomedical sciences as an educational researcher. Her main purpose is to better understand the complexity of feedback for learning, in order to improve feedback situations within the UMCU/UU for students, teachers, PhD students, supervisors, and other employees. She obtained her PhD on the topic of master’s thesis supervision and is currently the supervisor of several PhD students and the coordinator of the GSLS PhD programme Life Sciences Education Research.
In her keynote she will discuss the most prominent pitfalls for PhD candidates when receiving feedback from their supervisors and how these can be prevented or overcome.

16.30 – 17.15  To be or not to be… an ape… - Professional Grooming
Daniël Seesink | BewustZoo

Daniel Seesink started his professional career as a teacher in Biology. His interest in the behaviour of apes has always been present. After teaching Biology, Daniel became a successful representative in the field of medicines. He discovered the power of good and consequent communication. It also became clear how important it is to motivate people. Not only through figures and KPI’s, but even more so by creating the conditions in which someone performs best. Ten years ago, Daniel decided to make professionals aware of the basics of their own behaviour by observing the behaviour of the great apes. He became the national keynote speaker on this topic.
Through his lectures Daniel takes you back to the behavioural basics via the recognizable habits that great apes show us. Based on sociobiology, Daniel shows how alpha males and silverbacks organize and lead their families. The grooming they do forms an interesting metaphor for how people can meet the need for social contact. Of course, Daniel will translate the grooming behaviour of apes to an answer to the question: how can we achieve a more social safe culture, build on trust? To which of the great apes do you feel most attracted to in terms of personal leadership and reliability? Let’s groom and find out!

You can register for 1 workshop. Spots per workshop are limited. First come, first served. You can see at the course portal how many sports are available.

Workshop 1. Resilience in the workplace / supervisor communication strategies
Paula Meesters | Phd Psychologist Utrecht University
Dr. Paula Meesters is a licensed psychologist working as the PhD psychologist at Utrecht University (team HR-Expertises). She teaches at the PhD Course Centre and advices supervisory teams, PhD mentors, HR advisors, Corporate Social Work and confidential advisors. She is educated in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Solution Focused Short Term Therapy, Mindfulness Based Therapy, EMDR and ACT.
During this workshop, you will learn and practice strategies to improve and strengthen communication with your supervisors. Special attention will be given to techniques to improve mindfulness and resilience as a PhD candidate in the unique academic workplace.

Workshop 2. Focus like a Pro
Pepijn Lochtenberg | Focus like a Pro
In this workshop you will reflect on your ability to focus your attention on the things that matter to you. How do you stay focused in a world full of distractions? By doing exercises, discussing ideas and reflecting with colleagues, you will work on concrete steps to improve your focus in your work and private life.
Other questions that will be answered in this workshop: 

1. How does your ability to focus affect your energy, productivity and performance? 
2. What makes it difficult to focus on the most important things?

Workshop 3. Transferable Skills
Melissa Wolleswinkel | Career Services Utrecht University
Soft skills are highly transferable, always relevant, and therefore in high demand. Hard technical skills constantly change, but soft skills remain with you throughout your life and you carry them with you from one job to the next. Therefore, it is important for your future career – either inside or outside academia – to know what they are. During the workshop you will become aware of the soft skills you acquired in life so far and how to present your skills with clarity and conviction.

Workshop 4. Giving Effective Poster Presentations
Ingrid de Beer | Elevate UMC Utrecht
Have you ever been at a conference when people just walked by your poster without showing any interest? Very disappointing, isn’t it? In this workshop you will learn how to attract attention to your poster and how to present it confidently. We will look at the design of an effective poster and how to address your audience. You can receive feedback on your poster and your pitch. So do bring your own poster!

Workshop 5. Living DISC
Moon Grosfeld | KnappeKoppen
During this playful and interactive workshop we deepen your knowledge of the DISC theory. Through reflecting on your behavioral preferences and styles, you’ll find out your profile. We first touch upon the theory followed by indicating which colours match your character. We’ll use the room to divide it into the four colours of the DISC theory. You’ll answer questions about your behaviour by moving around in the room indicated by the colours. Finally, we give you a surprising challenge which you have to complete working together with people of different colours!

Workshop 6. How to deal with your inner demons
Francisco Beisterveld | Mind & Emotions
In this workshop you can become more aware of your ‘inner demons’ (primary maladaptive emotions in Emotion Focused Therapy terms). It’s this layer of (often subconscious) stuck painful emotions that is driving typical challenges like perfectionism, procrastination and difficulties with boundary protection/assertiveness. You will have the chance to learn and practice three important emotion skills that are useful for dealing with your inner demons: focusing, self-compassion and mindfulness.

Workshop 7. How do I keep my work done and keep enjoying my work?
Jet Haasbroek | Mentor for PhD's Utrecht University
Sometimes we work for hours at a time without having set clear goals beforehand, and then the hours fly by. As a result, stress can arise because you wonder how you will ever get your work done. Would Lean PhD be a fit for you?
This workshop is all about focus, time management, breaks and planning. You will learn how you can work with achievable and targeted goals, and how you can combine your work with breaks and relaxation.

In the beautiful scenery of the Botanical Gardens of Utrecht University, you can meet your peers and enjoy food and drinks. The diner is a vegetarian and vegan bbq.

We can accommodate 120 people, so register soon! Please note you can only register for the diner if you register for the full PhD Day programme.

This day is free of charge for all GSLS PhD candidates. Once you have signed up, we expect you to attend. For every late cancellation or no-show, we have to disappoint others who would have liked to attend and we are making costs.

This is our policy:

Registration: You can only register for the full afternoon programme. It is not possible to attend only part of the day.

Dinner: You have to register for dinner separately. Registration is optional. It is not possible to only attend the diner. There are limited spots. If dinner is fully booked, please send an e-mail to pcc@uu.nl that you would like to be included on the waiting list.

Cancellation and no-show: A request for cancellation will be accepted till 12:00 pm June 16 via pcc@uu.nl. After this date or if you don’t show up, we have to charge a no-show fee of € 100. We are unable to make any exceptions, unless you have a valid reason (i.e., illness or death in the family 1^st/2^nd degree or partner) and can show appropriate evidence of this via pcc@uu.nl.