Category: Courses & Workshops

Core Engagement Masterclass: (11 March)

Sign-up for the Core Engagement Masterclass

Are you new to public engagement and looking to develop and broaden your understanding?

Register for the Core Engagement Masterclass on 11 March. This interactive session will help you to understand why public engagement is important and will explore approaches to quality engagement.

📍 Core Engagement Masterclass: Wednesday 11 March 2026, 13.00-16.30, South Kensington Campus

The session is open to all Imperial staff, doctoral students and postgraduate research masters students. Visit our website for further details and to register your place.

CfAE ‘Writing a research paper’ sessions (18 Feb – 11 March)

Writing a paper for publication?

Register for CfAE’s ‘Writing a research paper’ activity sessions.

In these sessions, you will be trained to become more reader-aware through guided analysis of published research papers to identify the structure, language and strategies used by successful writers in your field. This training will both speed up your writing and ensure your paper truly communicates the value of your research to an increasingly global and interdisciplinary readership. Many participants who’ve benefited from this training have fed back that it’s transformed their approach to writing papers.

In case you’re not aware, all members of Imperial (whether or not English is their first language) at all stages of their degree or academic career have the opportunity to benefit from CfAE provision.

These weekly 50-minute sessions are offered online.

Upcoming sessions:

  • Writing a successful abstract: Wednesday 18 February 16.00-17.00
  • Writing a successful introduction: Wednesday 25 February 16.00-17.00
  • Writing a successful results section: Wednesday 4 March 16.00-17.00
  • Writing a successful discussion and conclusions section: Wednesday 11 March 16.00-17.00

Reserve your place by filling out the registration form.

Further information: Work on your writing in guided activity sessions

CfAE Sessions on preparing for presentations/vivas (12 Feb – 09 March)

Do have an assessed presentation or viva this year? Looking for guidance on how to prepare or feedback on your performance?

Whether you’re an undergraduate or a postgraduate, our Present with impact series of one-hour interactive sessions is designed to upgrade your presentation skills and prepare you for success. There are 3 sessions in the series, each tackling one key consideration: audience, narrative and voice.

Audience: How to pitch your presentation so your audience is engaged and enthused.

Narrative: How to structure your presentation so it’s coherent and compelling.

Voice: How to deliver your presentation with confidence and clarity.

  • Thurs 12 February 17.00-18.00: Audience (Online)
  • Thurs 19 February 17.00-18.00: Voice (Online)
  • Mon 23 February 14.00-15.00: Narrative (on SK campus)
  • Mon 2 March 14.00-15.00: Audience (on SK campus)
  • Mon 9 March 14.00-15.00: Voice (on SK campus)

Book your place now: ‘Present with impact’ sessions.

We also offer a range of live sessions on other aspects of effective speaking. Check out the schedule. You can do as many as you like.

From Bench to Business: Making IP work for you (25 Feb 2026)

From Bench to Business: Making IP work for you

How do academics and researchers make IP work for them? Learn how to start with the end in mind, prioritise what’s valuable and protectable, ensure your intellectual property is investment-ready, and what makes a good licensable technology.

Our panel of patent attorneys, academic entrepreneurs and industry experts will share expert guidance in a dynamic panel discussion format. The event will be followed by a networking lunch. Read more and register.

Event date, time and location

LT300, City & Guilds Building, Imperial College London (South Kensington Campus)

25th February, 12:00 pm – 1:15 pm (followed by a networking lunch)

Effective Speaking 2: succeeding at the ESA viva (19 Feb – 12 Mar 2026)

Our Effective Speaking courses for doctoral students provide practical training in successful oral communication.

The sessions give you the space to rehearse speaking activities such as presentations and vivas, as well as the day-to-day interactions of academic life. The aim is to upgrade your oral communication through intensive practice, directed peer review and detailed feedback. Courses run for 4 weeks (90 minutes once a week) and are delivered on campus at South Kensington.

Effective Speaking 2: succeeding at the ESA viva Thursday 19 February to Thursday 12 March, 14.00 – 15.30

To prepare doctoral students who have completed at least 5 months of their programme for activities in the run up to their Early Stage Assessment (ESA).

You will focus on:

  • speaking about your research area and identifying connections with the research of others
  • discussing gaps in the literature and outlining methodologies you plan to adopt
  • giving a detailed technical explanation of your work
  • practising answering questions

Reserve your place by filling out the registration form. (ES2 registration opens Monday 26 January)

Further information: Technical speaking for doctoral students

AI-Enhanced Storytelling for Impactful Presentations (05, 12, 19, 26 March & 9 April 2026)

Engage with Imperial academics live online: 5, 12, 19, 26 March & 9 April 2026

Discover how Artificial Intelligence can revolutionise your storytelling approach. This masterclass provides a comprehensive, hands-on exploration of how AI tools can transform the way you create, communicate, and evaluate powerful narratives.

Key Topics Covered

  • The role of AI in storytelling
  • Audience identification and persona development
  • Crafting compelling narratives with AI
  • Innovative problem-solving using AI
  • Communicating insights and key messages
  • Evaluating storytelling outcomes with AI
  • Collaborative storytelling with AI
  • Ethical considerations in AI storytelling
  • Presenting to peers and stakeholders (Capstone activity)

For more information about the course, fees and how to register, please click on the following link.

CfAE Guided Activity Sessions on Speaking Skills (Spring Term 2026)

Are you coming up to an assessed presentation? Are you keen to work on your public speaking skills? Do you want to improve your ability to interact in seminars?

Whether you’re an undergraduate or a postgraduate, our guided activity sessions for speaking can help you achieve success on your academic journey and beyond. Sessions are designed to give you the space and opportunity to prepare and rehearse for both everyday and high-stakes activities here at Imperial. Each session includes input tailored to academic STEMM settings and structured practice opportunities. There will be expert feedback and peer review to help you hone your skills.

The live, 50-minute, interactive sessions are held at different times and on different days throughout term, so you can access what you need, when you need it. We offer both on-campus and online options; check out the schedule. You can do as many as you like.

Imperial after:hours – day and evening classes for Imperial students and staff

Imperial after:hours is a programme of day and evening classes open to Imperial students and staff, and members of the public. Organised by the Centre for Languages, Culture and Communication, we have classes in various languages, ranging from Arabic, French and German. to BSL, Hindi and Spanish, as well as a huge range of arts and humanities courses.

Maybe you have always wanted to learn to play acoustic guitar or understand the meaning of art, or perhaps you want to make art yourself, on one our painting, printmaking and craft courses. We have day schools as well, including day trips this autumn to the medieval sites of Canterbury, Faversham and London, and day classes in topics including Christopher Wren’s architecture and art therapy.

No previous experience is needed for any course, there are no assessments or exams, and you’ll find our tutors are knowledgeable, friendly and welcoming.

Full details on all courses is available at www.imperial.ac.uk/afterhours. Classes are enrolling now.

Reducing the Carbon Footprint of Your Research (online)

What’s your research carbon footprint? While the average person in the UK emits 5 tonnes of carbon dioxide each year, many academics emit more than 15 tonnes. To maintain safe and equitable boundaries, the planet needs us to emit only 2 tonnes per year.

Why do academics emit so much more than the average? In this interactive and non-judgmental workshop, we’ll consider how our energy use, digital activities, travel, diets, consumer habits, and research practices all contribute to our emissions. We’ll cover:

  • Why we need to urgently reduce our carbon footprint.
  • What science tells us about the impact of our activities.
  • How we can make changes to reduce carbon emissions.

By the end of this workshop, participants will have:

  • Insights into your current carbon footprint.
  • Practical actions you can take to reduce your emissions.
  • Tools for considering the impact of future activities

It’s never too late to get started! No judgement or pressure, just empowerment.

To sign-up to this course please register via ICIS: https://icisprd.ad.ic.ac.uk/ 

Once signed, go to ‘My training’ and search for ‘Carbon Footprint’ and follow the prompted steps to register.

Get Ready to participate in Horizon Europe in 2025 – opportunities, info and webinars

The European Commission will shortly be releasing its 2025 “Work Programme” in which it publicises all the calls for proposals it will release in 2025. It has recently announced several public Information Events where EC officers will describe the topics, supported by “brokerage” events run by collaboration platforms including National Contact Points, to help researchers meet potential partners with which to form a consortium.

A running list of these announcements is published on the Research Office’s VivaEngage channel

To support researchers who are new to Horizon Europe collaborations to navigate the multitude of events and opportunities, the Research Office’s EU Team is offering short webinars which are running in advance of the corresponding EC Information Event.

The first webinar on Research Collaborations is on Wednesday March 26 from 13.00 to 13.45 and we invite Principal Investigators to sign up here