Transferable Skills Seminars

Seminars in Transferable Skills (co-)organised by the Doctoral School

After successful participation, the Doctoral School Office will add this course to your curriculum of the Doctoral Training Programme in Oasis.

Communication skills

Subject / Course Title	Dates	Competencies as defined in the competency matrix for PhD students*
Academic Posters	02 December + 09 December 2025 10/02/2026 - 17/02/2026 30/04/26 - 07/05/26	Communication (IS)
Advanced Academic English Conference Skills	10/02/2026 - 05/05/2026	Communication, Teamwork, International & cross-cultural mindset (IS)
Advanced Academic English Writing Skills	First and second semester Academic Year 2025-2026	Communication (IS)
Academic Writing with AI	25 November 2025	Communication (IS)
AI for Science Communication	09 December 2025	Communication (IS)
NEW! Boost Your Communication Skills – Essentials for PhD Students	01 April + 29 April 2026	Communication (IS)
Creating scientific visuals	06 November + 13 November 2025 03 + 10 February 2026	Communication (IS)
Creating Effective Presentation Slides	30 April 2026	Communication (IS)
Effective Slides	04 December + 11 December 2025 09 March 2026 + 16 March 2026 21 April 2026 + 28 April 2026	Communication (IS)
English Proficiency for Presentations	03 March 2026 - 24 March 2026	Communication (IS)
FEARS	TBA	Communication (IS)
Media Training for Researchers: How to Survive an Interview with a Journalist	12 + 26 February 2026	Communication, International & cross-cultural mindset (IS)
How to get published	20/11 + 27/11/2025 12/03 + 19/03/2026 23/04 + 30/04/2026	Communication (IS) Ethics and integrity (PR)
Intercultural communication: Meet people, not cultures & practice communication styles	TBA	Communication, International & cross-cultural mindset (IS)
Intercultural competences: navigating foreign academic cultures	TBA	Communication, International & cross-cultural mindset (IS)
Let's Talk Science	TBA	Research management (EX) Project management (CT) Ethics and integrity (PR) Critical and analytical skills (CT) Communication (IS)
Manage your public speaking stress	TBA	Communication (IS) Personal Effectiveness (PL)
Popular Science Writing: Impacting Non-Peers	21/11 + 28/11/2025 23+30/04/2026	Communication, Teamwork, International & cross-cultural mindset (IS) Community engagement (PR)
Presentation Skills	18/11 - 09/12/2025 04/03/26 - 25/03/26 05/05/26 - 26/05/26	Communication, International & cross-cultural mindset (IS)
Presenting your Research with Impact	26 February 2026	Communication, Teamwork (IS)
NEW! Storytelling for Researchers	21 January 2026	Personal Effectiveness (PL) Communication (IS)
Turning research data into powerful visuals New title: Data Visualization	28/11 + 05/12 + 12/12/2025 05/05 + 12/05/2026	Communication (IS)
Writing Academic papers	Sep - December 2025	Communication (IS)
Writer Development: Guided Writing Retreats.	19/01 + 20/01 + 05/03/2026 28/01+ 29/01/2026 + 06/03/2026	Personal Effectiveness (PL) Communication (IS)
Study week Mathematics for Industry 2025 _{This course counts as two Transferable Skills Seminars: cluster "Communication Skills" and "Research and Valorization"}	TBA	Communication (IS) Critical and analytical skills (CT)

^{*Every competency corresponds to a skill cluster: EX: Expertise; CT: Critical Thinking; PL: Professional Leadership; IS: Interpersonal Skills; PR: Professionalism}

^{Leadership & Personal efficiency}

Subject / Course Title	Dates	Competencies as defined in the competency matrix for PhD students*
Conflict management	10 October + 14 November	Informal leadership, Personal effectiveness (PL) Communication, Teamwork (IS)
Conflict, Communication and Collaboration	29 + 30 June 2026	Informal leadership, Personal effectiveness (PL) Communication, Teamwork (IS)
NEW! Giving and Receiving Feedback	26 February 2026	Informal leadership, Personal effectiveness (PL) Communication, Teamwork (IS)
Grow to lead	TBA	Informal leadership, Personal effectiveness (PL)
Grow your network: from the perfect pitch to lasting relations	17 +25 November 2025 24 February 2026 + 04 March 2026	Personal effectiveness (PL) International & cross-cultural mindset (IS)
Grow your personal brand	03 November 2025	Informal leadership, Career development, Personal effectiveness (PL)
Leading Effective Meetings	05 March 2025	Personal effectiveness (PL) Teamwork (IS)
Negotiation skills	15 October + 05 November 2025	Informal leadership, Personal effectiveness (PL) Communication, Teamwork (IS)
Negotiation in reality: principles, influence and creative communication	24 + 25 February 2026	Informal leadership, Personal effectiveness (PL) Communication, Teamwork (IS)
Personal effectiveness	November 2025 (ONLINE) Januari 2026 (ONLINE) April 2026 (ON CAMPUS) June 2026 (ON CAMPUS)	Project management (CT) Personal effectiveness (PL)
New! Real Time Management	01 + 02 June 2026	Project management (CT) Personal effectiveness (PL)
Stress and resilience for researchers	28 May + 25 June 2026	Personal effectiveness (PL)
New! Wellbeing for Researchers: stress and burnout	26 January 2026	Project management (CT) Personal effectiveness (PL)
Working efficiently during your PhD	18 February 2026	Project management (CT) Personal effectiveness (PL)

^{*Every competency corresponds to a skill cluster: EX: Expertise; CT: Critical Thinking; PL: Professional Leadership; IS: Interpersonal Skills; PR: Professionalism}

^{Research & Valorization}

Subject / Course Title	Dates	Competencies as defined in the competency matrix for PhD students*
A starter’s guide to socio-economic impact of research	20 + 27 November 2025 26/02/2026 + 05/03/2026	Communication (IS) Research management (EX) Ethics and integrity (PR)
Data manipulation, analysis and visualisation in Python	19 + 22 + 26 January 2026	Communication (IS) Research management (EX)
Discovery to Innovation in Animal Health (DIAH) academy	29 August 2025 - 20 March 2026	Critical and analytical skills (CT) Ethics and integrity (PR)
Doctoral Discovery Camp	09 + 10 February 2026	Research management (EX) Project management (CT) Ethics and integrity (PR) Communication (IS)
EEG Methods Seminar	TBA	Research management (EX) Project management (CT) Ethics and integrity (PR) Communication (IS)
Faculty of Law and Criminology Research Training Program: how to conduct excellent research in law and criminology _{This course counts as two Transferable Skills Seminars: cluster "Communication Skills" and "Research and Valorization"}	Each academic year	Research management (EX) Project management (CT) Ethics and integrity (PR) Communication (IS)
GDPR in research	17 March 2026	Research management (EX) Critical and analytical skills (CT) Ethics and integrity (PR)
How to evaluate and review research papers in health sciences?	February - June 2026	Research management (EX) Critical and analytical skills (CT) Ethics and integrity (PR)
LISa-team tutor	21 - 23 April 2026	Communication (IS) Research management (EX) Project management (CT) Personal effectiveness (PL)
Need2MedTec	October - May 2025	Research management (EX) Critical and analytical skills (CT)
Medical Writing (Basic)	30 March 2026	Research management (EX) Project management (CT)
Medical Writing (Advanced)	31 March 2026	Research management (EX) Project management (CT)
Methodological aspects of research and societal outreach in public health and primary care	October 2025 - June 2026	Research management (EX) Project management (CT) Ethics and integrity (PR) Communication (IS)
Modern Tabletting: Continuous Manufacturing and ePAT	25-26 February 2026	Critical and analytical skills (CT) Research management (EX)
Next-level searching for scientific information	Each academic year	Research management (EX) Project management (CT) Personal effectiveness (PL)
Onboarding new PhD Students in the Faculty of Arts and Philosophy	11 December 2025	Research management (EX) Project management (CT) Personal effectiveness (PL)
Process Control for Advanced Pharmaceutical Manufacturing	23-24 April 2026	Research management (EX) Project management (CT) Critical and analytical skills (CT)
Research Data management: a practical course	November 2025	Research management (EX) Project management (CT) Ethics and integrity (PR)
Research methods on hard-to-reach and vulnerable populations	17 November 2025	Research management (EX) Project management (CT) Ethics and integrity (PR)
Speed Reading	03 + 17 December 2025(AM) 03 + 17 December 2025 (PM) 10 + 24 March 2026 (AM) 10 + 24 March 2026 (PM)	Critical and analytical skills (CT) Personal effectiveness (PL)
Introduction to AI and Machine Learning for Biomedical Research	18 November–5 December 2025	Critical and analytical skills (CT) Personal effectiveness (PL) Ethics and integrity (PR)
Research Design Course	September 2025 - January 2026	Critical and analytical skills (CT)
Flames Summer School _{This summer school counts as one Transferable Skills Seminar, irrespective of the number of modules that were followed.}	To be announced	FLAMES
Study week Mathematics for Industry 2026 _{This course counts as two Transferable Skills Seminars: cluster "Communication Skills" and "Research and Valorization"}	TBA	Communication (IS) Critical and analytical skills (CT)

^{*Every competency corresponds to a skill cluster: EX: Expertise; CT: Critical Thinking; PL: Professional Leadership; IS: Interpersonal Skills; PR: Professionalism}

^{Career management}

Please note that you can visit the PhD Career Hub, an online learning track developed by UGent to help you choose and apply for jobs.

Subject / Course Title	Dates	Competencies as defined in the competency matrix for PhD students*
Applying for a post-PhD job	27 November + 04 + 11 December 2025 13 January 2026 - 27 January 2026 27 April 2026 - 11 May 2026 09 June 2026 - 23 June 2026 25 August 2026 - 08 September 2026	Personal effectiveness, Career development (PL) Communication (IS)
Creative thinking	04 + 05 + 06 + 07 November 2025 01/07 + 02/07/2026	Critical & analytical skills, Innovation & creativity (CT) Personal effectiveness (PL)
Dealing with challenges, setbacks and confidence	02 + 03 + 04 + 05 December 2025 14 + 15 April 2026	Personal effectiveness (PL)
NEW! Entrepreneurship Essentials for Researchers	27/02 + 06/03 + 13/03/2026	Specialised knowledge (EX) Project management (CT) Career development (PL)
What does it mean to be a researcher in 21^st century academia	06/05 + 13/05 + 20/05/2026	Career development, Personal effectiveness (PL)
From PhD to SME	TBA	Career development (PL)
FWO Postdoc Grant Writing	TBA	Specialised knowledge (EX) Project management (CT) Career development (PL)
Grow your future career	15/01 + 16/01/2026+ 29/01/2026	Project management (CT) Career development (PL)
What is a fulfilling job? Discover your values, competencies and interests	18 November 2025 23/02/2026 + 02/03/2026 27/04/2026 + 04/05/2026	Career development (PL)
International Career Development	02 + 03 + 12 February 2026	Career development (PL)
Interactive Career Day Life Sciences @ Johnson & Johnson	TBA	Informal leadership, Career development (PL) Communication (IS)
Interuniversity Job Market for Young Researchers	TBA	Informal leadership, Career development (PL)
Job Shadowing for PhD candidates and postdocs	TBA	Career development (PL)
Knowledge for growth	TBA	Informal leadership, Career development (PL) Communication (IS)
Need2MedTec	October - May 2025	Career development (PL) Communication (IS)
PhD Innovation Café	TBA	Informal leadership, Career development (PL) Communication (IS)
Project management	24 November + 01 + 08+ 12 December 2025	Project management (CT) Informal leadership (PL) Communication (IS)
The Innovation Day	08 November 2025	Project management (CT) Informal leadership (PL) Communication (IS)

^{*Every competency corresponds to a skill cluster: EX: Expertise; CT: Critical Thinking; PL: Professional Leadership; IS: Interpersonal Skills; PR: Professionalism}

Selection of other courses (AfR)

The courses listed below are organised by third parties and are not part of the Doctoral School own course offer, but you can include them in your Doctoral Training Programme by submitting an application for recognition (AfR) .

Subject/Course title	Academic Year/Dates	Organiser	Cluster
Mind the GAP (Ufora course)	Continuous	VLIR	Research & Valorization
TT-skills: course in technology transfer	2025–2026	Ghent University TechTransfer	Research & Valorization
CAPTURE Academy: Research Valorisation	Continuous	CAPTURE Academy	Research & Valorization
FLAMES courses	2025–2026	FLAMES	Research & Valorization
Fundamentals of Research Data Management (RDM)	2025-2026	Open Sciene Team	Research & Valorization
Scientific writing and publishing	Continuous	Nature Masterclasses	Communication skills
Effective collaboration in research	Continuous	Nature Masterclasses	Career Management
Managing research data	Continuous	Nature Masterclasses	Research and Valorization
Narrative tools for researchers	Continuous	Nature Masterclasses	Communication skills
Persuasive Grant Writing	Continuous	Nature Masterclasses	Career Management
Networking for researchers	Continuous	Nature Masterclasses	Leadership and personal efficiency
Advancing Your Scientific Presentations	Continuous	Nature Masterclasses	Communication skills
Data Analysis: Planning and Preparing	Continuous	Nature Masterclasses	Research & Valorization
Data Analysis: Conducting and Troubleshooting	Continuous	Nature Masterclasses	Research & Valorization
Focus on peer review	Continuous	Nature Masterclasses	Research & Valorization
Writing a research paper	Continuous	Nature Masterclasses	Research & Valorization
Knowledge to Connect	2025–2026	KCGG	Research & Valorization
Courses & training in AI	2025–2026	Flemish AI Academy (VAIA)	Research & Valorization
Online Onderwijstraject voor Assistenten (in Dutch) _{If you're interested in this course but cannot access UTOP, send us an email.}	See UTOP	Office for Educational Quality Control	Career management
Online Learning Track for Assistants (OLTA) (in English) _{If you're interested in this course but cannot access UTOP, send us an email.}	See UTOP	Office for Educational Quality Control	Career management

Related information

Structure of the Ghent University Doctoral Training Programme
Registration, recognition and funding procedures