Courses
Discover the wide range of courses at Ghent University, offered by the the Postdoc Career Hub, HR, and other university services.
Where to find your next learning opportunity
This page serves as a starting point to explore the wide range of training opportunities available to postdoctoral researchers. Here, you’ll find links to the main platforms and services at Ghent University — and beyond — that offer courses to support your professional and career development. Make sure to stay informed through event calendars, newsletters and feeds. (see "Get the latest via newsletters and feeds")
UTOP
UTOP (employees only) is Ghent University’s central platform for learning and development. It brings together training opportunities from all university services, except those open to external participants. Among the various training opportunities, you’ll find the following workshops specifically designed for and by postdocs:
- Stress management: how to prevent and reduce stress
- Agile leadership skills for postdoctoral researchers
- Storytelling: how to communicate with impact
- Creativity: how to get more creative ideas
- Positive Focus: how to boost your professional confidence
All these courses are in English and are free of charge. However, registration involves a commitment:
- You subscribe for all sessions of a course. Workshops cannot be taken separately.
- Late cancellations or not showing up may limit your chances of attending other courses in the future.
Doctoral School Course Catalogue
The Doctoral School also offers two transferable-skills courses that are specifically open to postdocs:
In addition, the following courses are also open to postdocs:
Please note that a no-show fee may apply.
Interuniversity
An overview of the interuniversity training offer for young researchers at Flemish universities can be found on the VLIR-website.
Nature Masterclasses
This means that anyone with a Ghent University account can explore a wide range of high-quality courses designed to support researchers at every career stage — including postdocs.
You’ll find courses on topics such as:
- Finding Funding Opportunities
- Persuasive Grant Writing
- Building a Strong Online Researcher Profile
- Getting an Academic Research Position
- Networking for Researchers
- Leading a Collaboration
- Effective Science Communication
…and many more.
There’s even a dedicated section with course recommendations for postdoctoral researchers.
💡 Make the most of your access!
See the box on the right for instructions on how to log in for the first time.
Technology transfer: TT-Skills
In several modules, the interactive TT-Skills course provides Association University Ghent researchers and valorisation staff with all the knowledge and skills to valorise their research results and successfully translate them to the market via technology transfer. Tech Transfer delivered a presentation on Entrepreneurial Careers during the Funding Academy Day, offering a valuable introduction to the subject. A good introduction can also be found in the guidelines for entrepreneurial researchers or the the guidelines and roadmap for spin-off companies.
→ Explore more in recommended reading (see Entrepreneurship and spin-offs)
Join Gentrepreneur's Research Track in January
The Research Track is a short programme for researchers. It teaches you to create value from your research and takes you on a journey to discover its market potential. It is the perfect first step if you are interested in entrepreneurship as a researcher but have limited or no prior knowledge.
The goal is:
- to develop entrepreneurial skills
- to find out if your research can find its way to the market and shape the world of tomorrow
- to apply innovative techniques and methodologies to your own research
The Research Track is open to researchers from all Flemish universities and university colleges, regardless of your research topic (alpha, beta and gamma sciences).
The programme takes place during 2 full days on-site and two half days online.
So why not join the September or January edition
Societal value creation
Explore a range of training options (employees only) — offered by both Ghent University and external partners — designed to strengthen your impact literacy and focus on various forms of societal value creation (non-economic), including science communication, transferable skills, research impact, and knowledge transfer. For more general information on societal value creation, visit the intranet (employees only).
Science communication plays a key role in creating societal value. In addition to Ghent University’s own guidelines (employees only), we recommend checking out the SciCommAcademy, which offers training for researchers aiming to connect their work with a broader audience. Their courses include ‘Video and pitching’ workshops, tailored for PhD candidates and postdocs.
Leadership
Being a leader does not come naturally — it’s something you grow into through continuous learning and reflection. Read more on Ghent Universities' leadership vision.
For postdoctoral researchers who want to strengthen and develop their leadership competencies, the Postdoc Career Hub offers a tailored track: “Agile Leadership Skills for postdoctoral researchers” (on UTOP, employees only).
The Talent, Performance, Career and Development teams (service cluster within HR) provide further support to help you grow as a leader and take on leadership responsibilities. Their offer (employees only) includes a toolbox for leaders, an Agile Leadership program, a coaching offer for supervisors, individual counselling for supervisors, and more.
In the Codex, you can find the Board of Governors’ decision outlining the hierarchical structure (employees only).
Be sure to check UTOP (employees only) regularly for new training opportunities on leadership.
Research
Before diving into training, take a moment to explore our (Re)Search Tips — a collection of practical insights covering key aspects of the researcher’s journey.
The Framework for Good Research Practice provides an overview of the research context at Ghent University. Training can be requested for several of the topics listed. Contact details are available on the thematic web pages.
- Training in research integrity (employees only). (Re)Search Tips has a whole section on research integrity and ethics
- Training in research data management
Funding
Before starting your training, take a moment to explore our Funding Page and (Re)Search Tips — a collection of practical insights on key aspects of the researcher’s journey.
💡 Featured tip: GenAI: Writing a (postdoctoral) research proposal
The Ghent University Funding Academy serves as a one-stop hub for all activities that inform, train, and advise researchers in developing strong grant proposals. Its mission is to make expertise and best practices accessible to all researchers while enhancing the overall quality of grant writing. The initiative brings together a network of funding advisers, policy officers, experts, and business developers from central and faculty departments across the university.
Information sessions on specific funding programmes or calls are also regularly organized by the European Commission, National Contact Points, and the EU Funding Unit, and announced via the BOZI-newsletter.
Generative AI
Ghent University is committed to the responsible use of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) in education, research, and business operations. The university supports all staff and students in developing the skills needed to use AI effectively and ethically, addressing the growing societal demand for AI literacy.
An extensive range of online resources and training courses is available — tailored for lecturers, researchers, and all Ghent University staff. To get started, consult the introductory materials on the intranet.
💡 Featured tip: GenAI: Writing a (postdoctoral) research proposal
The Flanders AI Academy (VAIA), a joint initiative of all Flemish universities, offers AI-related courses and training for professionals and researchers. By sharing academic expertise with the wider workforce, VAIA contributes to Flanders’ future competitiveness and promotes lifelong learning in AI across all sectors.
Teaching
Teacher training skills offered by Department of Educational Affairs
Data-analysis and statistics
The Center for Data Analysis and Statistical Science is a Ghent University expertise center that brings together statistics research groups from various faculties. It offers training and consultancy in data-analysis and statistical methods.
Also explore FLAMES — the Flanders Training Network for Methodology and Statistics — offering a wide range of courses, workshops and a summer school across Flemish universities.
Flemish Supercomputer Center (VSC)
The Flemish Supercomputer Center (VSC) is a collaboration between the five Flemish universities and their university associations. It brings together expertise in scientific and technical computing — including high-performance, high-throughput, cloud computing, and data processing— and operates across four hubs located at the universities of Antwerp, Brussels, Ghent, and Leuven.
The VSC promotes the use of advanced computing within both academia and industry in Flanders by providing cutting-edge infrastructure, training, and support services.
VSC training is open to researchers from Flemish universities and their associates, as well as from strategic research centers, Flemish scientific institutes, and industry.
👉 Explore their training offer.