This course equips doctoral researchers with the communication skills, strategic awareness and digital competencies needed to navigate contemporary academic environments. The programme focuses on professional identity, networking, academic visibility and the critical use of Artificial Intelligence to support communication, productivity and career development.
Program
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Session
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Learning Objectives |
Topics |
Interactive activities |
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1: Professional Identity and Academic Communication
October 21st, 2026
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- Develop awareness of academic and professional identity.
- Learn how to communicate research clearly to different audiences.
- Understand the role of communication in shaping professional opportunities.
- Reflect on credibility, reputation and positioning as an early-career researcher.
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- Academic identity and professional positioning.
- The researcher as a representative of a field, project and institution.
- Credibility, visibility and reputation.
- Communicating research to specialist and non-specialist audiences.
- Academic biographies and professional introductions.
- Common communication challenges for doctoral researchers
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- Live polls and reflection exercises.
- Analysis of effective and ineffective researcher profiles.
- Discussion of examples of academic biographies.
- Small-group exercise: crafting a concise professional introduction.
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2: Networking, Relationships and Academic Opportunities
October 28th, 2026
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- Understand networking as a strategic process of relationship-building.
- Develop awareness of how academic opportunities emerge through professional networks.
- Learn practical approaches to building and maintaining meaningful professional relationships.
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- Networking myths and misconceptions.
- Social capital and relational capital.
- Academic conferences as networking environments.
- Supervisors, mentors and peer networks.
- Online networking and professional communities.
- Building a network with purpose and authenticity.
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- Mapping different types of academic relationships.
- Case discussions based on academic career scenarios.
- Reflection exercise: identifying opportunities to strengthen professional networks.
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3: Academic Visibility, Digital Presence and AI-Assisted Communication
November 4th, 2026
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- Understand the role of digital visibility in contemporary academic careers.
- Develop a more coherent and strategic online presence.
- Explore the opportunities and limitations of Artificial Intelligence in academic communication.
- Learn how to use AI critically to support productivity and communication tasks.
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- Academic visibility ecosystems: LinkedIn, ORCID, Google Scholar and ResearchGate.
- Building a coherent digital presence.
- Public communication of research.
- Opportunities and risks of online visibility.
- AI as a communication and productivity support tool.
- Adapting content for different audiences.
- Ethical, professional and reputational considerations in the use of AI.
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- Analysis of researcher profiles and online communication examples.
- Comparison of different approaches to academic visibility.
- Group reflection on the opportunities and risks of AI in academic work.
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Expected outcomes
By the end of the programme, participants should be able to:
- Communicate their research more clearly and confidently;
- Introduce themselves effectively in academic and professional settings;
- Understand how professional relationships contribute to career development;
- Develop a more strategic approach to networking;
- Manage their digital presence more effectively;
- Use AI tools critically and responsibly to support communication and productivity;
- Make more informed decisions about academic visibility and professional positioning.
