Scheduled RDP workshops and events
The Researcher Development Programme provides year-round training and development opportunities to help you successfully complete your research degree, and prepare for your future
RDP workshops open for booking at the start of each academic term, and close to bookings one working day before each session. Visit the all workshops pages for the full list of workshops taking place this year, and details of how the programme works, including our approach to accessibility.
Registrations are now managed through Eventbrite, enabling a smoother booking process. For online workshops, the Zoom link will be included on your Eventbrite booking page and in email reminders.
If you have any questions about our workshops or any issues with booking a place, email us at researcher-development@sussex.ac.uk.
Boosting your writing productivity
Theme: Grow
Date: Wednesday 14 January
Time: 12.30-2.30pm (UK)
Location: Online via Zoom
Description: Academic writing can be hard at the best of times. It's especially challenging when there’s so much going on. In this interactive session, you’ll discover how to make writing more manageable, even under difficult circumstances.
One-day academic writing retreat
Theme: Core
Date: Friday 16 January
Time: 09.30am-4.30pm (UK)
Location: Campus (room tbc)
Description: Are you struggling to get started with your academic writing? Or have you hit a block? If so, this intensive one-day writing retreat can help you get back on track and make significant progress with your chapter, article or book. You get the time and space to focus. With guidance from an experienced facilitator, you’ll set realistic goals and achieve them in a supportive environment.
Becoming a postgraduate researcher: skills, strategies and support
Theme: Induction
Date: Tuesday 20 January
Time: 1.30-4.30pm (UK)
Location: Online via Zoom
Description: Pursuing a research degree isn’t just about knowledge – you need to manage yourself, too. Make a successful start to your postgraduate degree with this practical workshop, designed to prepare you for the journey ahead.
Preparing for your viva in the Sciences
Theme: Core
Date: Tuesday 27 January 2026
Time: 10.00am-1.00pm (UK)
Location: Library Seminar Room
Description: The viva can be a daunting event for postgraduate researchers. This workshop will de-mystify the viva process, rules and requirements, and provide you with useful guidance about how you can prepare for the big day throughout your PGR journey.
Open research: principles and practices
Theme: Core
Date: Tuesday 27 January
Time: 2.00-3.00pm (UK)
Location: Library Teaching Room
Description: What is open research and why does it matter? This workshop will introduce the concept of open research, and explore opportunities for implementing open research principles into your own practice. It will cover open access publishing, open data, open source software, open peer review, and tools and techniques to help you discover open access materials.
Handling perfectionism and imposter phenomenon
Theme: Grow
Date: Wednesday 28 January
Time: 10.00am-1.00pm (UK)
Location: Online via Zoom
Description: This workshop will introduce you to an array of techniques that help you minimise, address, and (with practice) overcome the unhelpful thinking patterns that underpin perfectionist behaviours and imposter feelings, increasing your capacity to effectively handle these issues as they arise in the future.
How to edit your academic writing
Theme: Core
Date: Friday 30 January
Time: 10.00am-1.00pm (UK)
Location: Online via Zoom
Description: Are you close to a full draft of your book, article or thesis chapter? Does it resemble a baggy monster that needs taming? If so, this workshop is for you. Through activities and tutorials, you’ll learn techniques for getting your writing into shape. After the workshop, you will have a polished chunk of writing and a clear strategy for tackling the rest of your publication.
Open publishing: your options explained
Theme: Thrive
Date: Monday 2 February 2026
Time: 2.00-3.00pm (UK)
Location: Library Teaching Room
Description: Green or Gold open access? Unsure about APCs? This workshop will demystify key terminology and guide you through the open access publishing options available to University of Sussex researchers.
PGR Essentials: Introduction to ethics
Theme: Induction
Date: Tuesday 3 February
Time: 11.00am-12.00pm (UK)
Location: Online via Zoom
Description: This workshop will look at the key principles of undertaking ethical research, and explain how to go about obtaining ethical approval from the University. There will also be opportunities to consider some case studies, ask questions about your own work, and gain insights on how to embed good ethical practices into your research.
Becoming a postgraduate researcher: skills, strategies and support
Theme: Induction
Date: Tuesday 3 February
Time: 1.30-4.30pm (UK)
Location: Campus (room tbc)
Description: Pursuing a research degree isn’t just about knowledge – you need to manage yourself, too. Make a successful start to your postgraduate degree with this practical workshop, designed to prepare you for the journey ahead.
PGR Essentials: Introduction to open research
Theme: Induction
Date: Wednesday 4 February
Time: 2.00-3.00pm (UK)
Location: Library Teaching Room
Description: This workshop will introduce open research, considering the benefits for researchers, institutions and wider society. It will provide opportunities for you to consider how open research methods could be embedded into your research and highlight sources of support and further information.
Working with your supervisor
Theme: Induction
Date: Thursday 5 February
Time: 10.00am-12.00pm (UK)
Location: Online via Zoom
Description: The supervisory relationship is crucial to the success of your research degree. In this interactive two-hour workshop you’ll discover practical tips and techniques for communicating with your supervisor, consider common problems, and develop strategies for overcoming them.
PGR Essentials: Introduction to Intellectual Property
Theme: Induction
Date: Friday 6 February
Time: 10.00am-12.00pm (UK)
Location: Online via Zoom
Description: This workshop will provide PGRs with an introduction to the topic of intellectual property (IP) and how to protect their research and ideas using intellectual property rights. Participants will gain insights into the different IP rights, including patents, designs, copyright and trademarks, and what ideas or creations can be protected.
Making progress in your research degree
Theme: Induction
Date: Monday 9 February
Time: 10.00am-12.00pm (UK)
Location: Online via Zoom
Description: Are you part-way through your research degree and wondering how to keep going? Do you need a push to progress to the final stages? If yes, this session is for you. By the end of the workshop you will clarify where you are with your research degree, identify your critical success factors, and learn tools and techniques to boost your productivity.
Stress, resilience and strengths
Theme: Grow
Date: Monday 9 February
Time: 1.00-4.00pm (UK)
Location: Online via Zoom
Description: A brief overview of stress will equip you with an understanding of general stress responses, from which you'll identify how stress affects you on an individual level. Having insight into your current landscape, you'll then work with three specific stress-management/resilience tools, in partnership with other researchers on the programme.
Online research profiles: increasing your visibility, impact and engagement
Theme: Core
Date: Tuesday 10 February
Time: 10.00-11.00am (UK)
Location: Online via Zoom
Description: Your online researcher profile is a key tool for increasing the visibility of your research, connecting with collaborators and demonstrating research impact. This workshop introduces the main platforms for creating and managing your online researcher profile and, focusing on the University's Elements tool, will demonstrate how to build your Elements profile to present your research, professional and teaching activities effectively.
Preparing for your viva (Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences)
Theme: Core
Date: Wednesday 11 February
Time: 10.00am-1.00pm (UK)
Location: Online via Zoom
Description: The viva can be a daunting event for postgraduate researchers. This workshop will de-mystify the viva process, rules and requirements, and provide you with useful guidance about how you can prepare for the big day throughout your PGR journey.
How to edit your academic writing
Theme: Core
Date: Thursday 12 February
Time: 1.00-4.00pm (UK)
Location: Campus (room tbc)
Description: Are you close to a full draft of your book, article or thesis chapter? Does it resemble a baggy monster that needs taming? If so, this workshop is for you. Through activities and tutorials, you’ll learn techniques for getting your writing into shape. After the workshop, you will have a polished chunk of writing and a clear strategy for tackling the rest of your publication.
One-day academic writing retreat
Theme: Core
Date: Monday 16 February
Time: 09.30am-4.30pm (UK)
Location: Campus (room tbc)
Description: Are you struggling to get started with your academic writing? Or have you hit a block? If so, this intensive one-day writing retreat can help you get back on track and make significant progress with your chapter, article or book. You get the time and space to focus. With guidance from an experienced facilitator, you’ll set realistic goals and achieve them in a supportive environment.
Understanding copyright and Creative Commons licenses
Theme: Realise
Date: Friday 20 February
Time: 11.00am-12.00pm (UK)
Location: Online via Zoom
Description: This session will cover the basics of UK copyright law and how this impacts what you can use in your work and how you can share the results of your own research. It will introduce concepts such as rights retention and fair dealing and will provide guidance on how to seek permission to reuse third party content in your publications.
Preparing for your final year
Theme: Induction
Date: Tuesday 24 February
Time: 11.00am-1.00pm (UK)
Location: Online via Zoom
Description: There's so much to fit into your final year and careful planning is essential. With clear guidance, individual exercises, and group discussion, this practical workshop helps you prepare for the last stages of your research degree, including submission, the viva, and what happens next.
Wrangling your workload
Theme: Grow
Date: Wednesday 25 February
Time: 10.00am-1.00pm (UK)
Location: Online via Zoom
Description: This workshop will help you review your 'rules' of how you work and adapt them to serve you better. You’ll review what really matters to you, and what that means for prioritising your workload in any given moment. Then you’ll be in a better place to define how you choose to work within and flex those changes. With greater clarity on your workload and what is really important to you, experiment with tools that help you optimise small pockets of time.