Professional Communication, A (2027)

Welcome to Professional Communication, A

Description:

Communication is a core skill for all professionals, and the ability to convey complex information is essential for success in a PhD and beyond.  There are many dimensions to effective communication; this course is intended to help PhD students become aware of those dimensions, and to develop their competencies to prepare them for communicating in research contexts. 

Presenting at a scientific conference is a common feature of the PhD experience, and as such it will be used as the case study for this course.  Participants will work through the context of a public presentation, considering the format, the poster and/or slides to support such a talk, the social media environment to share such a talk, and the skills involved in delivering the talk itself.  Finally, the course will give participants a change to implement these skills and to receive peer feedback on their efforts. 

The course will combine both theory and practice, sharing underpinning concepts as well as practical advice on how to become comfortable with communicating in a professional research context.

Preparation for the course:

Reading materials are provided prior to the workshop through Moodle. Participants are required to prepare a five-minute presentation about their PhD work prior to the commencement of the workshop.

Learning objectives:

At the completion of this course, participants will be able to: 

1. Deliberately and purposefully prepare effective in person presentations 

2. Effectively present research findings to both technical and non-technical audiences 

3. Appropriately select between different communication channels (eg presentation, poster and social media) for different messages 

4. Articulate the impact different communication affordances (eg synchronicty, proximity, formality) have upon the nature of technical communication.

Teaching methods:

The workshop is highly interactive, with participants given multiple opportunities to practice, reflect upon and improve their communication skills.  Peer feedback is a key part of the learning process. Due to the focus on developing in-person, synchronous communication skills, this course is only available in person.

Key literature:

Most of they key sources for the workshop are audiovisual in nature.  Links are provided on the moodle site for the workshop.

Organizer: Euan Lindsay

Lecturers: Euan Lindsay

ECTS: 3.0

Date: 10, 11, 12 March 2027

Place: Aalborg University

City: Aalborg

Maximal number of participants: 20

Open for enrolment: 10 November 2026 

Deadline for enrolment: 17 February 2027

Important information concerning PhD courses:

There is a no-show fee of DKK 3,000 for each course where the student does not show up. Cancellations are accepted no later than 2 weeks before the start of the course. Registered illness is of course an acceptable reason for not showing up on those days. Furthermore, all courses open for registration approximately four months before start of the course.

For external PhD students: This course is a general course and is prioritized for PhD Students enrolled at Aalborg University. If there are available seats, PhD students from other universities will be accepted. You will be notified shortly after the deadline if you have been accepted.

To attend courses at the Doctoral School in Medicine, Biomedical Science and Technology you must be enrolled as a PhD student.

We cannot ensure any seats before the deadline for enrolment, all participants will be informed after the deadline, approximately 3 weeks before the start of the course.

You may find more information in our FAQ: https://phd.moodle.aau.dk/local/page/faq

For inquiries not described in the FAQ, please contact the PhD administration at phdcourses@adm.aau.dk. When contacting us please state the course title and course period. Thank you.