Interpersonal skills | Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies

Interpersonal skills

LEADERSHIP

Workshops and events to help develop students’ interpersonal skills typically focus on practical matters such as leadership and management capabilities, developing interpersonal communications, recognizing and enhancing emotional intelligence, and collaborating to accomplish tasks efficiently and innovatively. Workshops and events relating to entrepreneurship focus on how to create, plan, adapt and succeed at starting and running a business.

 

Workshops, events and resources offered on a regular basis are organized by topic. The semester(s) in which on-campus workshops are usually offered is indicated in brackets. To see what is coming up, use the links to the registration page or visit the events calendar. Events that are not offered on a regular basis are also posted so check the calendar regularly to find out what is available.

 

The University of Guelph Experiential Learning initiative has identified 26 common employability outcomes and organized them into three groups (knowledge, skills, and attitudes). In the Interpersonal skills domain, you will gain experience with skills such as Cultural and Civic skills, Oral Communication skills, Knowledge Integration, Conflict Management, Leadership, Social and Cultural Agility, Teamwork and Collaboration, Adaptability, Curiosity, Initiative, Responsibility, and Self-Awareness.

 

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Grad Pathways Calendar

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Time and Project Management

The library offers a variety of workshops to support students' academic and professional skills development, including workshops on time management and project management.

Browse the library’s workshops and events calendar

Students can also book individual appointments in areas such as time management, goal setting, and thesis management to help them reach their academic and professional goals. Visit the library's appointment booking page to learn more.

 

CDE*6290 Special Topics in Project Management [W]

This course focuses on project management approaches, methods and skills and focuses primarily on small projects and project management outside the private sector, in public, community and not-for-profit contexts. This is not a Project Management Professional (PMP) designation course, but it is designed to support students to move on to pursue their own accredited certificates in PMP.

The course is open to students in any graduate program.

 

 

Information on Mitacs Training

Essentials of Productive Teams

Using team-based, hands-on, experiential learning exercises, the objective of this one-day course is to provide you with an opportunity to build your ability and awareness participating in and leading an effective team unit that meets deadlines and sees results. You will discover the key steps and competencies to build an efficient and effective team, learn how to manage the barriers that keep teams from performing and learn how to apply the best practice of teams into daily communication.

Foundations of Project Management I

This 2-day course provides an experiential, collaborative learning experience enabling you to integrate the principles of project management, team building, group dynamics and leadership that you can apply immediately and in your future careers and lives. You will gain a clear understanding of foundational project management principles and develop an understanding of the importance of team and team dynamics within the context of project management and meeting project deadlines.

Foundations of Project Management II

This 2-day course provides an experiential, collaborative learning experience enabling you to integrate the principles of project management, team building, group dynamics and leadership that you can apply immediately and in your future careers and lives. You will gain a clear understanding of foundational project management principles and develop an understanding of the importance of team and team dynamics within the context of project management and meeting project deadlines.

Managing Project Timelines (online)

You will learn techniques and tools to help you create realistic project timelines and manage your time and energy. You will learn how to define tasks, task duration, milestones, and deadlines, how to use planning techniques to implement and adapt project timelines, and learn processes and techniques to communicate your project status to your research team.

Time Management

This intensive one-day course will sharpen your professional time management skills and optimize your working week. The course provides tools and techniques that can be applied to a partner industry project or employment-based role. You will review and apply relevant time management processes within a project management context. Successful productivity optimization and performance improvement tactics will also be covered.

 

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Knowledge Translation and Mobilization

The library offers a variety of workshops to support academic and professional skills development, including workshops on data skills and open scholarship.

Browse the library’s workshops and events calendar.

Students can also book individual appointments to help them reach their academic and professional goals. Visit the library's appointment booking page to learn more.

 

The Certificate in Knowledge Mobilization is a professional development opportunity offered entirely online. Through three eight-week courses, participants learn to identify and address barriers to knowledge mobilization, and use tools and techniques to enhance the impact of research and facilitate the development of evidence-informed policy and practice.

The program is targeted towards researchers, policy-makers, service providers and knowledge mobilization professionals looking to enhance their ability to share and use evidence relevant to the social sciences, human services, and health sectors. Courses focus on the development of knowledge mobilization strategies tailored to each stage of the Knowledge to Action continuum.

Inform: Processes of knowledge translation and dissemination [F]

This course provides an overview of the theories and practices involved in the creation, sharing and uptake of evidence. Learn why and how to enhance awareness of and accessibility to relevant evidence. You will explore the processes of knowledge creation, synthesis, translation and dissemination, and learn to use different techniques and products to share evidence.

Engage: Building capacity to understand and use relevant evidence [W]

This course focuses on processes and products to support target audiences in engaging with new evidence. Students will learn skills and techniques to help build capacity for users to identify, make sense of, and apply relevant evidence in their individual, organizational and societal contexts. Students will explore the role of knowledge brokers in enhancing user literacy and motivation, facilitating engagement, and increasing understanding and uptake of evidence.

Act: Transforming knowledge into action [S]

This course focuses on the final stage in the KMb continuum, where evidence is transformed into decisions and practices at the system, organization, community and individual level. Students will learn about KMb tools and techniques that facilitate the implementation of evidence into practice and support target audiences in sustainable change. Students will be introduced to more complex approaches to knowledge production and use, including co-creation, which can enhance the uptake of evidence and favour evidence-informed decisions and practices.

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The monthly workshop series Skills for Research Impact is a collaboration between CESI, the Research Innovation Office, and the Ontario Agri-Food Innovation Alliance. It is aimed at faculty, research staff and graduate students who are interested in enhancing the impact of their research. Through nine hands-on sessions facilitated by impact experts, participants will learn how to successfully plan, execute and evaluate knowledge mobilization (KMb), or knowledge translation and transfer (KTT) activities. Sessions will cover topics key to effective research communications and engagement of non-academic audiences, including policy, industry and community stakeholders.

Planning for Research Impact

Become familiar with knowledge mobilization plans and conceptualize strategies adapted to your goals and audiences.

Stakeholder Engagement

Reflect on how to engage your stakeholders throughout your research process to increase your impact, and review engagement best practices for policy, industry and community actors.

Clear Language Writing

Hone your clear communications skills! Get tips on how to structure and write clear language summaries of your research for dissemination to lay audiences.

Design Principles: Designing for your Audience

Go beyond the academic poster: learn all about best practices for designing visual materials that are appealing and bring your messages across.

Website Design & Digital Accessibility

Build your own website: explore available platforms and consider website structure, content and budget. Learn about digital accessibility and how to promote your website.

Social Media Engagement

Learn all about the web 2.0! Discover how to choose social media platforms that are appropriate for your goals and audiences, and get tips on creating engaging posts.

Event Planning and Facilitation

Getting your stakeholders into the room is important, but you also need to know what to do with them! Build a checklist of event planning essentials and discuss best practices in group facilitation.

Data Visualization

From data to the story, learn to turn numbers into compelling visuals and impactful design. Explore the figures and formats most appropriate to share your data and get step-by-step direction on visualizing your messages.

Evaluating KTT Activities

When all is said and done, how do you know it worked? Go beyond the anecdote and learn to use evaluation techniques to assess the impact of your knowledge mobilization efforts. From data to the story, learn to turn numbers into compelling visuals and impactful design. Explore the figures and formats most appropriate to share your data and get step-by-step direction on visualizing your messages.

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Volunteer Opportunities

In addition to volunteer opportunities on campus, there are many ways to get involved in the local community and beyond.

Visit the Student Experience webpage to check out all that is available to you.

Conversation Partners Program

This program is for English as an Additional Language undergraduate and graduate students who wish to be paired with a student volunteer in order to practice and improve their spoken English. Student volunteers who sign-up for the program get a chance to connect with someone from a different culture and learn about their culture and traditions, while helping them build their conversational English skills.

Link Program

The LINK program connects new international students with current Guelph students to help ease the transition into Canadian culture and life at the U of G. The program is open to all exchange students and new full degree international students at the undergraduate and graduate level.

Peer Helper Program

Becoming a Peer Helper will give you the opportunity to be part of a dynamic team committed to providing important programs and services to the university community. You will be joining the over 250 undergraduate and graduate students from a broad range of academic programs that are involved as Peer Helpers across the campus each semester.

Student Volunteer Connections (SVC)

SVC is the on-campus volunteer hub. They can help connect you with volunteer opportunities in the community and beyond that fit your interests, academic and career aspirations, and availability. Their services are available to undergraduate and graduate students, online and in-person, at their location in Raithby House.

 

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Entrepreneurship

Introduction to Entrepreneurship

This online and on-demand program is intended to expose individuals to basic entrepreneurship concepts and ideas. The program is self-directed and consists of four learning modules requiring a total of approximately 2-2.5 hours.

This program is meant for people who:

  • are curious about entrepreneurship careers;
  • have a business idea;
  • are seeking ways to supplement their current income;
  • are interested in beginning to build an understanding of entrepreneurship concepts and ideas.

 

Research Innovation Immersion Placement Grants

Designed for research teams who identify opportunities to learn new problem-solving skills through partnerships with dynamic technology, engineering or innovative partners, a Research Innovation Immersion Grant supports the cost of researchers, postdoctoral and graduate students in 1-week to 3-month placements at innovative companies. Researchers will be placed with companies (from start-ups to multi-nationals) where they can learn skills and strategies to be brought back to campus and applied to research problems. Applications are due in April.

 

Discovering the Entrepreneur Within

The aim of the course is to broaden awareness of the entrepreneurial world to build confidence and expand a sense of possibility. You will gain a broadened understanding of the elements that make a successful business and an unsuccessful business, a greater sense of what it takes to be an entrepreneur and personal insight into taking the entrepreneurial routes. You will also learn the types of businesses, build awareness of sources of financing, gain in-depth exposure to business planning and practice creating and presenting the elements of a successful pitch.