Course Feedback

Presenting your Research and Thesis Writing Skills - Joanna Cordy, Queen Mary University of London

by Flavio Gagliardi

The course helped participants discover the conventions of PhD thesis writing and provided them with useful tools for handling presentations.

The first part of the class focused on the fundamentals of public speaking, presentation content and form management, verbal and non-verbal communication with the public. Many useful tips were given to the participants even if the class was not particularly suited for engineering disciplines.

The second part focused on the writing skills such as the use of an appropriate academic language, finding a suitable structure for the thesis, time management to write large documents and useful tip to get started writing and iteratively improving large texts. The participants benefitted from the class and found the handouts very useful.

Entrepreneurship - Francisco Campos ENGYS Ltd

by Salvatore Auriemma

The presentation by Mr. Francisco de Campos was clear with several useful suggestions about how to start a company. He defined a road map for business start-up success which focussed attention on the most important aspects of the plan. Key points were expanded by the presenter and complexities requiring solutions were highlighted.

The first point was the positives and negatives of being self-employed. This is a very important part of transferable skills because, before starting a company, one needs to be aware about the difficulties that will be faced during the work. Another key-part of the presentation was to highlight all the topics that could be considered straightforward by engineering students but may cause issues. Engineers mainly focus on technical aspects and in this way risk omitting several significant areas of a company. Franciso shared his experience and pointed out that before starting his company he had not understood the significance of the marketing or commerce team in a company. He also explained the importance for a company to handle correctly bureaucratic problems and financial commitments as this saves time and money in the future.

Franciso de Campos was also able to provide several practical suggestions about how to start an industry in Europe. In particular he referred to the countries where his company – ENGYS Ltd. - is based (UK, Italy and Germany). He explained the many legislative differences between the countries in Europe which affect how the foundations for business can be developed.

Assessment Centres, Interview Techniques, Exploring Career Options - Peter Harding, Careers and Enterprise , Queen Mary University of London

by James Koch

Mr. Harding was both engaging and informative. The first training session focused on critical thinking and group interaction exercises and their evaluation from the perspective of potential employers. All exercises fluidly demonstrated Mr. Harding’s messages and highlighted his dynamic and interactive teaching style, the result being a rewarding and introspective learning experience for all parties involved.

The second training session focused on practice with moderated interviewing and career development/planning. Discourse on interview tactics and analysis was thorough and multi-faceted, allowing for the subsequent participant-participant interviews to be properly analized. The advice and material provided with respect to career planning and development helped address the concerns and questions of the training participants, despite the breadth of the concerned subject. Aside from the scheduled training, Mr. Harding actively made himself available to students and engaged in (sometimes profound) discourse on breaks and before and after training. This, alongside the one-on-one advice provided after the last training session, solidified the career planning and interview training as a thoroughly rewarding experience.