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Unlocking Your PhD Potential: A Hands-On Workshop on Tackling Academic Hurdles

Chair: Elizabeth Ramberg (University Toulouse Capitole) & Franzisca Fastje (University of Groningen)
Date: May 21st, 2025
Time: 13:00 – 16:00 (Half-day session)
Price: 40 EUR
Capacity: 50 People

This workshop is organized by the pHResh Network, a European PhD community on Organizational Behaviour and Human Resource Management

The pHResh Network will be represented by:
1. Elizabeth Ramberg, PhD candidate at University Toulouse Capitole, France
2. Franzisca Fastje, PhD candidate at the University of Groningen, The Netherlands

Annotations of the workshop

Main Learning Objectives:

  • Connecting PhD candidates through informal and enjoyable activities.
  • Informing what pHResh, as an international HR and OB network, can do to make PhD trajectories more enjoyable, impactful, and sustainable.
  • Informing PhD candidates about the fundamentals of (in)decent work and affiliated practices.
  • Provide insights into job crafting as a tool to successfully manage the PhD trajectory in a way that feels productive and energizing.
  • Providing practical tools PhD candidates can use to safeguard their personal well-being and work-life balance in an increasingly dynamic work environment.

Target Audience:

This event is primarily for PhD candidates, varying from candidates kickstarting their PhD trajectory to candidates that are close to finishing their dissertation.

Senior staff is welcome but will be waitlisted and, later on, admitted if the maximum number of participants has not been exceeded.

No prior preparation nor mandatory equipment is required for attending this event.

[Max. number of participants: 50]

More Details:

For many PhD students, doing a PhD is a dream come true: doing what you are passionate about, having lots of learning opportunities (e.g., training, teaching, conferences), flexibility, and independence. However, doing a PhD is also challenging at times. Common questions PhDs asks themselves are:

  • How to perform well when there is so much pressure?
  • How to relax when work is always on your mind?
  • How to cope with setbacks, such as journal rejections?
  • How to use job crafting and other tools to sustain well-being during the PhD?
  • How to form and manage relationships (e.g., with supervisors)?
  • How to make plans when the future is uncertain?

In this hands-on workshop, we will discuss common challenges that PhD students face. In addition to group and plenary discussions, participants will learn about potential ways to deal with difficulty in a functional way.

The schedule includes a keynote by a senior researcher, a panel discussion with more senior researchers, and small breaks that provide an opportunity to connect and mingle before the start of the main conference program.

No prior preparation nor mandatory equipment is required for attending this event.

Session Plan (tentative):

09:00 Walk-in/ Registration + tea/ coffee
09:30 Opening by pHResh representatives
09:45 Keynote on (in)decent work by a senior researcher
10:30 Small break
10:45 Networking exercise
11:00 Workshop on job crafting by a senior researcher
11:45 Small break
12:00 Energizing group activity
12:30 Closing remarks

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