VALIDATE ECR Workshop 2025: Professional Skills for Vaccine Researchers

Taking place the day before the VALIDATE Annual Meeting 2025, this dynamic full-day Professional Skills Development Workshop helped equip VALIDATE Early Career Researchers with the tools to communicate their work and science effectively, strengthen their research profiles, and confidently pursue careers in both academia and industry. 
 

Who is the Workshop for?

This workshop was for VALIDATE members who want to:

• Confidently present their global health research to both specialist and non-specialist audiences
• Build a compelling CV across sectors
• Define and promote their unique research to key audiences in academia and industry
   

What are the Workshop Highlights?

This highly interactive, in-person workshop was delivered over one full day, focused on key professional skills, including:

• Crafting compelling presentations and elevator pitches
• Writing tailored academic, industry, and narrative CVs
• Building a strategic, goal-driven research profile that will impress funders and employers
• Networking effectively at conferences and professional events
• Promoting your research identity and “brand”

About the Workshop Provider - Scriptoria

Scriptoria has been training staff at top international organisations and centres of research excellence for over 20 years — their trainers are communications experts with scientific PhDs and a passion for teaching. As well as providing face-to-face teaching, they also provide all our courses as distance training options through interactive virtual formats.

Agenda

0845 – 0930    Pre-course networking/tea  
  

0930 – 0950    Morning session start – open discussion on personal experiences & challenges  
  

0950 – 1020    Planning and designing your presentation  
  

1020 – 1045    Adapting your presentation for non-specialists  
 

1045 – 1115    Break  
  

1115 – 1130    Using graphics and other visuals  
  
1130 – 1145    Networking and pitching your research  
  
1145 – 1230    Prioritising content for an academic vs industry CV

1230 – 1330    Lunch Break  
  

1330 – 1345    Morning session recap/post-lunch warm-up activity  
  

1345 – 1410    Understanding a research profile, or “brand”  
  

1410 – 1430    Detailing your current research expertise  
  

1430 – 1500    Tea Break  
  

1500 – 1540    Setting career goals (including breakout group activity 15–20 minutes)  
  

1540 – 1605    Developing a strategy  
  

1605 – 1630    Promoting your research profile  
  

1630 – 1700    Course end/Q&A session