Research Support

Date, Time and Location: 9th February, 9am-5pm , VUmc (O2 Auditorium)

Registration link here

Content

This grant-writing course is designed to equip you with the essential skills to craft well-structured, clear, concise, and persuasive grant proposals. Across the day, we will guide you through the different sections of a grant application, providing practical tips and actionable strategies to improve your proposals.

The early morning sessions will focus on high-level topics essential to grant writing, such as open science, data management, and valorisation. These sessions will introduce key concepts and provide an overview of what researchers need to know when addressing these areas in their grant proposals. While all participants are encouraged to join, researchers with prior knowledge in these topics may choose to start their day with the later sessions, beginning at 10:30.

In the midday and afternoon sessions, the focus will shift to practical tools and hands-on activities, such as creating a multi-year funding plan, developing a narrative CV, and applying effective writing techniques. Participants will also learn to use writing templates to improve structure, clarity, and cohesion, and will receive tips for writing compelling abstracts and grant sections.

The course concludes with an interactive workshop where participants will pair up to review and refine each other’s abstracts, putting the day’s lessons into practice.

Amsterdam UMC postdocs and final-year PhD students are invited to join this course, which is designed to benefit both beginners and experienced grant writers. By the end of the workshop, participants will leave with a deeper understanding of the grant-writing process, practical tools to enhance their proposals, and constructive feedback on their abstracts.

Preparation: Participants need to bring a printed version of the abstract of their grant application.

Detailed Agenda

09:00-09:05. Welcome and Introduction of the course.

09:05-9:30. Open Science. We will go through the different open science practices that researchers can incorporate in their proposal.

9:30-9:55.Data Management. We will discuss the different types of data a research project can generate, and how to use the FAIR principles of findability, accessibility, interoperability, and reusability.

9:55-10:15. Valorisation and commercialisation. We will go over the most important points to consider when writing the exploitation section of grant proposals.

10:15-10:30. Break. Coffee and snacks will be served.

10:30-11:00. Grant Planning. We will go over how grant planning can help you to reach your research and career goals, and how you can design your multi-year funding plan.

11:00-12:00.Narrative CV. We will expose important concepts when developing your narrative CV (a CV in a format that provides a structured written description of a person's contributions and achievements reflecting a broad range of relevant skills and experiences).

12:00-12:30. Vegetarian Lunch will be served.

12:30-13:30. Grant Writing: Writing for Reviewers. We will define how to produce a grant narrative that convinces and enthuses a grant committee of reviewers.

13:30-14:15. Grant Writing: Two writing templates. We will review two writing templates to help you improve your story line to enhance the clarity, structure, cohesion and simplicity of any text.

14:15-14:30. Break.

14:30-15:30. Grant Structure: Grant Template & Abstract. We will discuss how we can incorporate a specific grant writing template to help you write the different sections of the grant. We will also review and provide actionable tips to write grant abstracts. Finally, we will go over the structure of a grant proposal and provide tips and tricks on what to consider when writing each of the different sections of a grant proposal.

15:30-15:45. Break. Coffee and snacks will be served.

15:45-16:45. Workshop Abstract Writing. In this interactive workshop, participants will pair up to review and provide constructive feedback on each other's abstracts. Each participant must bring a printed copy of their abstract. After receiving feedback, participants will revise their abstracts, applying tips and techniques from earlier sessions.

16:45-17:00. Wrap up. Reflection on the main takeaways and space for final questions.

This workshop is organized by Research Policy Office and Research Grant Support, and will be instructed by Amsterdam UMC staff from four different Research Support Domains: Research Grant Support (Bart Jordi and Silvia Calpe), Medical Library (Lieuwe Kool), Research Data Management (Meriem Manaï), and Valorization (Maaike Alderliesten).

For more information about this workshop please contact the organizers: Raiza Hasrat (RPO, researchsupport@amsterdamumc.nl) or Silvia Calpe (RGS, s.calpe@amsterdamumc.nl).

Post-doctoral researchers are given opportunity to discuss work-related non-research issues in groups of peers under guidance of a policy advisor of the Research Policy Office. These meetings are designed to connect peers and create a confidential environment for open discussion and reflection.

Course overview

Intervision is a form of peer learning that helps to create a safe and reflective space to tackle a common challenge or problem. During intervision you will get support from peers (fellow postdoctoral researchers), reflect and discuss issues without hierarchical differences. You get insight and find possible solutions to the cases, which could be recognizable for everyone in the group. At the end of each session, the case presenter and all other participants find new and helpful ways to address an issue at their workplace.

Please make sure you are available during these meetings.

Dates

Discussed together with the group

Number of participants

Groups will consist of 4-8 participants.

Registration

Please register here.

For more information contact

researchsupport@amsterdamumc.nl

University Teaching Qualification VU in English

Basis Kwalificatie Onderwijs UvA

Basis Kwalificatie Onderwijs VUmc Do you need an English spoken BKO-course?In case you are employed by Amsterdam UMC, you are teaching in a (English spoken) bachelor or master program and you need an English spoken BKO-course, please explain your situation in an email to aanmelden.bko@amsterdamumc.nl 

Are you a PhD or Postdoc and have you ever thought about the impact your research can have outside of academia? Would you like to explore how you can increase the impact you’re already making?

IXA offers a new modular learning path on getting involved in valorisation and creating impact particularly suitable for late phase PhD students and postdocs who want to become proficient in valorising their research.

The objective

To inspire you and make you aware of the power that comes with creating value and impact through your research.

The Learning Path is composed of 2 modules of a total of 3 workshops interspersed with online information.

The first Module focuses on impact, what it means for you, how to create it, the challenges you’ll encounter and how to take the first steps to create impact. Module 2, consisting of two workshops, guides you in concretising your ideas or research results into a plan. You will make a stakeholder analysis and learn about the support available within the knowledge institute.

No costs

Participation is free of charge. Registration is required, so is cancellation if you are not able to attend.

For other questions contact Christine Schalkx or Caroline Kleine Staarman at: programs@ixa.nl.

Amsterdam UMC considers it important that you, as an employee, can influence your own career and development. There is a variety of opportunities available to you, e.g. by understanding or further developing your qualities, or exploring career opportunities.

Functioneren & persoonlijke ontwikkeling (intranet, in Dutch)

Intranet VUmc–GoodHabitz (Online training)

Supervision courses are important if you want to supervise PhD candidates and master students. The courses can be found on the doctoral school website: Superb Supervision; several courses or inspiration meetings on mentoring your PhD Candidate (amsterdamumc.org)

Inspired Supervision: Inspiration meetings for Experienced Supervisors of PhD Students VU Centre for Teaching & Learning - Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

Amsterdam UMC offers various leadership courses to improve your guidance of more junior researchers and how to balance your work with new additional responsibilities.

Leiderschapsontwikkeling (tulpintranet.nl)

Amsterdam UMC, Locatie VUmc - Cursus Projectmanagement in de zorg

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Are you interested in exploring your career opportunities inside or outside Amsterdam UMC? Would you like help in developing your transferable skills to increase your career chances in or beyond academia? Are you looking for courses to develop your communication skills or? Look which Personal Development courses suit your needs or sign up for a mentoring program. Alternatively, you can choose to reflect on your how to use your strengths and surpass your weaknesses to benefit your career during individual coaching sessions with a coach from the Amsterdam UMC coachpool.

If you have questions regarding your career trajectory, make sure you contact the career trajectory team (loopbaanontwikkeling) loopbaanontwikkeling@amsterdamumc.nl or coachpool@amsterdamumc.nl (English and Dutch)

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The VIRT2UE course explores what it entails to perform ‘good’ research as a researcher and discusses the moral dilemmas encountered in research. Moreover, it explains what it means to act professionally and with integrity.