Managing myself & working with my team: A skills upgrade for postdocs.
Postdoctoral researchers play a central role in driving research projects and supporting junior team members, yet they often receive limited formal training for these responsibilities. This two-day interactive workshop is designed to address the evolving challenges faced by postdocs as experienced researchers with increasing leadership, management, and communication demands.
The workshop focuses on raising awareness and providing a conceptual framework to better understand common professional challenges at the postdoctoral stage. Participants will also acquire practical tools and methods that can be immediately applied in their daily research and team environments.
Presentation
Key topics
The workshop will cover the following core areas:
- Core Communication Skills: Different communication frameworks, including supervision communication strategies that promote student autonomy and independent thinking, as well as effective feedback.
- Time and Task Management: Tools for prioritisation, planning, goal setting, and using digital helpers for collaboration.
- Motivation: Frameworks to understand motivation in yourself and in colleagues you supervise.
- Delegation: Practical models for delegating responsibilities and monitoring progress in research teams.
- Understanding Conflicts: How conflicts develop and how to address them through direct, appreciative, and de-escalated communication.
- Negotiation: Hands-on practice with a proven negotiation framework applicable to authorship, workload, collaborations, and career transitions.
What you will learn
By the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:
- Communicate more effectively in professional and interpersonal research contexts
- Strengthen supervision practices through communication strategies
- Give and receive constructive feedback with confidence
- Manage time and tasks more efficiently and set realistic goals
- Understand and strengthen personal and team motivation
- Delegate tasks effectively and follow up on progress
- Recognise, understand, and address workplace conflicts
- Apply proven negotiation strategies in academic and research-related situations
Training methods
This is a highly interactive workshop combining short inputs with partner work, practical exercises, and group discussions. The trainers place strong emphasis on peer learning and on working with real-life cases brought by participants. Some individual preparatory work may be requested prior to the workshop to maximise impact.
Format and requirements
- Format: In-person at BIST
- Audience: Postdoctoral researchers at BIST
- Language: English
- Requirements: No prior formal training in management, leadership, or transferable skills is required. Participants are expected to actively engage in discussions, share experiences, and work with real-life cases from their own professional context. Some individual preparatory work may be requested prior to the workshop.
- Attendance: Participants are expected to attend all sessions of the workshop. Full attendance is required in order to receive a certificate of completion.
To learn more about our course policies, please visit https://bist.eu/courses-policies/.
Dates
April 16, 17, 2026.
09:30 - 17:30h.
Registration dates
22/12/2025 to 20/03/2026
Venue
Sala Garbí (recinte de la Maternitat).
Speakers
Dr Lisa Saemisch
Dr Lisa Saemisch holds a PhD in Nanophotonics and has over seven years of experience as an academic researcher. She has published in high-impact scientific journals and presented her work at numerous international conferences. Alongside her research career, she has extensive teaching experience and a strong passion for supporting scientists in improving their communication, presentation skills, and career development.
Dr Tobias Maier
Dr Tobias Maier is Head of the Seminars Area at the National Institute for Science Communication in Karlsruhe, Germany. He holds a PhD in Biochemistry and has more than ten years of experience in academic research, funding acquisition, and publishing in leading journals such as Cell and Science. He is an experienced trainer delivering workshops for scientists on scientific writing, science communication, leadership, career development, and transferable skills.