Managing my PhD (edition 1)

In this workshop, by Kathleen Custers (KU Leuven), you will explore how you can manage your doctoral research successfully as a whole, taking into account different expectations and roles while maintaining a good work life balance:

• as a professional employee of Hasselt University, who besides his/her doctoral project also covers other tasks,
• as a co-owner of your project, in collaboration with your supervisor and other stakeholders,
• as a colleague and team member of a research group.
• You will also learn to act upon opportunities and chances to build your career.

Several editions of this workshop will be organized throughout 2026.

Learning outcomes

After attending this workshop, you will:

• have developed a strategic view on your doctoral research for the next year,
• understand project management techniques and be able to apply them to your PhD, resulting in a realistic planning for the next year
• have insight in the way you organize your work, and how to prioritize and combine different tasks and responsibilities
• have learned to communicate with your stakeholders to build/keep trust & agreement
• be able to identify competences which need further development and be able to formulate/plan specific actions to acquire them.

Competences

An important part of preparing for any further professional step is becoming (more) aware of the competences you have developed and/or want to develop. In the current workshop, the following competences from the UHasselt competency overview are actively dealt with:

• Task-orientedness competences:
  
  • Project-planning
  • Progress monitoring
  • Organisation & coordination

• Personal effectiveness competences:
  
  • Anticipation
  • Self-development
    
    

For whom?

• The workshop is is intended for starting doctoral researchers who have already defined the scope of their PhD project. If more experienced doctoral researchers wish to attend this course, we expect an active contribution from their part to support the learning of the others.
• There are 16 places available.

When and where?

• 1st edition: March 31 and April 21, 2026
  • day 1: 9:30-16:30, campus Hasselt, building Old Prison, TBC - 1 hour lunch break
  • day 2: 13:00-17:00, campus Hasselt, building Old Prison, Blue room (OG-C1.1)

Preparation?

• Preparation session 1:
  There is a mandatory preparation to be done before the first session. You will need approximately 2 hours to finish it.
  
  
• Preparation session 2:
  You will get instructions for a take home assignment during day 1. This mandatory assignment consists of 4 parts that, on the whole, should take approximately 1-2 days to complete, depending on the status of the PhD project. You may already get started with this assignment during day 1. Before the second session takes place you will need to send your home assignment to the trainer.
  
  (1) Create a long-term plan for the PhD (+/- 1 day)
  (2) Module on time and self-management (+/- 0.5 day)
  (3) Self-development assignment (+/- 1-2h)
  (4) Strategic communication with stakeholders (+/- 1h)

Registration?

• You can register here as from December 15 until February 26, 2026.
• Please register only if you can attend both days. 
• As places are limited, registering does not automatically imply that you will be able to participate. You will be notified by email after the registration deadline has passed.
• Please cancel your registration at least one week in advance in case you cannot make it (cf. cancellation & no-show policy).

Acknowledged as?

• DS BSH: category 'research management & communication skills' - workshop on general research skills
• DS HLS: category transferable skills - compulsory elective course
• DS ST: category 'research management' - course aimed at developing general research skills