Thesis Defense Training ONLINE

Aims

The participants...
• give a convincing and well-structured presentation
• respond confidently to critical questions and counter arguments
• are well prepared and feel confident about their thesis defense

Content

In their thesis defense, doctoral students have to present their research to the board of examiners and then answer critical questions. This workshop is designed to prepare doctoral students optimally for this situation.
In the first part of the workshop the participants get practical tips for their introductory presentation: how to structure the presentation, how to build up the central argument, what language to use, etc.
The second part of the workshop deals with typical problems that occur during the discussion: How to respond to criticism and "killer-questions", how to deal with stage fright and black-outs, etc.
In the third part of the workshop, participants get the chance to give their presentation and to receive feedback from the group and from the trainer.

Contents:
• the opening of the thesis defense presentation
• how to structure the thesis defense presentation
• building valid and sound arguments
• handling difficult questions
• presentations from participants and mock defense

Methods

The methods are interactive throughout the course. The participants get the chance to practice their presentation and to receive feedback from the group and from the trainer.

Target Group

Advanced Doctoral Candidates

About the Trainer

Dr. Malte Engel studied philosophy, psychology and English. In 2010 he finished his PhD at the Berlin School of Mind and Brain with a thesis on “Cognitive Capacities as a Basis of Moral Responsibility”. Since 2012 he teaches courses on critical reasoning and logic and related topics. In 2013 he founded the Institute of Competence in Argumentation.

Workload

13 hours course attendance

There is no additional workload. Only those participants that give their full presentation during the course (maximally two participants) will have additional workload.

Participants also get the chance to schedule an individual meeting with the trainer after the course.

Feature

Once registration is open, applications will be collected for 24 hours and course places allocated by lot. All registrations received after the initial 24h period will be put on a waiting list and assigned on a first come, first served basis.

Course places/places on the waiting list will be confirmed by e-mail. Course registrations can only be canceled before the registration period ends (send an e-mail to grace@unibas.ch). Full course attendance is mandatory. Participants who fail to attend a course without prior notification or withdraw after the registration deadline are subject to a fee of CHF 30. In addition, participants who cancel their course registration at a later point in time, are absent without an excuse or do not attend the entire course will, for reasons of fairness, not be considered for course registration in the following semester and will be removed from other courses offered in the same semester. Please find the detailed regulations on the Transferable Skills Homepage.