Why I do what I do

I have worked with doctoral researchers for the past 16 years and my esteem has just grown and grown over those years.

I have watched them hit the ground running, hit the second year slump, navigate imposter syndrome, be beaten back to what seems like square one sometimes, regroup, write, write, write and write, and eventually triumph. All this while having a life. Students I have worked with have got married, started families, lost parents or other family members, or been ill themselves. Quite simply, they amaze me.

My passion has always been to to help others to develop their transferable skills so that they can bring a new confidence to their working lives, and pursue fulfilling careers. And since I’ve worked with PhD students I know this is where I want to focus my efforts.

The historical bit

My career in learning and development has spanned the corporate and public sectors, working first in the world of food research and development and then moving into higher education.

During that time I’ve worked at at operational and then strategic levels and led a range of complex projects including site relocation and operational process review as well as conducting training needs analyses, and designing and delivering the whole range of transferable skills training.

Most recently I created and managed a successful new multi-institution doctoral training partnership with over £23M Research Council funding, that trained over 400 PhD researchers, with a specific focus on employability.

Over the past 25 years, I’ve delivered training to groups of 9-90! And it never becomes rote or boring as each group is different and brings their own challenges and personality.

The pandemic bit

In March 2020 my training delivery went totally online and I was delighted to be able to use different kinds of creative design and delivery techniques to make online learning as engaging and effective as face-to-face training.

This was so important as doctoral researchers spend a lot of time in front of a screen anyway, so we had to make it engaging and worthwhile.

What people say about me

I’m honoured to have received some lovely feedback after training I have delivered, and you can see a few of these opposite.