Your Skills from your Library

Did you know the Library run an ongoing program of workshops and events covering the skills you need to support your studies?

The Your Skills program is going strong in Semester 2, with significant benefits to your academic practice and preparation for dissertations and assignments. Signing up for events on topics where you want to sharpen up your skills, or using the Q&A style sessions to ask questions and discuss aspects of your studies can give a real boost to your studies.

Upskilling your academic practice

We hear a lot about the concept of upskilling these days and expanding our capabilities. Like leveling up, it is used to mean an attempt to improve our skills towards a clearly defined aim. The clearer your goal the better the plan can be shaped to identify the steps needed to successfully achieve it. Ideally this is something measurable, so the development and accomplishment of the aim is visible and shows the plan was effective. We might want to upskill to prepare for graduate employability, to apply for further study, to improve presentation skills or increase the chance of success in independent learning.

Identifying gaps in your skillset

Different teams in the Library are delivering Your Skills as a way to upskill your studies - to fill in the gaps in your skill set that you may need for the goals you have with your studies and future career. You might feel you are less developed in particular academic skills, or have had areas highlighted in peer or tutor feedback, or you might use something like the Library Information Skills Audit to suggest areas to look into addressing further. You might be preparing for a daunting piece of work, like writing a dissertation, or preparing for your assignments.

Whatever the gap you have identified, Your Skills sessions offer a simple program of events to help you address them and get the support you need. You can view upcoming events and book your place from the Academic Skills Kit. Upcoming sessions include:

21^st Feb week

• Finishing touches: library help for your dissertation
• Finding stuff for your assignments
• Managing interpersonal conflict in group work

28^th Feb week

• How to Google well
• The literature review…in discussion with the WDC
• Finding statistics and market research

7^th March week

• EndNote overview and drop-in
• Managing presentation anxiety
• Referencing help and tips
• Editing your dissertation…with the WDC

14^th March week

• Editing your work…with the WDC
• Creating successful database searches
• Finding special collections and archives

21^st March week

• Systematic reviews: transferring your search between databases
• Effective reading strategies for extended written work
• Time management tips…with the WDC