Skills development and best practices

ICSAE 2016 included workshops and sessions on skills development such as writing grant proposals, giving presentations and designing posters. This page brings that guidance together so that research students can return to it after the conference.

Preparing a strong abstract

• State the purpose, methods, results and conclusions of your work clearly and briefly, within the 500 word limit used at ICSAE.
• Include results. An abstract without results was unlikely to be considered at ICSAE.
• Show all author names and identify a presenting author.
• Proofread carefully, and treat your submission as final because changes were not permitted after submission.

See the full abstract preparation guidance for the detailed checklist used by the conference.

Presenting your work

• Structure your talk around a clear question, your method, your findings and why they matter.
• Rehearse out loud and time yourself, so that you keep to your session slot.
• Use slides to support your words rather than to repeat them.
• Prepare for questions, and treat them as a conversation with interested colleagues.

Designing a research poster

• Lead with the finding, so that a reader understands your contribution within a few seconds.
• Use a clear reading order and plenty of white space.
• Keep text short, and let figures carry the detail.
• Stand by your poster and be ready to talk through it, as ICSAE poster sessions encouraged.

Writing a grant proposal

• Start from the funder's priorities, and show how your project meets them.
• Explain the problem, your approach and the expected impact in plain language.
• Give a realistic plan, timeline and budget.
• Demonstrate that your team has the expertise and the track record to deliver.

Building your research career

Professional registration and continuing professional development help research students turn their technical skills into a career. The IET workshop at ICSAE covered the routes to professional registration for engineers and technicians, and you can read more on the workshops page.

Further resources

• Vitae offers career development support for researchers in the United Kingdom.
• The IEEE Author Center provides guidance on preparing papers for IEEE publications.
• The Institution of Engineering and Technology sets out the routes to professional registration for engineers.
• IEEE is the leading professional organisation for engineering, computing and technology.
• ORCID provides a persistent digital identifier for researchers.
• UK Research and Innovation publishes funder guidance for research proposals.
• The Royal Academy of Engineering supports excellence in engineering research and education.
• Newcastle University runs researcher development and training for postgraduate students.