Academic Skills Project - Physics and Astronomy

• Workshop 1: Bridging the gap between university and school

  Date: 10/09/2025, Audience: First year undergraduate

  Intended Learning Outcomes: 

  This workshop is aimed at any undergraduates struggling with the transition from school to university physics, particularly first and second years hoping to develop effective long-term study skills they can use throughout their degree.

  The workshop would focus on; the key differences between studying physics at school vs at university, effective notetaking in lectures, and how to combine material from lectures, notes, slides, tutorials and online/textbook resources to develop a thorough understanding of a specific concept, or indeed a whole module.

  Attendees will come away not only with a definite idea of the skills they must develop and employ to maximise their potential in tutorials and exams, but also several techniques they can use throughout their degree to improve their understanding of undergraduate physics material as it is taught to them.   

• Workshop 2: Effective note taking strategies in Physics and Astronomy

  Date: 17/09/2025, Audience: First and second year undergraduates.

  Intended Learning Outcomes:

  This workshop will provide a bigger picture into the note taking and effective note making strategies for a student. They identify different note-taking styles (linear, diagrammatic, digital) and evaluate their effectiveness in physics and astronomy contexts.

  The students will practise applying note-taking strategies to lectures, problem classes, and reading scientific material. The students will also learn how to organise notes to support revision, deeper understanding, and long-term retention.

• Workshop 3: Lab notebooks - do's and don'ts

  Date: 23/09/2025, Audience: First and second year undergraduates

  Intended Learning Outcomes: 

  Lab notebooks are essential part of a STEM student’s academic requirements. These notebooks contain the detailed description about the labs they undertake, and the results obtained. It is the first step a student takes towards scientific writing.

  Further, a well-maintained lab notebook is a cornerstone of successful research. This workshop explores best practices, from accurate data recording to organization and maintaining notebooks. The workshop will also highlight the different considerations to take while writing, along with the emphasize on writing introduction and conclusion.

  We will further give an insight in the preparation of graphs, tables and figures which are essential components of lab notebook. We will also highlight common pitfalls and strategies to be avoided with writing a lab notebook. Physics and astronomy undergraduates will learn to create a reliable scientific record.

• Workshop 4: Time management

  Date: 30/09/2025, Audience: All sub-honours students

  Intended Learning Outcomes:

  This workshop is aimed primarily at first- and second-year students but would also aim to cover aspects related to pre-final and final year students. The workshop will provide the students, tips on managing their time more efficiently.

  This is an essential skill and would be very useful for students transitioning from online to in-person mode of teaching.  The students would be able to integrate these skills into their tutorials, assignments, and lab submissions.    

• Workshop 5: How to read a scientific article

  Date: 09/10/2025, Audience: All sub-honours students

  Intended Learning Outcomes: 

  The students will:

  • Learn how to critically read and interpret scientific papers.
  • Identify key elements of an article such as abstract, methods, results, discussion, and conclusion.
  • Develop strategies for extracting relevant information efficiently and evaluating reliability.

   

  The student will also be able to learn how to keep track of articles they read and develop a bibliography. 

• Workshops 6 and 7: LaTeX

  Date: 14/10/2025 and 04/11/2025, Audience: All sub-honours students

  Intended Learning Outcomes:

  This workshop is aimed at all years of undergraduates and postgraduate taught students with a particular importance to pre-final and final year students.

  The workshop will intend to cover the fundamental aspects of LaTeX software and provide them with hands-on training on the same. 

• Workshop 8: Referencing your essays and reports

  Date: 29/10/2025, Audience: All sub-honours students

  Intended Learning Outcomes:

  Proper referencing is crucial for academic integrity and avoiding plagiarism. As a part of this workshop, we will highlight what is referencing and how to determine source which are authentic and trustworthy. We will then explore the different ways referencing is done for books, articles, conference proceedings, online sources, etc.

  This workshop will also explain citation styles (e.g., APA, MLA) and managing references with tools and integrating citations seamlessly. Students will develop essential skills to credit sources accurately, strengthening the quality and credibility of their reports and essays. 

• Workshops 9 and 10: How to make an effective scientific presentation

  Date: 12/11/2025 and 19/11/2025, Audience: All sub-honours students

  Intended Learning Outcomes: 

  Clear and concise presentation makes significant impact to any audience. As we know mastering presentation skills often takes years. Understanding how a presentation work can help the presenter to refine these skills much faster.

  The first workshop will cover basic of oral presentation such slide design, storytelling in science, and techniques to engage diverse audiences. Attendees will learn inputs about speaking confidently and managing Q&A sessions.

  The second workshop will pave the way to make effective scientific posters in a clear and effective way. This workshop will teach the fundamentals of creating visually appealing and informative scientific posters. Topics include design principles, effective use of colour, font choices, and how to organize content for clarity.

  Participants will learn to present research in a concise and engaging manner, making their work stand out at conferences or annual reviews. These workshops are aimed to target undergraduates and postgraduate taught from all academic years, improving their academic communication and networking opportunities.