Research and scholarship are essential aspects of academic practice, alongside teaching, service, and community engagement. Every academic should aspire to be an excellent researcher.

Excellence in research involves a set of core capabilities that help academics maximise impact, advance knowledge, and contribute meaningfully to their fields. These include:

• Research supervision - Mentoring and training new researchers to complete high-quality research projects.
• Publishing - Producing high-impact, high-quality research outputs.
• Funding research - Identifying and obtaining funding to support research activities.
• Research project management - Planning, organising, and overseeing projects to ensure timely, productive, and successful completion.
• Collaboration - Building and sustaining strong collaborative relationships and alliances.
• Research leadership and management - Leading and managing productive, effective research teams.

These competencies align with the knowledge, behaviours, and attributes identified in the VITAE Researcher Development Framework as essential for career success in research.

Below is our current range of workshops to support your research and scholarly productivity. Some workshops are also open to Research Support Officers.  Our workshops run from September to July, offering a wide range of training opportunities throughout the academic year.

Academics are encouraged to consult the current training schedule and register for workshops of interest. If a workshop is not currently scheduled, please register your interest on the waiting list so we may notify you when it is offered again.

Research Project Management & Publishing

• Introduction to HyDi, RefWorks & OAR@UM
• OAR@UM Workshop
• drUM - Data Repository
• Research Data Management, drUM, & Responsible Data Sharing - NEW

• IBM SPSS Training

• Navigating the UM Research Ethics & Approval Processes [Scheduled]
• Academic Research & Writing Using Generative AI [Scheduled]
• Leveraging Generative AI for Data Analysis & Interpretation [Scheduled]
• Mapping your Current Semester to Your Writing Projects: Strategic Planning for Scholarly Success
• Reigniting your Scholarly Productivity
• From Idea to Impact: Developing Compelling Presentations
• Enhancing your Digital Research Profile [Scheduled]

Research Supervision & Examination

• Sustaining & Managing a Growing Cohort of Doctoral Students: Ph.D. Regulations & Procedures
• Postgraduate Research Supervision: Challenges & Styles [Scheduled]
• Supervising Doctoral Students: Essential Strategies for Effective Writing Support & Collaboration
• Refining Leadership and Communication in Doctoral Supervision
• Negotiating Professional Boundaries
• Examining the Research Doctorate [Scheduled]

Research Funding

• Applying for Research Funding - Introduction [Scheduled]
• From Idea to Reality: Winning your Erasmus Project Proposal [Scheduled]

Intellectual Property, Research Agreements & Commercialisation

• Agreements & Disclosures
• Navigating IP for University Research - NEW [Scheduled]
• Patent Protection Strategies: Filing, Inventorship, Licensing, & Assignment Options [Scheduled]

Doctoral School Workshops for Academics

These workshops are open to academics, subject to seat availability:

• DOC6008 - Research Impact: Involving Stakeholders to Improve Funding success
• DOC6011 - Communicating Research to Diverse Audiences
• DOC6012 - Writing Winning Grant Applications
• DOC6027 - Getting Published: The Journal Article (Humanities, Education & Law)
• DOC6028 - Getting Published: The Journal Article (Social & Behavioural Sciences)
• DOC6029 - Getting Published: The Journal Article (Life Sciences & Medicine)
• DOC6030 - Getting Published: The Journal Article (Architecture & STEM)
• DOC6051 - An Introduction to NVivo for Qualitative Data Analysis

Instats Training

The University of Malta is an affiliate member of Institute for Statistical and Data Science (Instats), an online platform providing research methods training in areas including statistics, data science, artificial intelligence, and quantitative, qualitative and computational methods.

UM academics, researchers and students are eligible for a 30% discount on Instats live-streamed and on-demand training. Some courses and seminars are also available free of charge.

To access the affiliate discount, sign in with Instats using your University of Malta email address.

As OPAD expands its programmes to meet the evolving needs of UM academics, we welcome feedback and suggestions on how we can further strengthen our researcher development initiatives. Please send your suggestions to opad@um.edu.mt.