Getting the right trainers

Margaret Collins
Senior Lecturer, Professional Coach, & Trainer
 

When you hire a trainer, how do you know their content will be relevant to your staff or students?

I have over 20 years experience working in a research environment, at research institutes at home, in France and in UK universities. I know the system. I've managed teams of postdoc researchers, I've trained PhD students. That's not to say "I know it all" but you know I've been there, lived through it and know what has worked.

When it comes to training, you will share that level of experience.

You know yourself how important relevance and credibility is - get it wrong and word of mouth spreads the bad news like wildfire. Get it right and you have a waiting list for the next course.

Which outcome would you prefer?

I have the right experience, I make sure our trainers have the experience. You can trust us to do the job.

Below I'll share two key types of information : testimonials from students on past courses and a brief biography of our trainers. I hope they help your decision-making.

Please do contact me to discuss any questions. I look forward to hearing from you soon!

Testimonials

Presentation skills

* Thank you once again for the fantastic presentation session, it was very very helpful.

* I just wanted to say thank you so much for the presentations workshop yesterday, it was a really useful day.

* I came to the workshop with a deep fear of public speaking but left wanting to conquer that fear and perhaps even enjoy the experience in the future!

Effective planning

* I liked the way Margaret presented her topic. It was very impressive and interesting. Thank you for such valuable time and content.

* Impressive, interesting, incredibly valuable!

* Lecturing style of the tutor is very attractive. Fantastic two way communication and active learning.

* It's important - don't miss it!

* Very well presented and thought provoking. A must for all new PhD students!!

Project Management

* The best session on the course so far!

* The small group size meant there was a real interactive exchange between tutor and colleagues

* Great group participation. The Post-It notes exercise was lots of fun and very useful!

* I can really take control of my project and it's management. I have a better idea of what is involved and am inspired to think harder about the risks, tasks etc.

Introduction to molecular biology

* Excellent lecture and a very useful tutorial.

* Very good lecture, not the easiest stuff to teach but still kept us all interested.

* I wish all lecturers were as patient and good as her.

Time management

* Some really interesting concepts about positive mental attitude.

* I really enjoyed the delivery and enthusiasm of the presenter.

* Interaction with others was good - we have the same challenges but respond very differently.

* Lots of different time management tools.

Personal development courses

* Interesting, thought provoking, life-changing!

* I think the best feedback I could give you is the fact I recommended friends to come to your course. The course itself was value for money and a valuable experience. In a short time I was able to reuse what I gained from the exercises in my personal and working life.

* Margaret creates an atmosphere so relaxed and friendly that it is very easy to become involved and really achieve better understanding of yourself and how to improve your life. Many thanks for your advice and support.

* Margaret has an innate knack of creating a confidential, and yet relaxed, atmosphere, thus enabling invaluable group discussions

If you would like to know more about me, please take a look at Margaret's Career CV and publications list.