Courses for groups of researchers, trainer-led

Cofactor’s training on writing and publishing can support your researcher development programme or research department

The writing and publishing guidance that researchers need

Audience

We train researchers at all stages of their careers, focusing especially on PhD students, and early career researchers / postdocs.

Subjects

Our courses are suitable for researchers in science, technology, engineering, medicine and social sciences.

The courses have been designed by a former biologist with long experience working with biological and medical journals, and refined with help from experts in physical sciences, engineering, computer sciences and social sciences. 

Course format

Course material is hosted on the Cofactor Moodle site. Alternatively, we can upload it to your learning management system.

Live sessions include discussions in small groups using Zoom’s breakout rooms, Gather or in person.

Duration – five live sessions, of 90 minutes each, ideally spaced a week apart.

In the video below, Cofactor’s founder, Anna Sharman, talks through the course format and some of the customisations.

Mostly ONLINE IN 2022-3

Most Cofactor courses will continue to be run online in 2022-3. This helps us (and you) with planning, and supports safety in these uncertain times, as well as Cofactor’s environmental values. However, we can discuss including some in-person session in a course.

IN PERSON COURSES

When possible, we can offer workshops or course sessions at your location. These will usually be combined with material online.

Please contact us if you’d like to discuss a course including in-person sessions for 2022-3. 

EXPERIENCED TRAINERS

Course content includes insider insights from Cofactor's founder, using her 25 years of experience of scientific journals - as an author, peer reviewer, editor, copyeditor and consultant.

Associate trainers also bring experience and expertise in a wide range of subjects to Cofactor's training.

Interactive, engaging, accessible

Live sessions

Live sessions encourage participants to discuss, ask questions and build on what they have learned in previous sessions

Course materials

Handouts provide all the text that is in the presentations, and more. Presentations are provided as recordings, enabling participants to rewatch them

Trainer-facilitated

All live sessions are facilitated by two Cofactor trainers who ensure everyone is actively engaged and has opportunities to get involved

Group discussions

We use Zoom’s breakout rooms to support small group discussions, and for more informal interaction at the end of course sessions we provide virtual coffee rooms using Spatial Chat or Gather

Captioning

Our online courses have 10-20 minute video presentations, with captioning for accessibility, edited to ensure accuracy

Practical exercises

A wide variety of exercises help participants to grasp the material

What participants say about our training

“This was an excellent course. The trainers are experienced and were happy to address our questions in- and outside of meetings. The weekly materials catered to different learning styles and the workload was more than doable. The use of breakout rooms allowed for fruitful discussions, and it was nice to be mixed amongst specialities each week. The editorial board exercise was particularly enjoyable as it also allowed me to get to know my new colleagues better. Overall pleasant atmosphere to learn in!”

Julia Schulte-Strathaus, ZI Mannheim, Germany

“I liked the structure of the course and particularly liked the practical exercises and the insight into peer review types and the process itself.

On a general note, I liked the vibe of the discussion sessions and how [the trainers] led the course.”

Participant, ZI Mannheim, Germany

“I particularly enjoyed the course as it was interactive and the trainers were helpful, engaging and friendly, which encouraged sharing of ideas and inspired new thoughts on writing better research articles.”

Clinton Nkolokosa, Malawi-Liverpool Wellcome Trust, Malawi

Course content and customisations

Course delivery

We can deliver our key course content in a range of ways, both online and in person (when possible).

Our most popular format is a 5-week course with 5 live video sessions of 1.5 hours each, supported by videos and other materials on Moodle.

In person training can be 1-day or 2-day workshops at your location.

Course content

Cofactor training is based on our course 'Writing and publishing a scientific paper', which can be customised in a number of ways, including for different subject areas, or with the focus on either writing or publishing.

Our online courses are modular, so you can pick the modules you want covered and the pattern of live video sessions that suit you.

Training budget

From bespoke courses designed for your researchers, to off-the-shelf e-learning packages, we have options to support a range of  training budgets.

Whether you run the central researcher development centre of a large university or are a small department or group, our courses can be customised to fit your needs. Get in touch to find out how.

More training options

Why Cofactor?

Cofactor courses aim to inform, inspire and include

Inform

We inform with insider insights from a journals expert, updated regularly

Inspire

We inspire participants to consider open science and open scholarship

More about our values

Include

We aim to include everyone through our work on equality and accessibility

More about inclusion

Find out more

If you’d like to book training for your organisation, or have questions about Cofactor training, including customisations, please get in touch.

You might like to read our course Terms and Conditions before getting in touch, so that we can answer any additional questions you may have.

You can use our contact form, email us direct or call us:

+44 (0)20 8819 3233

hello@cofactorscience.com

Contact us

Cofactor takes your privacy seriously and will never share your personal information without your consent. Full details of how we manage personal data can be found in our Privacy Policy.

8 + 4 =

Please complete the simple sum above before clicking send message