Free
resources
We assembled our best free resources and recommendations for your academic career development–enjoy!
Overview of our free resources
- 1. Expert guides
- 2. Smart Academics Blog
- 3. Webinars
- 4. Guidelines, worksheets, checklists
- 5. Videos & audios
- 6. Podcasts
- 7. Blogs
- 8. Networks & partners
1. Expert guides
Our 6 expert guides give detailed instructions on how to cope with major challenges in academic career development. Each guide is filled up with practical advice to help you with some of the most common problems in academic career development.
2. Smart Academics Blog
The -> Smart Academics Blog provides a collection of 135+ articles on academic career development, especially on conducting PhD studies, writing and publishing journal papers, PhD supervision, presenting research, career development, and becoming an effective researcher. Many of the articles provide free worksheets and checklists.
3. Webinars
We regularly offer free webinars and online seminars on the following topics:
4. Guidelines, worksheets & checklists
4.1. Successfully conducting PhD studies
Articles & guides
- 5 Reasons Why PhD Students Delay and How to Avoid
- So you want to finish your PhD on time?
- How to find time for research?
- New to the PhD? – 5 tips for a great start!
- Help! How to find the topic for my PhD?
- What makes PhD students succeed?
- Plan your project – save your PhD!
- 5 ways to boost your energy as a researcher!
- Overwhelmed by PhD work? Here’s the way out!
- Six smart strategies for a strong Academic CV
- PhD motivation running low? Here’s the cure!
- Ten hacks to quick-start your thesis writing!
- How to get a private life and a PhD
- What’s needed to finish your PhD?
- Planning your PhD workday
- PhD project-planning quick-start
- 5 tips for an article-based (cumulative) PhD thesis
- No time for dissertation writing?
- Dissertation dilemma? Hand in a monograph or papers?
- Should I replace my PhD supervisor?
- Good PhD-supervision: What you can expect
Worksheets & checklists
- Factsheet: What type of dissertation do I hand in & what to consider?
- Self-check: How good is my PhD supervision?
- Factsheet: Join a side project? YES or NO
- Quick guide: Planning your PhD project
- Self-test: Do you struggle with your PhD?
- Worksheet: 6 steps to outline a PhD project plan
- Worksheet: My PhD workday
- Worksheet: 6 steps to regain your personal life
- Worksheet: Identify reasons for the delay with your PhD
- Worksheet: Instant help with PhD overwhelm
- Worksheet: 5 tips to get your message across to your supervisor
- Worksheet: How to tackle low motivation
- Worksheet: How to get out of low PhD motivation?
4.2. Writing & publishing journal papers
Articles & guides
- Five easy ways to get started writing a research paper
- How do you get published in a good journal?
- 5 strategies to avoid initial paper rejection
- How to speed up paper writing
- How to write a paper abstract
- Predatory journals: How to identify them?
- 5 tips to get a paper accepted this year
- Mastering the literature review during the Corona lockdown
- The perfect paper—and how to create yours!
- Suggesting reviewers for your paper: rules to consider
- Writing productivity: Write more in less time
- Writer’s block: Stuck on your paper, with no idea how to move forward?
- Train your writing muscle: Achieve better results
- How to work on your paper without struggle
- 5 warning signs that indicate you should change the way you write papers
- 5 decisions that make writing your paper so much easier
- Find the right journal for your paper following these 8 steps
- Plagiarism and how to avoid it
- How to find a paper topic
- Five criteria every academic author should fulfil
- Boost your chances of paper acceptance with these 3 tips
- How do you prevent paper rejection?
Worksheets & checklists
- Checklist: Journal Paper Types
- Cheatsheet: Phrases to use when responding to reviewers
- Worksheet: My publishing strategy
- Decision tree: My options after being rejected!
- Worksheet: Assessing rejection risk
- Worksheet: Preventing writer’s block
- Worksheet: My struggle-free writing checklist
- Worksheet: Paper-writing training plan
- Checklist: Good Review Reports
- Checklist: Plagiarism self-check
- Test: Authorship criteria
- Worksheet: Identify your paper topic
- Worksheet: How to write YOUR perfect paper
5. Videos & audios
7. Blogs
8. Networks & partners
- Eurodoc, the European Council of Doctoral Candidates and Junior Researchers, one of our collaborators in a joined EU project.
- Passage2Pro is a career coaching company delivering career & leadership coaching and training for PhDs with a career ambition outside academia.