X-CITED Events & Development Opportunities

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Coming in 2026

Principles and Applications of Project Management for RTPs

Being able to apply the principles of project management to your own workflows for effective project delivery is essential  — from the initiation stage, through delivery, and on to the review stage.
This interactive session will support participants to learn practical tools and techniques relevant to technical staff and the workplace, gain new skills to implement immediately and benefit from a blended approach of presentations, activities, and group problem solving.

This course content is rooted in the technical workplace.

(Open to all Research Technical Professional (RTPs) within GW4 (Universities of Bath, Bristol, Cardiff & Exeter).

X-CITED Digital Community: Talk – “Cybersecurity Issues and Challenges in the Era of Generative AI”

We’re excited to welcome Dr Mamoona Humayun, an internationally recognised researcher in Cybersecurity, Artificial Intelligence, Secure Software Engineering, and IoT systems.

Agenda:

• 30‑minute talk by Dr Humayun
• Followed by a relaxed an open discussion and coffee exploring:
  • the cybersecurity challenges we face in our everyday digital technical specialist roles,
  • how generative AI‑driven threats and vulnerabilities are emerging within academic research contexts,
  • ways we as research technical professionals can better support academics in secure design, development, and deployment.

Community Discussion & Speed‑Blog Output:

After the talk, we will move into a collaborative discussion space where participants can share:

• the security issues cropping up in our projects,
• challenges in advising or supporting academics,
• practical approaches to security‑minded RSE practice in an AI‑augmented research world.

To capture our collective insights, we’ll produce a speed‑blog, following the Software Sustainability Institute’s guidance on fast, collaborative writing: https://www.software.ac.uk/guide/speed-blogging-and-tips-writing-speed-blog-post

(Open to all Research Technical Professional (RTPs) within GW4 (Universities of Bath, Bristol, Cardiff & Exeter).

Supervising Others

Learn the differences between leadership, champion & manager, and how you can step into a supervision role and what skills are required for each role.

(Open to all Research Technical Professional (RTPs) within GW4 (Universities of Bath, Bristol, Cardiff & Exeter).

Building Collaborations

Be guided through different types of collaborations, how to find collaborators and aspects to consider when engaging in collaboration.

(Open to all Research Technical Professional (RTPs) within GW4 (Universities of Bath, Bristol, Cardiff & Exeter).

Health & Safety in the Lab

Gain insight on applications of health & safety in different types of labs. Use your learning to develop a new safety procedure for their lab

(Open to all Research Technical Professional (RTPs) within GW4 (Universities of Bath, Bristol, Cardiff & Exeter).

Understanding the Grant Application Process

Learn about the application process for different types of funding, from timelines and requirements to drafting a proposal.

(Open to all Research Technical Professional (RTPs) within GW4 (Universities of Bath, Bristol, Cardiff & Exeter).

X-CITED Industrial Challenge Project (ICP)

Join us in Cardiff for our second X-CITED ICP programme Workshop Event.

The X-CITED ICPs offer an exciting opportunity for Research Technical Professionals (RTPs) across GW4 Universities to apply their expertise in tackling real-world physical science and engineering challenges. These challenges are set by industry partners and will be explored through collaborative team projects that bring together RTPs and industry colleagues.

Project ideas will be developed during interactive workshop sessions and delivered through hands-on team-based problem-solving projects. The ICP model is designed to harness RTPs’ existing technical skills while developing new multi-disciplinary project skills and simultaneously gaining valuable insights into industry applications. Participants will engage in multi-disciplinary collaborations, leveraging cutting-edge capabilities across GW4 Universities to address industry challenges and drive innovation.

(Open to all Research Technical Professional (RTPs) within GW4 (Universities of Bath, Bristol, Cardiff & Exeter).

IT Skills for RTPs

Learn advanced IT tools used by researchers and how these can improve efficiency.

(Open to all Research Technical Professional (RTPs) within GW4 (Universities of Bath, Bristol, Cardiff & Exeter).

Coming in 2027

Facility Costing

Gain knowledge of the TRAC system for costing facilities. RTPs will learn skills on how to appropriately register cost of consumables for facilities.

(Open to all Research Technical Professional (RTPs) within GW4 (Universities of Bath, Bristol, Cardiff & Exeter).

Managing a Facility

Understand the aspects of running a facility, from budget to staff management. They will also learn the skills required to successfully run a facility.

(Open to all Research Technical Professional (RTPs) within GW4 (Universities of Bath, Bristol, Cardiff & Exeter).

RTP Mentoring

Understand the requirements of mentoring, how to become a successful mentor/mentee and the benefits of taking part in mentorship programmes.

(Open to all Research Technical Professional (RTPs) within GW4 (Universities of Bath, Bristol, Cardiff & Exeter).

Available recordings

• What is Transparent Approach to Costing (TRAC)? webinar – email x-cited@gw4.ac.uk to be sent the recording
• X-CITED Digital Training Programme #1: An introduction to prompt engineering for coding – email x-cited@gw4.ac.uk to be sent the recording