Every semester I tell myself I’ll be more organised, less stressed, and totally on top of my assignments. And every semester, reality proves otherwise. The thing that’s actually helped me get closer to that goal is the Skills for Success workshops. They’re short, practical, and genuinely useful.
What is Skills for Success?
Skills for Success is a programme of free 50-minute workshops run by the Academic Skills team. They cover the essentials that make a real difference to your studies: academic writing, critical thinking, communication, and how to use Generative AI responsibly.
This year the programme has expanded in response to student feedback. Alongside the established sessions, there’s now a Workplace Essentials strand. These workshops focus on the kinds of skills you’ll need in any professional setting, like managing emails, contributing to meetings, and working effectively with others.
Tutorials that match the workshops
Another improvement is that the 1:1 tutorials now align with the workshop themes. If you can’t make it to a session, you can book a tutorial on the same topic and get personalised support. It means you don’t miss out, and you can still get guidance tailored to your own work.
My experience
The workshops I’ve attended have made a real difference. The criticality session helped me move beyond just summarising sources and start analysing them properly, which improved my assignments straight away. The writing sessions have also been invaluable for building confidence in structuring essays and tackling longer pieces of work.
Why you should book early
These workshops are popular and places go quickly. I once left it too late to book onto a writing session and ended up on the waiting list, hoping a spot would open up. My advice is to book as soon as you see something that interests you. And if it’s full, join the waiting list — places often become available.
More than just study skills
Skills for Success isn’t only about fixing problems. It’s about building strengths, developing confidence, and preparing for what comes next, whether that’s your dissertation, a placement, or your first job after university.
Don’t wait to get involved
If I could give one piece of advice, it would be this: don’t wait until deadlines are looming to explore Skills for Success. The earlier you book onto a workshop or tutorial, the more you’ll get out of it.
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