EMBL Australia recently hosted two project management training courses delivered by Dr Sabrina Krueger from EMBL’s International Centre for Advanced Training, supporting early‑career researchers across the EMBL Australia community.
The courses – each held online over two half‑day sessions in April – were tailored to researchers at different career stages. The first brought together 17 Australian PhD students, followed by a second session for a cohort of 16 postdoctoral researchers, reflecting the growing demand for practical project management skills throughout the research lifecycle.
Strong project management is increasingly recognised as essential for scientific success, helping researchers plan effectively, manage complexity and maintain momentum in long‑term, multi‑disciplinary projects.
Dr Krueger’s training focused on applying project management principles in a research context, covering topics such as goal setting, prioritisation, time management, risk assessment and productive communication.
She said knowing the methods and techniques she provides can help participants gain new insights and support them in reaching their individual career goals was very rewarding.
“For me, it is incredibly motivating to see or hear about participants experiencing those ‘aha’ moments during the project management courses, sometimes in the session itself and sometimes only later through reflection,” Dr Krueger said.
Dr Evan Healy, a postdoctoral researcher at the Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute, said Dr Krueger provided excellent insights and clearly explained the key determinants of project success or failure.
“I found the tips and techniques for managing time more effectively and efficiently particularly valuable,” Dr Healy said.
“As a postdoc, the course was highly relevant in helping me develop strategies to manage multiple projects simultaneously and build project management skills that will be important as my career progresses.”
The sessions combined short presentations with interactive exercises and discussion, allowing participants to reflect on their own projects and working styles. By tailoring content to PhD students and postdoctoral researchers, the training highlighted how project management responsibilities evolve across career stages.
These courses are one example of EMBL Australia’s broader efforts to support researcher development by connecting Australian researchers with EMBL’s world‑leading training expertise and practical, career‑relevant skills.
Handouts from the project management trainings are openly available to all researchers and can be downloaded from EMBL’s Fellows’ Career Service website. (There is also a broader collection of resources covering all stages of the career-planning process available here.)
EMBL offers a wide range of in-person and virtual training events every year, as well as free, online, on-demand training for the global scientific community.
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Main image: Dr Sabrina Krueger. Image via EMBL / Stuart Ingham.