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Training and Skills Development Resources

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Research, Technology and Statistical Training

  • Research Onboarding for Postdocs and Other Research Staff: The Duke Office of Research Initiatives is offering a voluntary, group-based onboarding consultation for newly hired, non-clinical research staff to introduce them to the research enterprise at Duke. We also invite current staff who would like to attend a staff onboarding to register. Onboarding is free of charge and will take 90-120 minutes. Navigators will provide a tailored overview of Duke resources and services related to planning, managing, and conducting research. Some sessions are geared to those working in bench/basic sciences, and others are geared to those working with human participants and their data.
  • Research Support from Duke Libraries: Duke Libraries offers workshops, webinars, and subject specialists on topics including data consulting and visualization, publishing, copyright, and responsible conduct of research.
  • The Innovation Co-Lab Pathways Program is a series of workshops and lectures on technology topics, open to anyone in the Duke Community. Through these events and online platforms, students, faculty or staff of any skill and confidence level can comfortably start to gain an understanding of how to make use of a variety of tools and technologies. Workshops are offered on topics like web design, HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Python, research computing, 3D modeling and fabrication, and many more.
  • Data Visualization Training and Workshops from the Duke Center of Data and Visualization Sciences.
  • Duke Office of Information Technology (OIT) Training: OIT provides free technology training to Duke students, staff and faculty, including hands-on training seminars, OnDemand training for Duke-specific tools and services, monthly brown bag sessions, and online training tutorials.
  • Learning and Organizational Development (L&OD) Computer Technology: Computer training from beginning to advanced levels.
  • Duke Learning Innovation workshops help instructors find innovative ways to use technology to achieve their teaching goals.
  • LinkedIn Learning through OIT: LinkedIn Learning provides over 13,000 courses covering business, technology, and creative topics, free to Duke employees.
  • Duke Social Science Research Institute (SSRI) workshops and seminars are free and open to the Duke community.
  • Free Online Courses through Coursera for Duke: Coursera for Duke gives Duke students, staff, and faculty free access to 54 Duke-created Coursera courses and 3 specialization certificates. These co-curricular digital courses include Programming Fundamentals, English Composition, Statistics, Big Data, Healthcare Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Advertising and Society, Challenges of Global Health, Nanotechnology, and many more.  The Duke community can enroll at any time and learn at their own pace, with no grade, and no additional academic pressure.

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Clinical Research, Translational Research  and Regulatory Affairs

  •  Duke Office of Clinical Research (DOCR) offers virtual training courses in clinical research for Duke investigators, clinical research coordinators, financial and research study staff. In addition, there are monthly seminars including Research Wednesdays that provide research personnel opportunities to gain insight into Duke clinical research practices, regulations and guidelines, and other facets of clinical research including administration and management strategies. DOCR also offers onboarding and training online modules for new clinical research hires. These include an overview of clinical research roles, regulations, and workflows specific to each clinical research role.
  • The Duke Research Professionals Network (RPN) was established to provide an opportunity for faculty and staff in Duke Health to enhance their contributions to the clinical research community through educational and networking opportunities. Interested research professionals can join our listserv at docr-rpn@dm.duke.edu to receive meeting invites.
  • The Duke Office of Postdoctoral Services is approved as a remote site for the Introduction to the Principles and Practice of Clinical Research course offered by the NIH Clinical Center. This course is open to all Duke postdocs, graduate students, faculty and staff. The course runs from September through March each year.
  • The Duke Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) Education and Workforce Development Team supports the advancement of the next generation of interdisciplinary research leaders, offering a portfolio of workforce development opportunities to address the training needs of a range of learners—from community members and staff to students, postdocs and faculty.
    • The CTSI Directory offers the opportunity to connect with more than 100 faculty and 95 staff along the spectrum of translational science, from early research in the laboratory, through clinical trials in humans, to the successful implementation of new ideas in clinical and community settings.
  • Interested in a Career in Clinical Research? Join the Society of Clinical Research Sites. The Society of Clinical Research Sites (SCRS) is a global organization dedicated to representing and advocating for the interests of clinical research sites. Their mission is to drive site sustainability and improve the quality of clinical trials by providing their members with the resources and support they need to succeed. They strive to be the voice of the site community and work closely with industry stakeholders to shape the future of clinical research. Joining SCRS is free for Duke Research Community Members. Membership includes Webinars, Newsletters, Site Management Modules, and Virtual Trial Capability Training. Additionally, the 12 online site management modules have been mapped to WE-R competencies.
  • Duke Office of Regulatory Affairs and Quality offers the Regulatory Affairs Training Program, which provides an overview of the regulatory affairs profession and offers an in-depth look at premarket regulatory work related to drugs, biologics, and medical devices. The program is open to all interested individuals and is free of charge. ORAQ also offers educational seminars aimed at bringing together academic researchers, industry, and regulatory experts to discuss ideas, lessons learned and develop strategies for navigating the complex regulatory pathways that accompany translational research.
  • Explore Careers in Clinical and Translational Research: a series of video interviews with research professionals from Duke's Translational Research Concepts & Careers. Learn about what they do and how they got here as well as advice for anyone interested in pursuing a career in the field.
  • Fundamentals of Translational Research: The Workforce Development Team in the Duke Clinical and Translational Science Institute worked with subject matter experts across Duke to develop introductory online modules and resources for a variety of fundamental concepts. These modules are designed to acquaint prospective clinical and translational research professionals with the myriad of opportunities that are available in research. You will also find interviews related to each topic.

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Project Management and Leadership

  • Duke Project Management Community of Practice (PMCoP): a professional network of current and aspiring Duke project managers. The Duke PMCoP is a home for all at Duke and the Durham VA Health Care System who are passionate about helping achieve project goals, whether through the formal or informal use of project management best practices. Our membership is broad – many of our members are certified Project Management Professionals (PMPs), many are not, and we work in a variety of fields — but we are all committed to ensuring that our projects are on track, on budget, and on time and that they meet exceptional quality standards. If you want to learn about project management, contribute your own knowledge, and interact with others who share your interests and professional responsibilities, this is the group for you!
  • Duke PMCoP Developing Project Management Trainees (DEVELPMNT) Program: The purpose of DEVELPMNT is to introduce trainees to project management (PM) as a career and skill set. All participants are welcome, but the target audience will focus on undergraduate students, graduate students, and postdoctoral fellows. Our program is partnered with known project management groups, university programs, and companies in an effort to build upon already well-established programs, network, and launch with a solid foundation. We aim to provide participants with project management training ahead of entrance into the workforce and familiarize them with foundational knowledge to prepare for internships and employment.
  • LinkedIn Learning Project Management Courses: LinkedIn Learning provides over 13,000 courses covering business, technology, and creative topics, free to Duke employees. Project Management courses include Project Management Foundations, Project Management Simplified, Project Leadership and many more. 
  • Project Management full-day course offered by Duke Learning and Organizational Development: Project Management is a universally recognized discipline that encompasses the application of skills, knowledge, tools, and processes required to meet the expectations and needs of key stakeholders. This full-day course is designed to introduce you to the fundamentals of the project management discipline. It will facilitate learning through a healthy combination of lecture, assessment, and hands-on exercises where participants can immediately apply useful lessons learned.
  • Project Management Fundamentals 6-week course offered by Durham Tech: Master the essentials of project management with an experienced Project Management Professional as your guide. This course provides the concepts you need to plan, implement, control and close any type of project. n this course, an experienced Project Management Professional will help you master the essentials of project management. You will become an indispensable member of your project team by discovering and mastering the critical concepts you need to plan, implement, control and close any type of project. You will learn about project politics and ethics, project measurements, and project closure. You will be able to develop all sections of a project plan, you will become comfortable with the project management body of knowledge, and you will develop a variety of powerful techniques to generate project ideas. If you're new to project management, this course will provide you with the essential information you will need to prepare for and complete your first project. This course and its follow-up (Project Management Applications) also include essential information that will help you prepare for the Project Management Professional (PMP)® and the Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM®) exams offered by the Project Management Institute (PMI)®. Certification Magazine recently identified PMP certification as "the highest-paying certification" of the year.
  • Dimensions of Management for Successful Leaders 2 day course offered by Duke Learning and Organizational Development: This workshop focuses on the development of leadership and management best practices that will enable you to improve performance of employees and teams.
  • Transformational Leadership course offered by Duke Learning and Organizational Development: As a Transformational Leader you are using an approach that capitalizes on the unique strengths, values, and aspirations that people bring to their workplace by leading in a way that transforms individuals and organizations.
  • Managing Multiple Priorities course offered by Duke Learning and Organizational Development: Improve your ability to manage competing demands for your attention and effort. Discover practical tools for meeting your goals in today’s ever-changing work environment. Gain and enhance skills for mastering expanding workloads and tight timelines and for managing increasing uncertainty.
  • Conflict Resolution course offered by Duke Learning and Organizational Development: Since conflicts are inevitable, learning to deal with them in a healthy, respectful, and positive way is crucial. Successfully managing conflict ultimately strengthens the bonds between people, helping maintain and enhance your relationships.
  • Crucial Conversations 3-Day Virtual Course, Duke Learning and Organizational Development: We all face tense situations where saying the right thing is crucial. Whether you are approaching a supervisor who is breaking their own policies, critiquing a colleague’s work, or talking to a team member who isn’t keeping commitments, keeping the conversation productive can be very difficult.
  • Managing from the Middle Virtual Course, Duke Learning and Organizational Development: This session focuses on how to communicate effectively with those in higher levels of the organization to ensure the best results for all members of the Duke community. We will explore the many competencies required in the art of persuading others to follow your lead.
  • Navigating Challenging Personalities Virtual Course, Duke Learning and Organizational Development: In every workplace, you’re likely to encounter some challenging personalities. The first step in dealing with a possible conflict situation is to determine if and how you might be contributing to the situation. This course will identify four types of conflict, how to defuse emotionally charged situations, and how to identify and deal with negative behaviors.
  • Personality and Effective Communication Virtual Course, Duke Learning and Organizational Development: Using social capital as a focusing concept, the class highlights the importance of communication for building positive and productive working relationships. At the end of the course participants will be able to recognize patterns of communication, identify strengths and weaknesses of current communication practices, and develop new or improved communication strategies with coworkers and those in other departments.

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Data Science

  • Innovation Co-Lab classes include Python, R, Machine Learning and Data Science, Research Computing, and Deep Learning.
  • Center for Data and Visualization Sciences courses include Data Management, Data Science, and Data Visualization. CDVS also has a lab for projects involving data analytics, data visualization, digital mapping and statistics.
  • SSRI Training includes SAS, NVIVO, and Qualtrics.
  • Duke Center for Computational Thinking learning opportunities include an annual Symposium and Computational Art Competition.
  • Duke Coursera classes include:
    • Intro to Machine Learning
    • AI Product Management Specialization
    • Introductory C Programming Specialization
    • Data Analysis with R Specialization
    • Data Science Math Skills
    • MLOps: Machine Learning Operations Specialization
    • Large Language Model Operations (LLMOps) Specialization
    • Introduction to Probability and Data with R
    • Causal Inference with R

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Office of Postdoctoral Services - Resources