14:30–16:00 Workshops
After the market, you will follow one of the available workshops. The goal is to get more familiar with the different organizations.
Note that some workshops are targeted at a specific audience and/or require you to do some preparation beforehand. Make sure to check the description before you sign up for a workshop.
You can sign up for the workshops here.
Workshop overview:
Dutch 101 (ESN Utrecht)
This workshop is offered by ESN Utrecht. NOTE: This workshop is targeted at international students.
What does it mean when something is lekker or leuk? And will you manage to pronounce gezellig, the word that is at the heart of Dutch culture?
In this interactive workshop, volunteers of ESN Utrecht will introduce you to the basics of the Dutch language. Familiarize yourself with phrases used on a day-to-day basis and learn some essential vocabulary such as numbers and greetings. With your fellow students, you will practice the basics and get ready for your first conversation in Dutch.
Every semester ESN offers a basic level course of Dutch for your daily life. Next to that, an advanced course is available to build on prior knowledge you might already have. Take this opportunity to give Dutch a try!
Location: Buys Ballot building – Room 007
Exploring the job market and networking
This workshop is offered by Career Services Faculty of Science.
The job market offers innumerable possibilities. Do you know how to find organizations and jobs that suit your profile? Or how an employer searches for suitable candidates and what possibilities you have to increase job opportunities? In this workshop you will learn how to get a better understanding of organizations. Furthermore, you will also learn how to use and improve the network you belong to.
It makes sense to bear your preferences, qualities, and motivations in mind as you explore the job market. To do that, you need a clear picture of what criteria your future job has to meet. You could also look into some jobs that interest you and formulate criteria based on those.
In the Exploring the Job Market & Networking workshop you will learn how to explore the job market and search for vacancies by making use of your own network. Furthermore, we will look at the ways employers select employees and how to anticipate their needs as you look for a job. You will also learn how to present yourself in the best possible way to prospective employers by preparing a professional pitch.
When you complete this workshop, you will gain a better understanding of how to approach the job market and will be more aware of the potential of your own network. As a result, you will approach prospective employers with greater confidence.
Location: Minnaert building – Room 0.15
Getting started with LinkedIn (YER)
This workshop is offered by YER. For this workshop, it is advised to bring a laptop.
How do you create a convincing LinkedIn profile? What do you write in your headline and summary, for instance? In this interactive training session, you will learn how to optimise your profile, create an online network and use LinkedIn to get your bearings on the job market.
Location: Buys Ballot building – Room 209
Large Language Models: What they are and what they can (and cannot) do for us (Prof. dr. Albert Gatt)
This workshop is offered by Prof. dr. Albert Gatt, Professor in Natural Language Generation at the Department of Information and Computing Sciences.
In this workshop, we will introduce Large Language Models, the underlying architectures in most current generative AI applications, including ChatGPT. We will first explain how these models are created: what sorts of tasks are they really trained to perform and how. Then we'll discuss some of their abilities and limitations, with particular emphasis on factuality and bias. Time permitting, we'll try a few examples of different types of queries and discuss the outcomes. Ultimately, our goal is to help you become a reflective user of such models, with a better understanding of their strengths and limitations.
NOTE: This workshop is of special interest to AI students, but other students with an interest in generative AI are welcome to join. For this workshop, you are required to bring a laptop or other device.
Location: Buys Ballot building – Room 214
Lili's Proto Lab: Hands-on prototyping workshop
This workshop is offered by Lili’s Proto Lab.
Do you know an SVG from an STL? An Arduino from a Raspberry Pi? Is ‘prototype’ a process rather than a product for you? If the answer to any of these questions is no, then Lili’s Proto Lab (LPL) is the place for you to learn!* During our workshop, you will dive head first into the world of prototyping building your own custom hardware, in this case, a battle bot. After the battle bots have fought it out, you will have the opportunity to start your own project or simply receive a tour of our workshop for an overview of our electronics, prototyping tools, 3D printers, laser cutters and augmented reality routers to name a few. Sign up to our workshop if you are curious about our tech or want to experience the prototyping mindset.
*– You can still come if the answer was yes
Location: Caroline Bleeker building, ground floor, next to the Scientific Instrumentation department)
Mindfulness
This workshop is offered by the Faculty of Science Student wellbeing team.
The skill to calm yourself during busy times can be very beneficial for your well-being. The best time to learn and start this practice is before the storm hits. In this workshop we explore several forms of meditation techniques. We will also discuss how you can obtain the state of mindfulness during hectic days. Whether you want to learn more about mindfulness, or you just want to experience a calm moment during the introduction time: you are welcome to join us!
Location: Minnaert building – Room 0.09
Open science (Utrecht University Library)
This workshop is offered by the Utrecht University Library.
Open science is becoming more and more important – but what does it mean for your research project? What are ways in which you can make your research more open, and why would you do so?
In this workshop, we will discuss the why, what and how of open science and introduce you to a number of open science practices (including preregistration, sharing code and data, open access publishing, open peer review and more). We will also discuss the barriers and motivations you may encounter, and the support available at Utrecht University.
Location: Buys Ballot building – Room 219
Transferable skills
As a preparation for this workshop, please bring a job vacancy that is interesting to you.
This workshop is offered by Career Services Faculty of Science.
Do you know what skills you’ve acquired during your life as a student? People tend not to think much about these things. Transferable skills are useful in all kinds of professional contexts and you carry them with you from one job to the next.
If you want to convince an employer that you’re the right person for a job or an internship, you need the ability to present your skills with clarity and conviction. This workshop will make you aware of the transferable skills you’ve developed in your studies, at your (temp) jobs and in your extracurricular activities.
Furthermore, you’ll analyse a job offering and try to assess, as accurately as you can, what the employer is looking for. You’ll learn to distinguish between specialist and generic (though job-specific) skills. You will then catalog your transferable skills and practice by providing examples that show what skills you possess.
Upon completing the workshop, you’ll know exactly what your skills are and you’ll be able to advertise them better.
Minnaert building – Room 0.14