After this course, you can:

‘Consultancy’ is one of three career profiles students of Biomedical Sciences can choose in their master’s program. It has been developed for those who aspire to assume a role as an advisor, i.e. someone who on the basis of his or her scientific background can determine what are effective solutions to biomedical problems, but also has the communicative skills to manage the possibly different views and stakes of persons involved. The latter requires that, apart from a solid scientific background, analytical skills, and creativity, you have developed competencies such as listening, maintaining a client focus, negotiating, and managing resistance. And this, in turn, requires that you have a clear view on who you are, understand what are your signature strengths, and can use these to manage yourself in interaction with others. This course offers an introduction to consultancy and the required communicative skills. It has been developed for those who already know that their future is in consultancy, as well as for those who wish to discover whether consultancy suits them.

This is a matter of learning by doing. You and your peers will constitute your own learning lab and engage in a series of workshops that will have your personality and signature strengths surface. On the basis of feedback you will reflect on your behavior and its effectiveness, and experiment with alternatives. Very importantly, you should understand that essentially this is about you. You should participate only if you feel comfortable being approached personally and sharing your thoughts and feelings with your peers.

Key words
Consultancy, personal effectiveness, communicative skills, teamwork, self-reflection.