Researcher Training That Produces Measurable Change

“We are very happy with the collaboration with Mind Matters and recommend these courses to any research institute especially with with researchers at the early stage of their career. Participants [of the Resilience Training] learn techniques grounded in current research across psychology, neuroscience and the behavioural sciences from two experienced mental health trainers with complementary background and expertise. Together with Paul Sinclair they have also developed a unique diagnostic tool for measuring resilience. The results are similar as for the Fast Forward course: high completion rates as well as a very high satisfaction scores. A quote from a participant: "I loved almost everything about the training from the very interesting and relevant topics, to the incredibly supportive community. As a researcher, I also enjoyed very much the examples of studies demonstrating the different arguments. That really helps me to remember the information.””

“In addition to offering the course[s] as a training opportunity for our doctoral candidates and postdocs I also participated in the training[s] to evaluate its content and quality. The combination of weekly online discussion/Q&A sessions self-passed learning video content implementation exercises and exchange with the online community (participants) was a wonderful experience. I could apply the knowledge acquired during the training on time management and agile project management directly to my work increasing my efficiency and productivity. As a participant [in the Resilience Training] I could personally experience and notice the positive change in behaviour while dealing with setbacks or difficult and stressful situations. In my opinion Nadine’s and Paul’s resilience training is extremely helpful and such a course should be completed by everyone within the Max Planck Society.”

“The Scientific Talent and Career Development Team attracts trains and supports passionate scientists for outstanding careers in research and beyond. Since 2021 Nadine Sinclair has offered three Workshops within the Scientific Training Program of Helmholtz Munich. Two of our training program spotlights are Personal Growth and Project Management. The course “Fast Forward - Personal Productivity and Project Management for Researchers” provides both. We decided to work with Nadine Sinclair because not only her offer fits our needs but also because her program is designed to respond to individual needs and it’s an English speaking course which is indispensable for us because our target group consists mainly of international doctoral researchers and postdocs.”

“I am responsible for developing a training portfoliofor doctoral researchers who are part ofour graduate program. Every year Iorganize around 30 different courses providing training on scientific methods, transferable skills and career development. We started working with Mind Matters in 2018. The professional and personal background oftrainers together with positive recommendations from other graduate programs made us trust their qualifications and so far we were not disappointed. In comparison with other courses available on the market the ones from Mind Matters are based on implementation and last several weeks during which participants can not only learn new skills but they have a chance to apply them in life while being supported by the professional trainer. Since 2018 we had already seven editions of Fast Forward program and four editions of Resilience Training. I would like to quote one representative example: "I enjoyed all aspects of the training, including the materials and methods, workshops, the community, exchange and sharing, constructive feedback, and the excellent and positive atmosphere. Appreciate it!".”

“GAUSS and its Career Service (which I am heading) as well as the Göttingen Graduate Center for Neurosciences Biophysics and Molecular Biosciences (GGNB) are booking different courses led by Nadine and her team since over seven years. We are very successfully working with her on topics like Project and Time Management Resilience Training as well as Team Building and Conflict Management. Mind Matters is offering not only short-term trainings (1-2 days) but also long-term trainings running for several weeks with a very thought-through program. What we particularly like about Nadine’s courses are the unique long-term formats [...] giving the participants the opportunity to incorporate what they learned during the individual units. The incorporation of learned lessons in the daily routine is mostly missing when – especially for those topics – the participants are only attend short workshops of for example 1-2 days. The courses are very well received and sought after which is particularly proven by the anonymised evaluations we always conduct amongst all participants after every workshop.”

“As scientific coordinator of the IMPRS for Living Matter (Dortmund) I initially contacted Nadine Sinclair after receiving strong recommendations. I believe that what Paul and Nadine Sinclair are offering is a very valuable product that helps our students enormously. Although the course stretches over several weeks the strength is that participants can immediately apply what they are learning in their everyday life and while trying to implement the changes they can seek for help and feedback from the trainers. By combining modules of individual learning and community sessions the course very much fits with what the students want nowadays. Rather than 2-3-full day workshops students appreciate the flexibility of individual learning that allows different speeds and the community sharing of Fast Forward.”

“I have really enjoyed the course and learned a lot for myself - which is more valuable than a certificate, I would say). Thanks so much for putting this course so carefully together. It is a very helpful one and one required by many of us. It has helped me so much to reconnect with myself and see myself and my character again from a positive angle.”

"I would like to thank you from the bottom of my heart for giving me the chance of being a tutor. Also thanks for committing to help me grow with your replies and you Paul with the 1-2-1s.I hope that you realize how much impact you had in our lives and how much of the change we experienced has to do with your support and commitment. You are exceptional and you inspire me to be in my field as good as you are in yours."

"I want to thank you again for gaining back control over my own life and emotions something that I have struggled with for quite a while. I am a very grateful as a person to get that trust and openness from you which also guided me to a new path to establish a life without any regrets."

"I attended Nadine’s workshop Project Management. I pretty enjoyed the two-day course and was continuously amazed by the ideas and methods that I have never thought before. It offered me a new field of vision on how to manage your project most effectively. Nadine is an excellent expert with the unique insight and rich experience in advising and teaching. She knows a lot about how to decrease the pressure in work and create the greatest achievement using the shortest time."

"I am an organiser of an international student conference that every year brings 200 participants for a 4 day event. Since all the organisers of this conference are student volunteers from different backgrounds and have varied organizational experiences the most important thing for us is to make sure that the organisers learn how to work together in a team this is why we start our efforts with a kick-off workshop hosted by Nadine Sinclair. Nadine goes above and beyond to tailor make her workshop to suit our team she reached out in advance to understand our particular needs and really listened to our previous experiences. Therefore over the course of our workshop Nadine masterfully covered all of the most important aspects that we needed to produce a conference that was described as “the best organised conference I have ever been to” both by participants and the invited speakers."