What we do
Smart Lark delivers impactful skills and knowledge training for individuals and groups working in the research environment. Whether you're new to research or highly experienced, our workshops and webinars help strengthen skills, build capabilities, and foster best practice.
Contact us to request our brochure and explore each session in full.
Amplify and Engage
Mastering Research Posters guides you through the essentials of developing a research poster covering structure, clarity, flow, visuals, layout, and colour.
This workshop can be delivered as a 2-hour webinar or a 3-hour in-person workshop.
The Blogger’s Toolkit is a practical session aimed at developing compelling blog posts to communicate your research and ideas.
This workshop can be delivered as a 2-hour webinar or a 3-hour in-person workshop.
Writing your Research Story gives you the choice of two options. Firstly, a dedicated workshop that teaches you the techniques to excel at written storytelling; or secondly, the workshop plus the opportunity for those at your institution to have their short stories published in a specifically designed book.
This workshop is delivered as a 3-hour webinar.
Deliver online presentations like a pro guides you to master online presentations with this practical workshop. It optimises your setup, enhance your on-screen presence, and deliver your research with confidence, clarity, and impact.
This workshop is delivered as a 2-hour webinar (introductory level) or 2 x 2-hour webinars (advanced with coaching).
Engaging with Policy and the Pathways to Impact builds practical skills in understanding the policy landscape, mapping stakeholders, and identifying realistic routes to influence and impact while raising the profile of your research.
This workshop can be delivered as 2 x 2-hour webinars or 4-hour in-person workshop.
Crafting Policy Impact and Planning for Action develops practical skills in crafting clear, persuasive messages, using briefing notes effectively, and building the confidence to secure support and ask for action - helping you turn evidence into a focused plan for policy engagement and impact.
This workshop can be delivered as 2 x 2-hour webinars or 4-hour in-person workshop.
Build your online profile (without selling out or burning out!) demonstrates the importance of a professional online presence that attracts the right opportunities with a strategic, sustainable, and values-aligned approach - without becoming a full-time content creator or compromising your authenticity.
This workshop is delivered as 2 x 2-hour webinars or 3 x 3-hour webinars.
How to talk about your research in ways that generate the attention you want helps you communicate your research clearly, compellingly, and strategically by identifying the audiences that matter most and understanding what they care about.
This workshop is delivered as 2 x 2-hour webinars.
Strategise and Establish
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
AI Assisted Grant Writing provides practical skills to use generative AI in the grant writing process whilst maintaining originality, integrity and funder compliance.
This workshop is delivered as a 2.5 hour webinar plus an additional 60 minute live proposal clinic for direct feedback on real world bids.
Create online content efficiently using AI helps you harness AI as a genuine collaborator in your content workflow, while maintaining your authentic voice and ensuring everything you publish reflects your expertise and values.
This workshop is delivered as 2 x 2-hour webinars.
Responsible and Effective use of Generative AI across the Research Lifecycle helps researchers use generative AI tools confidently and ethically in tasks such as: literature reviews, coding assistance and writing.
This workshop is delivered as a 2 hour webinar.
Applied AI and Machine Learning for Research Questions is a two-part series that helps researchers decide when and how to use machine learning in their projects.
This workshop is delivered as a two-part series, each 2 hours long: part 1 focuses on concepts and framing; part 2 on a live, end to end example.
Research Methods
Exploring Qualitative Research builds practical understanding of qualitative methods, helping you distinguish qualitative and quantitative approaches, recognise what good-quality qualitative research looks like, and plan effectively for rich, meaningful analysis.
This workshop can be delivered as a 2.5-hour webinar or a 3-hour in-person workshop.
Using Interviews in Qualitative Research develops practical skills in designing and conducting effective qualitative interviews, helping you generate meaningful insights and confidently analyse and interpret interview data.
This workshop can be delivered as a 2.5-hour webinar or a 3-hour in-person workshop.
Using Focus Groups in Qualitative Research develops practical skills in planning, facilitating and analysing focus groups, helping you generate rich group-based insights through inclusive discussion and confident data interpretation.
This workshop can be delivered as a 2.5-hour webinar or a 3-hour in-person workshop.
Writing a PhD Application
Applying for a PhD in the UK: a step-by-step guide for international students guides international students through the UK PhD application process. It covers how to find programmes, choose supervisors, and write strong proposals. The session suits anyone exploring or preparing to apply for a PhD in the UK.
This workshop is delivered as a 2-hour webinar.
Applying for a PhD in the Social Sciences and Humanities shows how to design a strong proposal, find supervisors, and meet selection criteria. It’s perfect for anyone exploring or applying for a UK PhD in these fields.
This workshop is delivered as a 2-hour webinar.
Standing out as a PhD Applicant: Thinking like a Researcher develops practical skills in evidencing key researcher qualities and crafting a clear, compelling research narrative—helping STEM students communicate their experience, potential and readiness for doctoral-level study.
This workshop can be delivered as a 2.5-hour webinar or a 3-hour in-person workshop.