Personal Branding Workshop

Personal Branding for Scientists: Your Science, Your Story

2-Hour Interactive Workshop, delivered in person at the University of Sheffield for Dr Alex Ramadan’s research group.

Building a confident online presence is essential for early and mid-career researchers, but many struggle with where to start and how to stand out without feeling like they’re “selling themselves.” This hands-on workshop guided participants through creating an authentic personal brand that opens doors to collaborations, speaking opportunities, and career advancement — whether they stay in academia or transition elsewhere.

The biggest challenge many early and mid-career researchers face isn’t a lack of intelligence or hard work — it’s a lack of strategy and confidence in presenting themselves. This workshop helped attendees articulate their value beyond research outputs and communicate it effectively in digital spaces.

What participants walked away with:

1. Clear Career Goals Framework — a structured approach to defining what they actually want from their career (academia, industry, entrepreneurship, advocacy) and how their personal brand should support those specific goals.
2. Personal Brand Statement — a clear, compelling statement capturing who they are, what they do, and what makes them unique — ready to use across all platforms.
3. Platform Selection Strategy — a decision framework for choosing which digital platform (LinkedIn, academic profiles, personal website) best serves their career goals.
4. AI Integration Toolkit — practical prompts and workflows for using AI tools to draft posts, refine messaging, and maintain consistency without losing an authentic voice.
5. 48-Hour Action Plan — concrete, achievable next steps to start building a digital presence immediately after the workshop.

“I have worked with Pranoti both with her as a partner on grant proposals (in a training/science communication capacity) and for her training workshops. She is friendly, has clear communication, and works hard to support you in whatever activity you are undertaking with her. She ran her ‘personal branding for scientists’ workshop for ECRs in my school and it was excellent. Pranoti made organisation of the event easy, she worked with me to tailor the event to our ECRs and to make sure it was as relevant as possible for their needs. I would wholeheartedly recommend her trainings, she is clear, engaging and very knowledgeable. I have since gone on to do her AI for scientists workshop and found it very interesting and helpful. Pranoti is a joy to work with and I would wholeheartedly recommend her.”

— Dr Alex Ramadan, Lecturer in Energy Materials, University of Sheffield