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Study skills hub

Develop academic and communication skills to help you learn more effectively.

You need strong study skills to succeed throughout your degree. To help you develop, we offer four types of service to suit different learning styles:

  • online learning guides
  • hands-on experience and use of equipment
  • one-to-one support
  • workshops

Where to start

Our Skills Guides are online resources to develop your academic writing, digital skills and more.
Our Subject Guides include Library resources and support for your subject and contact details for your Faculty Librarians.

Common topics

Need more?

One-to-one appointments for academic writing, maths skills, data skills, and study coaching are tailored to your specific needs.
Hire a range of digital tools and equipment from our Creativity Lab.

Forthcoming study and digital skills workshops

Event

Wednesday 14 October 2026 1pm - 2pm

Organiser: Digital Skills & Creativity Lab
Location: online
Open to: Everyone

AI and your future career

Wednesday 14 October 2026 1pm - 2pm

Organiser: Digital Skills & Creativity Lab
Location: online
Open to: Everyone

There has been a lot of talk recently about generative AI (artificial intelligence) and how it might transform our lives. In this session we will take a look at how AI might impact your career. We will offer an introductory overview on the effect AI tools are having on workplace recruitment and selection, and we’ll consider the employer perspective on the use of generative AI. This session will be particularly useful for taught students but is open to anyone at the University.

Skills Guide: Generative AI

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Event

Wednesday 14 October 2026 1.30pm - 3.15pm

Organiser: Academic Skills
Location: LFA/144 Academic Skills workshop room (Harry Fairhurst Building, Campus West)
Open to: Everyone

Confidence to Speak and Listen (COSAL)

Wednesday 14 October 2026 1.30pm - 3.15pm

Organiser: Academic Skills
Location: LFA/144 Academic Skills workshop room (Harry Fairhurst Building, Campus West)
Open to: Everyone

Confidence to Speak and Listen workshops are open to all. They give you the chance to get to know others from different disciplines and to practise communicating. Each time we meet we engage in interactive activities involving your voice, your body and your ears! We discuss confidence from perspectives of both speaker and listener and identify communication strategies to take away and apply in different contexts. To get maximum benefit and build your confidence incrementally, we recommend coming to more than one workshop. These interactive sessions are not recorded. The content is different each time, as it is built by you on the day. Slides are not available.

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Event

Wednesday 14 October 2026 2pm - 3.30pm

Organiser: Digital Skills & Creativity Lab
Location: online
Open to: Everyone

Clay, but digital: Intro to 3D modelling

Wednesday 14 October 2026 2pm - 3.30pm

Organiser: Digital Skills & Creativity Lab
Location: online
Open to: Everyone

Let's explore the world of 3D models. In this introductory online session, we'll quickly share our top tips for getting started with designing and creating a 3D model from scratch. We'll try out out a few tools that let us manipulate a shape, like sculping clay.

Open for everyone, we'll get practical with some easy-to-use free tools to help you get started with modelling your own creations. 3D models are great for 3D printing, using in a virtual environment and sharing ideas. They are also an interesting way to help explain a topic or engage people with your work. Feel free to come along with an idea of your own!

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Event

Thursday 15 October 2026 1pm - 2pm

Organiser: Digital Skills & Creativity Lab
Location: online
Open to: Everyone

Creating Google Forms

Thursday 15 October 2026 1pm - 2pm

Organiser: Digital Skills & Creativity Lab
Location: online
Open to: Everyone

Our Bitesize training session on Google Forms will help guide you through the essentials of creating sleek and effective online surveys. Whether you are brand new to Forms or just looking for a refresher, this session will give you the confidence to craft user-friendly forms with ease!

We will explore topics including:

  • Google Form basics
  • Implementing conditional survey logic
  • Sharing and sending your form securely
  • Real-time data analysis features
  • Navigating advanced form settings

Data: Gathering data

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Event

Friday 16 October 2026 10.30am - 12pm

Organiser: Academic Skills
Location: online
Open to: Everyone

Academic Reading: What It Is and How to Do It

Friday 16 October 2026 10.30am - 12pm

Organiser: Academic Skills
Location: online
Open to: Everyone

Learning to read academic texts more effectively, by reading actively, critically, and purposefully, is the focus of this session. You will also learn strategies to reduce the time you spend reading. Please find related online resources here: https://subjectguides.york.ac.uk/skills/reading

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Event

Friday 16 October 2026 11am - 12pm

Organiser: Academic Skills
Location: online
Open to: Everyone

Using AI in Statistics

Friday 16 October 2026 11am - 12pm

Organiser: Academic Skills
Location: online
Open to: Everyone

Generative AI is increasingly becoming part of the research landscape, offering new ways to support statistical analysis and working with research data. This session considers how AI tools can be used effectively across different aspects of the research process. We will also discuss the limitations of AI-generated results, including considering accuracy, reliability, and the need to question and verify outputs rather than accepting them at face value.

The session will also cover the university’s expectations and guidance around AI use, ensuring responsible practice when incorporating these tools into research and statistical analysis.

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Event

Friday 16 October 2026 1pm - 2pm

Organiser: Digital Skills & Creativity Lab
Location: online
Open to: Everyone

Slicing models to 3D print with Bambu Studio

Friday 16 October 2026 1pm - 2pm

Organiser: Digital Skills & Creativity Lab
Location: online
Open to: Everyone

Slicing is the process of turning a digital 3D model into instructions for a 3D printer. In this session we'll look at the practicalities of how to slice models using Bambu Studio — the software that's used with our Bambu Labs 3D printers in YorCreate. We'll look at how to slice for those printers, and we'll also offer some tips and tricks for getting the best out of your 3D prints.

This session is open to all members of the University, but if you want to try 3D printing using the printers in YorCreate you'll also need to come along to a separate induction.

Skills Guides: YorCreate

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Event

Monday 19 October 2026 12pm - 1.30pm

Organiser: Academic Skills
Location: online
Open to: Everyone

Using Academic Sentences

Monday 19 October 2026 12pm - 1.30pm

Organiser: Academic Skills
Location: online
Open to: Everyone

Academic writing requires a variety of sentence structures to communicate clearly and engage the reader. This workshop will provide you with a range of useful sentence types that you can start using in your own academic writing. Please find related online resources here:https://subjectguides.york.ac.uk/academic-writing/

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Event

Monday 19 October 2026 2pm - 3.30pm

Organiser: Academic Skills
Location: online
Open to: Everyone

Time Management

Monday 19 October 2026 2pm - 3.30pm

Organiser: Academic Skills
Location: online
Open to: Everyone

In this workshop we share tips and tools for organising yourself to enable you to make the best use of time available.

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Event

Tuesday 20 October 2026 2pm - 3pm

Organiser: Academic Skills
Location: online
Open to: Everyone

Choosing the Right Statistical Software for You

Tuesday 20 October 2026 2pm - 3pm

Organiser: Academic Skills
Location: online
Open to: Everyone

This session is designed for those who are unsure which statistical software best suits their research needs. We'll provide a clear, practical comparison of SPSS, R, and Stata, covering core features, accessibility, and pros and cons of each. Whether you're just getting started or considering switching tools, this workshop will help you make an informed choice based on your skills, project type, and long-term goals. We’ll also share helpful resources for getting started with each platform.

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Event

Wednesday 21 October 2026 10.30am - Friday 11 December 2026 12pm

Organiser: Academic Skills
Location: online
Open to: Everyone

Assignment Planning

Wednesday 21 October 2026 10.30am - Friday 11 December 2026 12pm

Organiser: Academic Skills
Location: online
Open to: Everyone

Assignment planning at university involves organising and scheduling the tasks required to complete academic assignments. This workshop covers understanding the assignment requirements, breaking down tasks, setting deadlines, and allocating time effectively to ensure thorough research, writing, and revision.

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Event

Wednesday 21 October 2026 1.30pm - 3.15pm

Organiser: Academic Skills
Location: LFA/144 Academic Skills workshop room (Harry Fairhurst Building, Campus West)
Open to: Everyone

Confidence to Speak and Listen (COSAL)

Wednesday 21 October 2026 1.30pm - 3.15pm

Organiser: Academic Skills
Location: LFA/144 Academic Skills workshop room (Harry Fairhurst Building, Campus West)
Open to: Everyone

Confidence to Speak and Listen workshops are open to all. They give you the chance to get to know others from different disciplines and to practise communicating. Each time we meet we engage in interactive activities involving your voice, your body and your ears! We discuss confidence from perspectives of both speaker and listener and identify communication strategies to take away and apply in different contexts. To get maximum benefit and build your confidence incrementally, we recommend coming to more than one workshop. These interactive sessions are not recorded. The content is different each time, as it is built by you on the day. Slides are not available.

Go to event

Event

Wednesday 21 October 2026 2pm - 4pm

Organiser: Digital Skills & Creativity Lab
Location: LFA/103 Creativity Lab (Harry Fairhurst Building, Campus West)
Open to: Everyone

3D capture with Photogrammetry

Wednesday 21 October 2026 2pm - 4pm

Organiser: Digital Skills & Creativity Lab
Location: LFA/103 Creativity Lab (Harry Fairhurst Building, Campus West)
Open to: Everyone

Have you ever come across a detailed 3D model of a real object and wondered how it was made? In this hands-on session, you’ll discover how a series of standard photographs, combined with some software magic, can be transformed into a 3D digital model—a process known as photogrammetry.

We’ll start by photographing a university sculpture and sharing some top tips for capturing great images. Then, you’ll get a chance to process the photos yourself. Along the way, we’ll explore what to do when things don’t go quite as planned and share helpful tricks to refine and tidy up your model for viewing.

This session will show you how to digitize objects related to your work or study and demonstrate how 3D scans can captivate and engage audiences with the unique aspects of your research or interests.

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Contact us

Contact the Library Help desk with any questions you have about study skills.

Contact the Library