We work together with our customers to define what they actually need – rather than developing something that may or may not directly address their requirements.

"In the five years the University of Strathclyde have engaged the services of Fistral, we’ve worked in partnership to tailor provision which specifically meets the needs of our industry-facing researchers. Year on year, the number of qualified project managers coming through the CAPM programme has increased as a result of its positive reputation and it’s demonstrable benefits within academia and other sectors."

Researcher Development Manager, University of Strathclyde 29th August 2018

"The company is professional and my dealings with [Fistral] in the summer with regard to the re-design of the programme were very positive from my perspective. I liked [their] flexibility and commitment to working with us on a new approach."

Postgraduate Researcher Development Programme Manager, Queen’s University Belfast 29th August 2018

"Excellent course – one of the most useful I have been on. I would recommend it for any PhD student”

PhD Student, Queens University Belfast 29th August 2018

"Very good course based on lecturer's experience."

Research staff, University of Bath 29th August 2018

"A very enjoyable and valuable course."

Research staff, University of Bath 29th August 2018

"We’ve now doubled the number of CAPM deliveries a year in response to growing demand, and it’s fast become one of the most popular and highly valued courses offered as part of the Researcher Development Programme."

Researcher Development Manager, University of Strathclyde 25th August 2018

"Brilliant, fascinating, concise. Well lectured. Learned a lot!"

Staff member, Loughborough University 29th August 2018

"Very well delivered. Great structure and content. Would recommend to colleagues”

Staff member, NHS Health Scotland 29th August 2018

"I feel that the university has invested in me! In that hiring a professional company as well as having such an experienced and excellent presenter. Money well spent!!"

Research staff, University of Aberdeen 29th August 2018

"Excellent tutor. Was able to make project management accessible."

EngD Student, University of Manchester 25th August 2018

"This has to be the most useful and enjoyable course that I have attended. I love the structure of course with lots of practical involvement in exercises working in teams. This is in stark contrast to most of the courses I have attended with PowerPoint slide after slide. I feel that I now want to use what I have learned and put to use asap."

Staff member, University College Cork 29th August 2018

"Extensive, complex information presented in a relaxed, humorous manner which made it relevant and understandable. Well pitched. Well done!”

PhD Student, University of Stirling 29th August 2018

"Very knowledgeable instructor and good sense of humour to create a positive, relaxed working environment. Very useful and will certainly use the material covered."

Student, University of Strathclyde 29th August 2018

"We’ve now doubled the number of CAPM deliveries a year in response to growing demand, and it’s fast become one of the most popular and highly valued courses offered as part of the Researcher Development Programme."

Researcher Development Manager, University of Strathclyde 29th August 2018

"We recently worked with Fistral to create a new Consultancy Skills course for our organisation. They offered a friendly, professional service and bring a wealth of knowledge to their course creations."

Staff Development Manager, NHS National Services Scotland, Information Services Division 29th August 2018

"I'll use Risk evaluation techniques in my research."

Risk participant, University of Aberdeen 29th August 2018

"Very well delivered. [The trainer's] engagement with the students and material very impressive and leant sustained interest by students”

NHS Health Scotland 29th August 2018

"Tools that can be applied to real work and interactions, actual examples for situations that you wouldn't think about normally, kept attention throughout."

EngD student, University of Manchester 29th August 2018

"I can’t thank you enough for the opportunity to take the classes and the exam. I have always been keen on project management and a qualification is the icing on the cake!”

Successful CAPM Delegate, University of Ulster 29th August 2018

"Very good course - I am keen to apply this learning in my place of work and have realised that the biggest problem in my team is me giving out concepts, not projects."

Staff member, NHS Health Scotland 29th August 2018

"Very useful. Made [the] subject seem much easier than I've previously been taught. Good use of personal experience."

Staff member, AFRC 29th August 2018

"I feel this course is really useful to the researcher and others who are beginners in their career."

Staff member, AFRC 29th August 2018

"I expected it to be dull and irrelevant and was pleasantly surprised as it was relevant and practical and high quality."

CAPM participant, University of Strathclyde 29th August 2018

"Will apply tools to my own role, gives me greater understanding of wider project management principles."

Staff member, Scottish Qualifications Authority 29th August 2018

"Really interesting and applicable to industry. Would consider making the course compulsory for all knowledge exchange project personnel."

CAPM participant, University of Strathclyde 25th August 2018

"This should be made compulsory to all PhD students/Research staff."

Research staff, University of Aberdeen 29th August 2018

Fistral Consultancy

Fistral provides management consultancy internationally to organisations across all sectors: from SMEs to blue-chip companies, local government to global public sector organisations, academic organisations to industry partners. The Fistral team focus on identifying the root cause of a problem and then work with the customer to develop the best method of addressing it, with a solution that works and importantly, will stick.

Areas of expertise include, but are not limited to: Improving Projects; Designing Training; and Motivating People. Engagements are often complimented with training, seminars, masterclasses, workshops, 1:1 or group sessions, mentoring and remote (e.g. Skype) support to ensure meaningful and sustainable change.

Improving Projects

Project Management is at the heart of what we do, so it is no surprise that Fistral has extensive expertise supporting traditional project management phases such as:

  • Project Initiation
  • Planning for New or Existing Projects

as well as specialising in:

  • Project Audits
  • Monitoring & Project Control
  • Project Recovery – including troubleshooting
  • Independent Risk Review
  • Project Review & Evaluation
  • Lessons Learned Capture

Designing Training

Using almost 30 years’ industry experience and circa 20 years in the academic sector, Fistral has a wealth of expertise in:

  • Designing Courses & Programmes
  • Designing Training & Lecturing
  • Course Evaluation
  • Aligning Courses to Professional Certification (PMI, ILM, CMI, Chartered status etc)

to provide cohesive and effective approaches to designing, developing and implementing:

  • Integrated Training Courses & Staff Development Programmes

Motivating People

In addition to our coaching and mentoring support, customers working with new or existing teams often opt for bespoke consultancy or group workshops on softer skills such as:

  • Improved Team Work
  • Motivation
  • Communication
  • Improving Customer Service
  • Change Management

which can be underpinned by:

  • Certified DiSC® Professional User Expertise and/or
  • Individual, Team, or Leadership Behavioural Profiling as appropriate

Supporting Missions

We are often asked to apply our 10+yrs experience in the Space Sector to partner on live project outputs for missions such as ATHENA and JUICE. E.g. in:

  • Early Stage Planning
  • Facilitated Phase 0-Phase B  Risk Assessment Workshops
  • Mission-Specific Bespoke Training Development

as well as specialising in:

  • Agile Product Development during development & operations phases
  • Project Schedule & Control
  • Effective Team Working & Leadership in challenging situations or with difficult behaviours
Fistral Training & Consultancy - Lecturer & Research Students

Consultancy Examples

The consultancy examples below show how we use extensive industry and academic experience to help and support: kick-starting new projects; improving existing projects; monitoring, reviewing and/or auditing projects; engaging and motivating staff; supporting change in organisations; conducting training needs analysis; evaluating programmes and courses; and designing, developing and delivering new training and programmes using a cohesive and effective approach to implementation of integrated into staff and researcher development programmes.

  • Providing guidance on best-practice application of project/programme management techniques for a large European-funded network of 450+ members working together across 25+ countries
  • Team development workshops for departments undergoing change and restructure in HEIs
  • Leadership workshops linked to gender equality for women in technology.
  • Personal effectiveness workshops for BME researchers
  • Workshops and mentoring sessions for staff managing strategic projects in Universities
  • Masterclasses, mentoring and bespoke workshops for Universities and UK Catapult organisations
  • Advising on a standardised approach to planning and implementing projects to align with Strategic Planning deliverables
  • Independent evaluation of a European-funded project supporting partners in 21 European countries
  • Developing a Project and Programme Capability Development Model for the Portfolio Management Office of one the biggest public sector organisations in Scotland
  • Developing and delivering a Leadership and Management Programme for ECRs and MCAs working at one of the top 200 young Universities in the world.
  • Bespoke seminars – in Risk Management, Offshore-Wind and Renewables Energy
  • Dovetailing internal and external training approaches to ensure a consistent, integrated, approach to training and staff development programmes
  • Project audits for blue-chip companies in Europe
  • Advice on customisation of templates for Project Management and Risk Management based on best-practice
  • Development of a plan for creating a Competency Development Framework and Portfolio Maturity Model
  • Organising and sponsoring the National CanSat Competition 2012
  • Bespoke Risk workshops for European teams working on satellite missions
  • Development of Project Management role descriptions, skills and competencies

For Customer Comments see Testimonials

“Very useful and applicable” – King’s College London feedback

“Very useful and applicable” – King’s College London feedback

PhD students at King's College London logged on to Fistral’s Take Charge of Your Time and Your Research: Time Management...

“Learned how to better manage my time during PhD” – University of Strathclyde feedback

“Learned how to better manage my time during PhD” – University of Strathclyde feedback

We welcomed PhD sudents at the University of Strathclyde onsite for our training course Keeping on Top of Your PhD:...

“Widely applicable” – University of Winchester feedback

“Widely applicable” – University of Winchester feedback

A cohort of PhD students at the University of Winchester joined us online for our training course Making Your Case:...

“Something for everyone” – Ulster University feedback

“Something for everyone” – Ulster University feedback

A cohort of PhD students at Ulster University joined us online the fourth and final part of Fistral’s Introduction to...

“Provided tools I can implement now” – Ulster University feedback

“Provided tools I can implement now” – Ulster University feedback

A cohort of PhD students at Ulster University joined us online for the third part of Fistral’s Introduction to Project...

“Important in Project Planning” – Ulster University feedback

“Important in Project Planning” – Ulster University feedback

A cohort of PhD students at Ulster University logged on to part 2 of Fistral’s Introduction to Project Planning training...

“Very useful and reassuring for first year PhD student” – Ulster University feedback

“Very useful and reassuring for first year PhD student” – Ulster University feedback

A group of PhD students at Ulster University logged on to part 1 of our Introduction to Project Planning training...

“A very useful way to start my PhD” – University of Strathclyde PGR feedback

“A very useful way to start my PhD” – University of Strathclyde PGR feedback

We welcomed PGR’s at the University of Strathclyde online to our Introduction to Project Management webinar training course and they...

“A useful reminder of good habits” – University of Winchester PGR

“A useful reminder of good habits” – University of Winchester PGR

A group of PGRs at the University of Winchester logged on to our Take Charge of Your Time and Prioritise...

“Super helpful for research life” – Technische Universität Berlin feedback

“Super helpful for research life” – Technische Universität Berlin feedback

We welcomed a group of PGR's onsite at the Technische Universität Berlin to Fistral's Build Your Resilience & Take your...

“Practical tools to better manage PhD” – University of Strathclyde feedback

“Practical tools to better manage PhD” – University of Strathclyde feedback

We joined PhD students in Glasgow at the University of Strathclyde for Fistral’s Project Management in the Real World training...

“Engaging and practical” – 4.93 from Loughborough University Staff

“Engaging and practical” – 4.93 from Loughborough University Staff

Staff from Loughborough University welcomed us onsite for our Project Management in the Real World training session. The group gave...

“Useful to learn how to organise a project to completion” – CAPM programme rates 4.86 at University of Bath

“Useful to learn how to organise a project to completion” – CAPM programme rates 4.86 at University of Bath

A mix of research staff and PhDs from the University of Bath logged on to Fistral’s CAPM Preparation training session....

“Giving and receiving difficult feedback” training – rated Very Good by LSE Space Staff

“Giving and receiving difficult feedback” training – rated Very Good by LSE Space Staff

LSE Space staff joined Fistral onsite for our training, Giving and Receiving Difficult Feedback: A Practice-Based Workshop. LSE is an...

“Very engaging & interactive“ – stress management at University of Warwick

“Very engaging & interactive“ – stress management at University of Warwick

The second of two groups of researchers from Warwick Medical School joined us onsite at the University of Warwick for...

“Another great course!” – University of Warwick staff feedback

“Another great course!” – University of Warwick staff feedback

The first of two groups of research staff joined us onsite at The University of Warwick for Fistral’s Handling Academic...

“It will absolutely help me in my work going forward” – University College Cork staff rate PM 4.82

“It will absolutely help me in my work going forward” – University College Cork staff rate PM 4.82

The first of two groups of staff at University College Cork joined us onsite recently for Fistral’s Successfully Planning &...

“Engaging, useful, and practical” – University College Cork staff

“Engaging, useful, and practical” – University College Cork staff

The second of two groups of staff at University College Cork joined us onsite for Fistral’s Successfully Planning & Managing...

“Useful and transferable skills” – University of Strathclyde feedback

“Useful and transferable skills” – University of Strathclyde feedback

PhD students University of Strathclyde joined us onsite in Glasgow for Fistral’s CAPM Preparation training session. The group gave it...

“Good mix of theory and application” – Leadership for University of Strathclyde PhDs

“Good mix of theory and application” – Leadership for University of Strathclyde PhDs

PhD students University of Strathclyde logged on to Fistral’s Leadership and Teambuilding Techniques webinar training session. The group gave it...

“Recommended for all new Managers” – PM Principles for the Space sector

“Recommended for all new Managers” – PM Principles for the Space sector

Space staff welcomed Fistral onsite at ESTEC for our training course, Project Management Principles – Level 1. The group gave...

5 out of 5 score for PM training – University of Strathclyde

5 out of 5 score for PM training – University of Strathclyde

Fistral welcomed PhD students at the University of Strathclyde onsite in Glasgow for our Advanced Project Management course. The group...

“Useful for Planning PhD” – University of Strathclyde PhD Student

“Useful for Planning PhD” – University of Strathclyde PhD Student

Onsite in Glasgow at the University of Strathclyde, Fistral welcomed a cohort of PhD students on our Project Risk Management...

“Very practical and applicable” – Advanced PM rates 4.93 from University of Bath

“Very practical and applicable” – Advanced PM rates 4.93 from University of Bath

A mix of research staff and PhDs from the University of Bath logged on to Fistral’s Advanced Project Management webinar...

“Effective and realistic” – University of Winchester staff

“Effective and realistic” – University of Winchester staff

Staff from the University of Winchester logged on to Fistral’s Influencing Skills for Leaders of Research Teams webinar course and...

“Very useful, easy to use tools” – University of Winchester staff

“Very useful, easy to use tools” – University of Winchester staff

Research staff from the University of Winchester logged on to Fistral’s Handling Academic Rejection webinar. The group gave the training...

“Invaluable techniques when planning a project” – Loughborough University staff

“Invaluable techniques when planning a project” – Loughborough University staff

We joined staff onsite at Loughborough University to deliver our Project Management in the Real World training course and they...

“Practical things I can use straight away” – University of Winchester staff feedback

“Practical things I can use straight away” – University of Winchester staff feedback

Research staff from the University of Winchester logged on to Fistral's webinar entitled Getting Unstuck: Procrastination Busting Techniques. The group...

“I can apply this in a number of different scenarios” – University of Bath feedback

“I can apply this in a number of different scenarios” – University of Bath feedback

PhDs from the University of Bath logged on to our Introduction to Risk Management webinar session. The group gave the...

“Really applicable to a PhD project” – University of Strathclyde PhD student

“Really applicable to a PhD project” – University of Strathclyde PhD student

We were joined onsite in Glasgow by PhD students at the University of Strathclyde for Fistral’s Project Management in the...

“Practical and applicable tools” – University of Winchester Research Staff

“Practical and applicable tools” – University of Winchester Research Staff

We were joined onsite by research staff at the University of Winchester for Fistral’s Releasing Your Leadership & Teambuilding Potential...

“Should be mandatory across agency” – Space staff feedback for Risk Management

“Should be mandatory across agency” – Space staff feedback for Risk Management

Space staff welcomed Fistral onsite at ESTEC for our training course, Introduction to Project Risk Management and rated it 4.6...

“Very applicable and lots of examples” – research staff at University of Winchester

“Very applicable and lots of examples” – research staff at University of Winchester

We were joined onsite by research staff at the University of Winchester for Fistral’s Project Management Techniques for New &...

“Interesting and relevant” – University of Strathclyde PGR

“Interesting and relevant” – University of Strathclyde PGR

PGR’s from the University of Strathclyde logged on to Fistral’s Advanced Project Management webinar session. The group gave the training...

Agile Mindset is “Hands-on as well as eye-opening” – Space staff feedback

Agile Mindset is “Hands-on as well as eye-opening” – Space staff feedback

ESA staff joined Fistral onsite in ESOC for our training course; Introducing an Agile Mindset What’s In It For Me?...

“Manage projects for the better” – ASPIRE Programme attendee from Sheffield Hallam University

“Manage projects for the better” – ASPIRE Programme attendee from Sheffield Hallam University

A group of PhD students from the ASPIRE Programme, Sheffield Hallam University logged on to Fistral’s Project Management: 5 Key...

5 out of 5 rating for CAPM Training from CDT

5 out of 5 rating for CAPM Training from CDT

PhD students at the University of Manchester iCAT Centre for Doctoral Training logged on to Fistral’s CAPM Preparation training course....

“Helps break down planning of PhD” – University of Bath

“Helps break down planning of PhD” – University of Bath

We were joined online by PhD students at The University of Bath for Fistral’s Introduction to Project Management training course....

“Everyone working on a project should complete this course” – Loughborough University Staff

“Everyone working on a project should complete this course” – Loughborough University Staff

We welcomed staff onsite at Loughborough University to Fistral’s Project Management in the Real World training course, and they gave...

“Very useful for our work” – 4.8 for Schedule Control at ESTEC

“Very useful for our work” – 4.8 for Schedule Control at ESTEC

ESTEC staff welcomed Fistral back onsite for our training course, Schedule Control. The attendees rated the training 4.8 out of...

“Lots of interesting techniques learned” – Manchester CDT

“Lots of interesting techniques learned” – Manchester CDT

PhD students at the University of Manchester iCAT Centre for Doctoral Training joined us onsite for Fistral’s Project Management in...

“Gives a new point of view” – LSE Space staff feedback

“Gives a new point of view” – LSE Space staff feedback

LSE Space staff joined Fistral onsite for our Team Leader Training. The attendees rated the training 4.5 out of 5...

“Head and shoulders above other providers” – University of Strathclyde PGR

“Head and shoulders above other providers” – University of Strathclyde PGR

We welcomed PGR’s onsite at the University of Strathclyde to our Risk Management in the Real World training course and...

 5 out of 5 for CAPM training – University of Strathclyde PGRs

 5 out of 5 for CAPM training – University of Strathclyde PGRs

We joined PGR’s from the University of Strathclyde onsite in Glasgow to deliver Fistral's CAPM Preparation training. This training is...

“Course is valuable for anyone performing development or PM within the Space industry”

“Course is valuable for anyone performing development or PM within the Space industry”

ESA staff welcomed Fistral onsite to ESTEC for our training course; Project Management Principles - Level 2. The group gave...

“Useful for PhD planning” – University of Strathclyde PGR feedback

“Useful for PhD planning” – University of Strathclyde PGR feedback

A cohort of PGR’s from the University of Strathclyde logged on to our Introduction to Project Planning training course and...

Time Management provided “Useful tips” for LSE Space staff

Time Management provided “Useful tips” for LSE Space staff

Staff from LSE Space logged on to Fistral’s training webinar entitled Time Management: Prioritisation and rated the session Very Good....

4.93 rating for Maximising your PhD Performance training

4.93 rating for Maximising your PhD Performance training

PhD students from the ASPIRE programme joined us onsite at Sheffield Hallam University for Fristral’s Maximising Your PhD Performance Using...

“Project management made simple” – University of the West of England attendee

“Project management made simple” – University of the West of England attendee

Fistral travelled to Bristol to the University of the West of England to deliver our Project Management for Researchers training....

“A good foundation for learning Project Management” – Space staff

“A good foundation for learning Project Management” – Space staff

Fistral were welcomed to ESTEC to deliver our training course; Project Management Principles - Level 1. The group gave the...