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.
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
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
“Great tools for work and research” – Time Management rates 4.92
PhD students from Ulster University Doctoral College logged on to Fistral’s webinar session Taking Charge of Your Time: Avoid Drifting....
Perfect 5/5 from Liverpool Doctoral College – Time Management training
Fistral welcomed students from the University of Liverpool Doctoral College online for a training session Taking Charge of Your Time:...
ECRs say PM for Researcher training is “Very helpful for developing realistic plans”
Researchers from The University of Exeter Doctoral College joined us for Part 3 of a webinar series Project Management Essentials...
“Useful, relatable and applicable” – Project Management in the Real World rates 4.93
Fistral was welcomed onsite at Loughborough University for a training session Project Management in the Real World (PMRW). The group...
4.83 for PM Essentials for Researchers – staff say “I wish I had taken the course 5 years ago!”
Researcher staff from The University of Exeter once more joined us for Part 2 of a webinar series entitled Project...
“Applicable to my current work” – PM Essentials for Researchers (Part 1)
Researcher staff from The University of Exeter Doctoral College joined us online for Part 1 of a webinar series entitled...
Resilience skills are “Important to successfully navigate the PhD journey” – 5 out of 5 rating
PhD students from Ulster University Doctoral College gave Fistral’s webinar session Build Your Resilience and Take your PhD in your...
“Tailor-made for PhD” – Time Management is “A truly enlightening experience”
Joining us online for a webinar session entitled Keeping on Top of Your PhD: Personal Time Management Strategies were a...
Risk training is “Necessary in our PhD” – Doctoral College student
The third of four training courses in our CAPM professional certification series, Project Risk Management, was delivered onsite to a...
5 out of 5 for CAPM Preparation
Onsite once more at The University of Strathclyde, we delivered Fistral’s CAPM Preparation training course to a group of PhD...
“Useful real-world application” – 4.92 for Risk Management
We welcomed a cohort of PhD students and research staff at all levels from The University of Bath online for...
4.88 for PMRW – “Very useful, especially in the context of research”
Onsite at The University of Strathclyde Teaching and Learning Building, we delivered Fistral’s Project Management in the Real World training...
4.77, “Insightful and relevant to PhD” – Supervisory Relationship training
PhD students at the Doctoral College in the University of Strathclyde joined us online for a webinar entitled Creating a...
“Informative and well-organised” – Intro to PM for research staff and students
A group of research staff and PhDs from The University of Bath joined us online for a training session Introduction...
“Really impactful” – Professional Communication Skills for PhDs
We welcomed a cohort of 1st, 2nd, and 3rd year PhD students from the University of Strathclyde Doctoral College to...
“Best course ever” – 5 out of 5 for Leadership and Teambuilding training
Onsite at The University of Strathclyde, we delivered a training course called Leadership and Teambuilding Techniques. The attendees gave a...
“Really worthwhile – lots of practical tools” – PM Tools for Managing Your Research Project post-award
Joining us onsite for a new training session entitled Project Management Tools for Managing Your Research Project was a group...
“Engaging and useful” – Intro to Project Planning for Doctoral College students
Postgraduate Researchers from The University of Manchester joined us online for Fistral’s Introduction to Project Planning webinar session. The Doctoral...
“Extremely useful for career” – Advanced PM training
Onsite for this session, we welcomed a group of PhD students from the University of Strathclyde, to a training course...
“Perfect for both students and professionals” – Taking Charge of Your Time: Avoid Drifting’ rates 5 out of 5
We welcomed a group of PhD students from the University of Strathclyde Doctoral College online to a webinar entitled Taking...
4.92 for Risk Management – PhDs say “in-depth real-life experiences that help convey the message”
Fistral hosted an onsite training course for Postgraduate Researchers at the University of Strathclyde entitled Risk Management in the Real...
“Great tools to plan PhD” – Part 3 rates 5 out of 5
PhD students at the University of Ulster Doctoral College joined us once more for part three of our four-part Introduction...
Part 2 of Project Planning “Can be applied making the scope of the PhD more digestible”- Doctoral College
A group of PhD students at the University of Ulster joined us once more for part two of our four-part...
“Very applicable to a PhD” – Intro to Project Planning Part 1
We welcomed PhD students at the University of Ulster to part one of our four-part Introduction to Project Planning webinar...
Research staff say PM Techniques for Planning Your Research is “A useful mix of practical skills”
Academic staff at the University of Bristol joined us online for Parts 1 & 2 of a webinar series entitled...
Time Management rates 4.89 – “Engaging and interactive”
We welcomed a group of PhD students from the University of Strathclyde to an onsite training course Keeping on Top...
“Tools to create a PhD plan” – Intro to Project Planning 4.91
PhD students at the University of Strathclyde logged on to Fistral’s Introduction to Project Planning webinar session. The group gave...
“Incredibly helpful” – 4.81 Intro to Project Planning
PhD students at the University of Manchester logged on to a Fistral webinar session Introduction to Project Planning. The group...
“A lot of very useful tips on how to plan a project and even how to deal with supervisors” – Project Management in the Real World
Fistral delivered an onsite training course at the University of Strathclyde, entitled Project Management in the Real World. This is...
“Great techniques to take away” – 4.9 out of 5 from Doctoral College students
Fistral ran an onsite training session for Doctoral Colege students at the University of Manchester entitled Introduction to Project Management....
![“I told [colleagues] that it was the most helpful session the university has run and that it will completely change the way they plan and think about their PhD projects!” – UoManchester](https://www.fistraltraining.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/blog_students_whiteboard-310x170.jpg)
“I told [colleagues] that it was the most helpful session the university has run and that it will completely change the way they plan and think about their PhD projects!” – UoManchester
We met a great group of PhD students onsite at the University of Manchester and delivered a training session, Introduction...
4.92 from research staff and PhDs – Introduction to Project Management
Fistral welcomed a group from the University of Bath to a webinar training session entitled Introduction to Project Management. The...
100% of Space sector staff recommend Time Management Strategies and rate it 4.75 out of 5
A group of staff from LSE Space GmbH and Aurora Technology B.V. logged on to Fistral’s online training course Time...
“Useful introductory session that makes starting a project seem a bit less daunting.” – Undergraduate
A group from the University of Strathclyde Internship Programme logged on to Fistral’s Introduction to Project Management webinar session. The...
“Really useful tips that are simple and clear that can be easily applied to any project or work” – Undergrad Internship Programme
Attendees from the University of Strathclyde Internship Programme joined us online for webinar training providing Project Management Tips for undergraduate...
“Highly recommend and very useful in our job setting” say Uni staff
We enjoyed delivering an onsite training course to a group of staff from across Loughborough University entitled Project Management in...
100% of Space Sector attendees recommend Leadership Skills – 4.75 out of 5
Space sector staff joined us online for a webinar entitled Leadership Skills and Techniques for New Team Leaders. The group...
4.75 for ‘PM Techniques for Planning Your Research’
Research staff at the University of Bristol joined us online for a webinar session entitled Project Management Techniques for Planning...
Agile training at ESTEC was “Very useful learning”
ESA staff attended a Fistral onsite training course entitled Agile Product Delivery An Introduction using SCRUM and gave a feedback...
Space contextualised training – ESTEC staff give Risk 4.70 out of 5
Fistral welcomed a cohort of space sector staff to an onsite training course in Noordwijk called Introduction to Project Risk...
![“I would recommend [this PM training] to anyone in the early stages of a collaborative research project.”](https://www.fistraltraining.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/blog_research_students2-310x170.jpg)
“I would recommend [this PM training] to anyone in the early stages of a collaborative research project.”
Research staff at the University of Bristol logged on to Part Two of Fistral’s Project Management Techniques for Planning Your...
Procrastination Busting techniques are “Really applicable to PhD life”
Fistral ran an online training session Get Unstuck: Procrastination Busting for PhD students from the NINE DTP hosted by the...
Research staff say PM is “Useful, relevant and well delivered”
Staff at the University of Bristol logged on to Part One of Fistral’s Project Management Techniques for Planning Your Research...
Wind Energy CDT give CAPM Prep 4.75
A group from the Centre for Doctoral Training in Wind & Marine Energy Systems & Structures, from both the Universities...
“Very helpful in preparing for CAPM Exam” – Doctoral College PGRs
Postgraduate students at the University of Strathclyde logged on to Fistral’s CAPM Preparation webinar session. The group gave the session...
Project Management in the Real World – CDT gives 5 out of 5
Fistral delivered a 3-day onsite training session called Project Management in the Real World at the University of Exeter –...
“Keeps a steady focus on what you need for successful research project planning and management” – Project Planning for Researchers
Researcher staff at ECR and Mid-Career level at Bournemouth University joined us online for a four-part Project Planning for Research...
“Strategies that can substantially improve our research planning” – Managing Complex Research Projects
Research staff at the University of Warwick joined us for a webinar entitled Advanced Techniques for Managing Complex Research Projects....
ECRs say “I wish I had known about the tools earlier.”
Research staff at the University of Exeter logged on to Part 4 of Fistral’s Project Management Essentials for Researchers webinar...
4.70 for Advanced Project Management
We welcomed a group of Postgraduate Researchers at the University of Strathclyde to an online training session Advanced Project Management....