Is this course right for me?

Target Audience: All staff

This is an online event.

Following a highly successful kick-off event in December 2025, the Power Hour of Writing (PHOW) is here to stay! PHOW will take place online monthly, with occasional in-person events. This is a chance for researchers to write distraction-free, build community, and celebrate progress together.

"This was great for a full productive hour of writing!" - anonymous, Dec 2025.

"It put me in such a productive mindset which lasted the rest of the day!" - anonymous, Dec 2025.

The Power Hour of Writing was created by Dr Stephanie Zihms, currently at Glasgow Caledonian University, and is designed to help researchers carve out protected time for writing, foster a sense of community, and celebrate progress together. This hour is yours to write without distractions, whether you’re drafting a grant proposal, editing a report/article, or finishing your thesis. 

For more information about the Power Hour of Writing, see their website. 

This is a joint initiative between the Researcher Development Teams for postgraduate researchers and research staff to foster a supportive and inclusive environment.

The evidence it works 

Dr Stephanie Zihms (Glasgow Caledonian University) and Dr Clare Reid Mackie (University of the West of Scotland) found that researchers attending the Power Hour of Writing reported greater writing-related confidence, an improved sense of belonging within academic communities, and felt the initiative enabled them to legitimise time writing (Zihms and Mackie, 2023).  

Event details 

Day: The last Friday of each month

Time: 9.30 – 10.50

Location: Online

Agenda: 10 min goal setting, 1 hour writing, 10 min share progress

References 

Zihms, S.G. and Mackie, C.R., 2023. The Power Hour of Writing: An empirical evaluation of our online writing community. Journal of Academic Writing, 13(1), pp.22-34

This event will run monthly.

Accessibility

For online activity:

·       The session will take place on Teams.

·       There will be audience participation

·       You can keep your camera off 

·       You can drop into the session 

·       There will not be a break 

·       The session is relaxed – this means you can stretch, move around, stim etc.

·       Please contact osdu-equity@strath.ac.uk to discuss any further access requirements

Prerequisites

Cancellation Policy

When applying for a course, you should note that there will be a £50* charge to your Department / School if you do not attend your place on the course. There will be no charge as long as you cancel your booked place before the event or notify our staff at osdu@strath.ac.uk that you can no longer attend.

A Department / School is welcome to send someone else in your place if they wish without incurring a charge, providing that person has the necessary prerequisites for the course. In the case of courses split over more than one day, you are expected to attend ALL parts of the course.

*This is the standard charge for cancellation or non-attendance of a course of 1-day duration or less. For some courses, there may be a higher cancellation charge and if this is the case you will be advised of this at the time of booking.