Who: 1st Year Physics PhD students. All SEPnet Departments expect all new students to attend.

When: 23 October 2019, 10:15-17:30

Where: Park Crescent Conference Centre, 229 Great Portland Street, London, W1W 5PN.

What: A one day introduction to GRADnet to learn more about opportunities, to meet fellow researchers from across the network and to participate in two out of four short workshops designed to get you started in key areas of activity. Students are to sign up for two workshops on arrival and attend one in the morning and one in the afternoon.

  • Getting your research published: This workshop will explain the steps necessary to take the results of your research through to a published paper. Led by “insiders” from IOP Publishing, it will explain what makes a good paper and why some authors succeed while others do not.
  • Python: Python is a widely used and highly versatile scripting language. It can be used in many capacities within science, especially data analysis/processing, plotting, statistics and simulation and is used extensively throughout science and industry. Furthermore, the skills and abilities acquired through learning any programming language are applicable to other languages, making subsequent transitions easier. Python acts as an ideal starting point, balancing difficulty, utility and widely applicable concepts.
  • Science communications skills: Want to explore ways of sharing your research with many different audiences? It is now more important than ever to be able to communicate with non-specialist groups. Whether it’s a public talk in a pub, writing in your department blog, doing some stand-up comedy, writing a popular science article or simply standing on a box on a street corner, this session will get you started. Outside research the ability to clearly communicate technical details to all sorts of partners will be an asset on any CV. The skills you learn on the day can be put in practice through the many science communication opportunities offered in your department and across the region.
  • Understanding software for research: This workshop introduces computing concepts necessary to support your research. You can find out more about the types of national computing facilities available and the programming languages used to produce quality research. The workshop offers a general understanding of computing with an introduction to parallel computing along with practical tools and techniques that will help you write and maintain better code more efficiently.

Please note from 16:00-17:30 DISCnet (Data Intensive Science Centre) will be giving delegates an introduction to the training available to SEPnet PhD students, followed by a Q&A session with current DISCnet PhD students and a taster session based on DataCamp activities. (https://www.datacamp.com)

Numbers: This event is mandatory at all SEPnet partner Departments for new PGRs. Circa 100 students are expected to attend.

Students are to sign up for two workshops on arrival and attend one in the morning and one in the afternoon.

Travel expenses are covered by your department. Transport to the venue can be arranged through your local GRADnet Administrator if there are sufficient numbers.

Register here. Registration deadline is 16 October 2019.