On 8 February 2024, the Henry Royce Institute hosted its second ‘Rising Stars in Materials Science’ event at the Royce Hub in Manchester. The event focused on celebrating and supporting outstanding talents within underrepresented groups in Materials Science through a series of career skills workshops and talks.
The organising team behind Rising Stars is an inter-university group of researchers, consisting of Dr Alexandra Ramadan (University of Sheffield); Dr Katie Shanks (University of Exeter); Dr Jess Wade (Imperial College London) and Dr Lucy Whalley (Northumbria University). The event brought together researchers and industry professionals to deliver talks and workshops with the aim of fostering the talent of early career PhD students and Postdoctoral Research Associates from traditionally underrepresented groups in materials science.
Organiser Dr Lucy Whalley of Northumbria University said:
“After the success of our first Rising Stars event in 2023, we had high expectations for the repeat this year. It didn’t disappoint – we were over-subscribed, and the room was full of people having conversations that I don’t hear happening elsewhere. We hope that after the event participants have some additional strategies for tackling the challenges often faced by early career researchers, and have made supportive connections. We’re looking forward now to the next one in 2025.”
Forty participants from Materials Science and Engineering backgrounds were selected to join the Rising Stars event from across the UK and, with funding made available by Royce to cover travel, accommodation, and caring responsibilities for all delegates to aid accessibility.
The unique programme of career skills guidance and community building networking opportunities kicked off with a panel discussion featuring experts from academia and industry. Panellists Dr Alex Ramadan (University of Sheffield, Chair), Dr Alice Pyne (University of Sheffield), Dr Maddison Coke (The University of Manchester), Dr Jennifer MacDonald (The Royal Society), Joe Willis (Department of Science Innovation and Technology) and Dr Lucy Whalley (Northumbria University) each provided their advice on job searching and provided insights from recent successes in their career paths.
A series of workshops followed to promote the development of essential research skills including a policy discussion with DSIT, a talk with EPSRC on sustainability and a CV clinic.
Dr George Miller, Student Engagement Manager for the Henry Royce Institute said:
“Being able to host and now fund the Rising Stars event for another year has been a great experience, and it was fantastic to see some of the researchers who have participated in other Royce activities there on the day. Watching them engage with the sessions and networking with each other is real positive for the early-stage researcher community, and predicts a bright future for materials research.”
Feedback from participants was overwhelmingly positive, with praise for the transferrable skills taught throughout the programme and the supportive community atmosphere present.
Planning for a future programme of Rising Stars events is now underway and registrations of interest can be made on the Rising Stars website. If you are interested in sponsoring or participating in a future event, please contact the organisers directly.
The 2024 ‘Rising Stars in Materials Science’ event was sponsored by the Henry Royce Institute.
