The 2022 Student Summit, the second in the annual series, was held at the Henry Royce Institute for advanced materials (Royce) on 13-14 September.
Day 1 included an overview of the Royce, its facilities, and the purpose of the Summit provided by Dr Ania Jolly, Head of Research and Business and Engagement, and CEO Professor Dave Knowles. Aims included widening students’ perspectives beyond their PhD/EngD topic, bringing together groups of students who would not normally come into contact through their research, and giving them practice in an intense, time-limited activity.
A group of PhD Students attending the Royce Student Summit 2022
Professor Alex Cowan, University of Liverpool, then presented the linked themes of energy and transport, focussing primarily on hydrogen, renewables, storage, and the challenges faced in developing these sectors.
Finally, a grand total of 26 PhD researchers gave fantastic presentations on their specialist topics, ranging from nuclear fusion and batteries to composites and 2D materials.
Hydrogen Sandpits
Day 2 consisted of a research sandpit-style workshop, addressing the use of hydrogen in transport in three sessions, related to the specialist areas of academia, government and policy, and industry. One of the documents at the core of this process was last year’s Royce roadmap on “Materials for end-to-end hydrogen”. Each workshop session was led by an expert in their respective field – Alex Cowan, Laura Cohen, and Alexander de Bruin – and the PhD students had several hours to prepare slides addressing a range of questions. They were encouraged to consult the experts, and to discuss the topic outside their breakout groups to enhance the crosscutting process.
Students break out into sandpits at the Royce Student Summit 2022
George Miller, Student Engagement Manager, Henry Royce Institute commented:
“This year’s Student Summit was a great chance to bring together PhD researchers who may not yet have had the opportunity to present their research in-person, and experience the atmosphere of an in-person meeting. It also let us show off the Royce Hub Building and use it for a conference setting for the first time, a purpose which I’m sure it will be used more for in the future. Those who participated in the Summit, both students and mentors, had a fantastic time and I’m looking forward to running similar events next year.”
This year’s animated Summit closed with a presentation by each of the sandpit leads, summarising the points discussed, and a well-received overview of the impact of Equality, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) and Social Science on the Natural Sciences by Dr Chrissi McCarthy.
Royce would like to wholeheartedly thank the many people involved in the success of the Summit, including the speakers, panellists, sandpit organisers, poster presenters, and the events team.
Students break out into sandpits at the Royce Student Summit 2022
