Category: Research students

Finding calm and connection through pottery painting: ECR Community Fund – DIDE PhD Student Social Pottery

by Kate Turpie, PhD Student, School of Public Health

On Tuesday 5 May 2026, students from the Department of Infectious Disease and Epidemiology (DIDE) gathered for a wellbeing-focused pottery painting social. The two-hour session invited PhD students to step away from their research and enjoy an evening of creativity, conversation, and relaxation together.

Hosted at a local pottery studio, the event gave students the opportunity to paint and personalise their own pottery pieces, which would later be glazed and fired in the kiln to take home. Alongside light snacks and lemonade, the session created a calm and welcoming atmosphere where students could connect outside of their usual academic environment.

The aim of the social was to encourage students across DIDE to network and bond over the shared experiences of the PhD journey. For many of us, it was also a valuable opportunity to pause, unwind, and spend time engaging in something entirely different from our everyday research work.

Although I had tried pottery before, I had never experienced it in a social setting. Walking into the studio, I was immediately drawn to the wide variety of pottery pieces lining the shelves. There were traditional plates and bowls, but also more unique and artistic pieces, including elegant vases shaped like human heads, panda-shaped ornaments, and owl mugs. The collection felt both creative and playful, and it took me quite a while to decide what to paint. In the end, I chose a simple plate, thinking it would be the most practical piece for me to use during lunch breaks at the department.

 

Once everyone settled around the table, the atmosphere quickly became calm and comforting. Conversations flowed naturally while everyone focused on painting their pottery. After spending most days immersed in mathematical models, research papers, and screens, it was refreshing to concentrate on something entirely creative. The quiet sounds of paint pots opening, brushes gliding across ceramic surfaces, and occasional laughter created a peaceful environment that felt very different from the intensity of everyday PhD life.

 

What I enjoyed most was how naturally the activity encouraged connection. Without the pressure of formal networking or academic discussion, students were able to relax and simply enjoy each other’s company. It reminded me how important it is to create spaces where postgraduate students can slow down and support their wellbeing alongside their research.

The pottery social was a simple but meaningful reminder of the importance of balance during postgraduate study. Research can often feel intense and isolating, particularly when much of the day is spent working independently in front of a laptop. Having the opportunity to step away from that environment, engage in a creative activity, and share lighthearted conversations with fellow PhD students felt incredibly refreshing.

I also appreciated leaving with something tangible that captured the experience. When I eventually use the plate during lunch at SPH, I know it will remind me of the creativity of the evening and the enjoyable time spent with fellow students.

We would like to thank Early Career Researcher Institute (ECRI) for funding our DIDE social.

Mindful Scientific Writing Workshop

by Vivienne Groner, Research Associate in Microclimate Modelling, Department of Life Sciences 

Writing sits at the heart of academic life. It is how we shape ideas, apply for funding,
progress in our careers, and share our work with the world. Yet for many of us, writing
feels heavy – something to squeeze in between experiments, meetings, and deadlines.
It is rarely taught as a skill to be practised mindfully or sustainably; more often, it is
something we dread, delay, or approach under pressure. In an increasingly competitive
academic environment, writing can all too easily become a source of stress, burnout,
and self-doubt.

This day-to-day struggle was the motivation behind organising the Mindful Scientific
Writing Workshop on 21 January 2026, generously supported by the Early Career
Research Institute (ECRI) Postgraduate Community Fund. I had previously attended
Ana Pineda’s writing workshops and found them genuinely transformative – not only for
my productivity, but for my relationship with writing itself. Wanting more people to
benefit from this approach, I aimed to create space for Early Career Researchers at
Imperial to step away from the pressure of “just producing words” and instead reflect
on how we write, why we struggle, and how more sustainable and fun habits might be
developed.

The workshop combined a one-hour live-streamed session led by Ana with a two-hour
facilitated group writing session. Ana brought warmth, honesty, and a refreshing
perspective on scientific writing, one rooted in focus, self-compassion, and clarity
rather than perfectionism. As a researcher turned yoga teacher and mindful scientific
writing coach, Ana hits the spot in understanding and supporting scientists in their
writing struggles. She shared practical strategies for managing time, energy, and
cognitive load while still making meaningful progress on writing projects that often feel
overwhelming.

Rainy weather didn’t deter a small, highly engaged group from attending in person at
Silwood Park, alongside an active online presence. The workshop was interactive, with
participants contributing questions and reflections in real time through phone chat and
Microsoft Teams. The resulting atmosphere supported meaningful discussion and more
individualised engagement.

Several participants stayed on after the workshop to continue conversations and write
together, keeping the creative momentum alive. The atmosphere remained relaxed and
supportive (fuelled by a good amount of biscuits) – a reminder that writing does not have
to be a solitary or stressful activity.

I left the workshop with several insights that have stayed with me. A few favourites
included: starting your manuscript with the last paragraph of the introduction; changing
the font colour to white for 15 minutes to prevent over-editing while drafting; and going
for a mindful walk when feeling stuck, using the return journey to think gently but
deliberately about what comes next. Perhaps most importantly, we discussed energy –
how finishing a piece of writing often leaves a sense of emptiness, and how this “void”
is not failure but a necessary pause before new ideas can emerge.

The biggest takeaway for me and for the other participants was a shift in perspective.
Writing is not something separate from our scientific identity; it is how our science
exists in the world. The sooner we allow ourselves to see writing as a practice rather
than a performance, the kinder and more sustainable it becomes. And on difficult days,
it helps to remember that sometimes all you need is a coffee shop, a comfortable chair,
and permission to pretend you’re Hemingway for an hour.

If you missed the workshop or want to learn more about being a mindful scientist,
check out Ana’s website (ifocusandwrite.com); she offers free resources and runs
regular free workshops and bootcamps on mindful writing, productivity and getting
funded. For more advanced and adventurous researchers, you might be interested in
the ‘Thriving scientist’ course.

IGHI PhD Christmas Social 2025

by Tricia Tay, Clinical Research Fellow, Department of Surgery & Cancer

We would like to thank Early Career Researcher Institute for funding our Christmas social. The original plan was to a research presentation where we provide updates of our PhDs in the morning to the group followed by lunch in a nearby café. We applied for funding for the lunch. However, our supervisor cancelled the research meeting after we had obtained funding.

Our team went ahead with the lunch and shared informally updates of our PhDs and lives in 2025. Our team of 18 PhD and Clinical Research Fellows work across various campuses including White City, St Mary’s and South Kensington. This is our first successful Christmas social lunch. We voted to eat at Bondi Green in Paddington. We shared life updates, highlights of our year, top tips for a successful PhD from final year students for first and second-year PhD candidates. Thank you ECRI team for this funding.

Student seminar series at the Abdus Salam Centre for Theoretical Physics

By Jaeha Park & Elias Van den Driessche, Department of Physics

The student seminar series is designed to give PhD students at the Abdus Salam Centre for Theoretical Physics an opportunity to present their ongoing research. As opposed to other seminars organised in the group, student seminars are organised in an accessible and informal setting. This gives an opportunity for PhD students and early-career postdocs to gain valuable experience in scientific communication, but also for MSc students and early-year PhD students to be exposed to the range of topics explored within the group.

The goal of the student seminars is far beyond individual talks. It is an active social event, open for not only the members of the Theoretical Physics group, but also to the Astrophysics group, and more broadly any MSc/MSci students in the department that are interested. Student seminars happen every Thursday at 5pm during term time, often at Huxley 503, or other seminar rooms in Blackett Laboratory. The time and location make it ideal for MSc students to join after their lectures. Starting from 16th October, we had 5 talks this term, covering a range of topics, including black holes, vacuum decay, supersymmetry, and quantum field theory. We have planned more talks until the end of this term and is planning to continue this activity with more speakers covering a wider range of topics.

The talks are aimed at advanced MSc and early-year PhD level, encouraging speakers to step back from technical details and emphasise the main ideas and motivations behind their work. For the speakers this serves as a unique opportunity to practice their presentation skills, as preparation for more formal talks at conferences or departmental seminars aimed at faculty members. For those in the audience, it is an opportunity to engage with research outside their own niche without having to go through a new set of technical terms. Indeed, we heard much positive feedback from the students. Talks by PhD students and early-career postdocs naturally led participants to “know who to ask” when they have questions outside their specialties, highlighting posible points of connection, and further fostering new collaborations.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pictures from a student seminar on the 13th November, with title “Fun with the superconformal index”.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks to the Early Career Research Institute (ECRI) Postgraduate Community Fund, we are able to provide Pizzas and drinks to encourage participation.

The activity has been, and will be, conducted in a fully sustainable manner. The only minor environmental impact is expected to come from the food provided during the seminars. To minimize this, all packaging and containers are carefully collected and properly recycled, ensuring that the initiative remains as eco-friendly as possible.

The student seminar series is already becoming a core part of the research culture at the Abdus Salam Centre for Theoretical Physics. It lowers the barrier to engaging with new areas of research, helps student to develop the confidence and skills needed to present their work clearly, and strengthens a sense of community across di[erent career stages. The Community Fund from ECRI places a pivotal role; pizza provided for the event creates a welcoming atmosphere, and we have seen remarkable turn out in the past few talks, followed by active discussions. The student seminar series is helping the group to be more opened, interconnected, and supportive.

Looking ahead, we aim to keep expanding the range of topics and speakers. We are very excited to have 1st year PhD students to give their first talks next term. With continued support, we hope that the series will remain a fixture also for future cohorts, acting as a first step into research talks, a starting point for collaborations, and a fantastic opportunity to bridge di[erent members of the group and moreover members of the diverse community at Imperial.

Faculty of Medicine’s Rising Scientist Day

Rising Scientist Day is an event hosted by the Faculty of Medicine, celebrating the innovative research and achievements of postgraduate students. It provides a valuable platform for students to present their work, exchange ideas, and foster interdisciplinary collaboration across the scientific community.

The following post summarises key highlights and reflections from the day.

Yuan Wang, PhD Student

I was honoured to present my poster on how the gut microbiome modulates metabolic diseases through its metabolites. My research focuses on integrating metagenomic and metabolomic data to better understand host–microbiome interactions. It was an exciting opportunity to share my findings with peers and faculty, and I’m grateful to have received a prize for my work. As science continues to move toward interdisciplinary approaches, I was especially inspired by conversations with researchers from different backgrounds who also study the gut microbiome. Many thanks to the organizers, judges, and everyone involved — I truly enjoyed the experience.

Aya Elemeligy, PhD Student

I am grateful to have attended the Rising Scientist Day event and participate in the poster presentation session; it was inspiring to see an incredible range of work beyond my usual area of study. My own poster focused on “Regulation of Haematopoietic Stem Cells in aging and stress haematopoiesis”, it was great to be given the opportunity to discuss my research with others. I am also appreciative of receiving a prize for my poster and having my work recognised amongst so many impressive projects.

Daniel Sin, PhD Student

I had a great time on Rising Scientist Day! It felt really rewarding to present my PhD work to the rest of the department and share Science that I felt passionate about, and it was great to hear other’s feedback on my project. The feedback was useful for my own considerations on what I should prioritize for future directions. It was also really cool to learn about what other types of projects other PhD students were working on. Looking forward to the next one!

Kavita Gulati, PhD Student

My name is Kavita Gulati, and I am a 2nd Year PhD Student, working within the Department of Immunology and Inflammation. I am grateful to have been awarded a prize for my poster “Novel Therapeutic Targets in Glomerulonephritis and Renal Vasculitis”. This was a much-needed confidence boost, as I had recently returned following a year-long maternity leave.

I felt this day was a great opportunity to interact with other students both within and outside of my department. I particularly enjoyed the thought-provoking discussion that came from presenting my poster. I found presenting my work to an audience outside of my speciality helped gain a refreshing perspective.

I also really enjoyed the aspirational 3-minute thesis competition, and I loved seeing the breadth of research that is currently being undertaken in the faculty. It was particularly useful to see the different presentation styles and approaches to summarising years of work. I look forward to hopefully presenting next year when I am also a final year student.

Samuel Channon-Wells, PhD Student

I thought Rising Scientist Day 2025 was a highly rewarding event, definitely exceeding my expectations. Presentations across the board were high quality, and the three-minute-thesis presentations were a particular highlight. I enjoyed the array of work on display, as well as the diverse presentation style.

As a PhD student the day was especially useful. It provided great insights from colleagues into effective research communication, as well as potential new approaches I could use in the future. It was also really enjoyable to see other students condense their years of work into concise, interesting, and often funny presentations. I also found preparing for my own three-minute-thesis presentation an incredibly valuable opportunity. Having to focus on clarity and effective scientific story telling over technical complexity was a challenging but useful experience.

The event was also great for meeting other researchers across a range of disciplines, although I think the ambition should be for even greater participation and engagement from within the various departments! It was a fantastic day and I think lots of colleagues and peers would benefit from attending!

Sorcha O’Conner, PhD Student

I’m a final-year PhD student at the Centre for Psychedelic Research in Brain Sciences. During the Rising Scientist Day, I presented my poster on PsilOCD, a clinical trial exploring low-to-moderate doses of psilocybin for OCD. Our data showed a significant drop in symptoms that held up for two weeks after dosing, compared with placebo – an effect that wasn’t seen in participants’ co-occurring depression symptoms. It was nice to be able to converse with the other PhD students and refreshing to see posters on proteomics for Alzheimer’s and gene-editing approaches in neurodevelopment when I’m usually surrounded by clinical psychiatric research.

The judges moved among the poster sessions, offering practical feedback that helped me refine my methods description and clarify statistical details. Their comments will definitely improve how I present my findings in future conferences.

We wrapped up with drinks and snacks, and the best moments were the informal conversations—sharing challenges, milestones and our next steps. I left feeling energised and ready to apply the new ideas I picked up.

Luke Hanna, PhD Student

I’m currently researching perianal fistulising Crohn’s disease (pfCD) — a particularly challenging form of inflammatory bowel disease. In pfCD, patients develop abnormal tunnels (fistulae) between the anorectum and the skin near the anus, which are often resistant to standard medical treatments for Crohn’s disease.

To better understand the immunopathophysiology of pfCD, I’ve been working with single-cell RNA sequencing of immune cells (CD45+) isolated directly from fistula tissue. Our data reveal strong evidence for upregulation of JAK-STAT signalling, alongside increased activity of JAK-dependent cytokines such as interferon-gamma and interleukin-22.

Importantly, our gene set enrichment analysis shows that these inflammatory pathways can be downregulated in vitro using upadacitinib, a JAK-1 inhibitor — highlighting its potential therapeutic relevance in pfCD.

It was a privilege presenting this work at the Rising Scientist Day and I want to thank my amazing team: my supervisors Prof Powell, Prof Hart, and Mr Tozer, as well as Dr Laura Constable and Dr Domenico Cozzetto, whose expertise in sequencing analysis has been key to this work.

Michael Wang, PhD Student

It’s always a pleasure to connect with fellow PhD students in the cohort. During Rising Scientist Day, I was able to present my work to members of the Faculty and get valuable feedback, while keeping myself up to date on the latest research performed by my follow batchmates and fostering potential collaborations on future research projects.

It’s heartening to see students of the Faculty come together to exchanging ideas and insight and really strengthening our ties as a research community. I look forward to participating in similar events in the future.

Muteb Alatawi, PhD Student

Rising Scientist Day gave me the opportunity to present my research entitled “multi-omic characterization of T cells Dynamics in Lung Transplant Patients-Associated Aspergillosis”. The event featured various activities that made it truly valuable for research students.

The poster sessions allowed me to showcase my work and receive feedback from colleagues and judges. Additionally, meeting and networking with other students and learning about the fascinating work being conducted across different departments was incredibly enriching. These interactions sparked new ideas for my own research and opened doors for potential collaborations that could strengthen my project.

The 3-minute thesis competition was particularly engaging – watching colleagues distil complex research into concise presentations demonstrated an impressive skill in highlighting their work’s significance without technical overload, which was both educational and inspiring. The alumni talk was valuable and offered insights into academic career paths, giving me perspective as I approached my final year.

Overall, Rising Scientist Day offered excellent practice in communicating research to diverse audiences – essential for my development as a scientist.

By Muteb Alatawi | Armstrong-James Lab, Department of Infectious Disease, Faculty of Medicine.

Ravi Mehta, PhD Student

At this year’s Rising Scientist Day “3-minute thesis” competition, I presented my PhD research tackling one of the major challenges in infectious diseases: slow viral diagnostics. My work centres on ddhC, a host-derived small molecule produced in response to many viral infections. Rather than relying on PCR to detect the virus itself, detection of the body’s immune response offers a faster alternative. Using human challenge models, we’ve shown that ddhC levels rise and fall during the acute phase of viral infection. ddhC can identify viral infections across a wide range of settings – including in children, in patients from tropical regions, in spinal fluid from meningitis cases, and even in urine, raising the exciting possibility of a needle-free test.

Until now, ddhC has only been detected using costly and complex mass spectrometry. To overcome this, I’m developing aptamer-based assays. Aptamers – DNA strands that fold into specific shapes to bind their targets – have been engineered to detect ddhC and produce a fluorescent signal. This system is now being trialled in patient samples and adapted into a lateral flow format. Ultimately, this work positions ddhC as a pan-viral biomarker across different populations and biofluids, paving the way for rapid, accessible diagnostics that could help curb antibiotic misuse and support faster responses to future pandemics.

My experience of Rising Scientist Day was excellent overall. It really showcased the sheer diversity of research happening across Imperial – from fundamental science to applied clinical work – and it was inspiring to see so many different presenting styles and some truly exciting results. The event was also a great opportunity to connect with others, and develop new collaborations.

Our experience of the Early Academic Talks (EAT)

By Clara Finnigan, Postgraduate Student, Department of Metabolism, Digestion and Reproduction

Research is all about collaboration and communication. However, it can be daunting to meet new researchers, especially those outside of your immediate environment. We set up Early Academic Talks (EAT) to provide a space for Imperial Early Career Researchers (ECRs) to connect and present their research, helping break down barriers for collaboration and communication. Our fourth EAT session took place on Thursday, 24th of April.

This talk series is a cross-sectional initiative, aiming to oGer the opportunity for ECRs to meet and learn about the research at Imperial in a friendly and informal environment. These events take place every month and have 2-3 ECRs presenting the research they carry out at Imperial. It was a great event in which we saw a high turnout, with the talks stimulating excellent discussions between researchers. The students and postgraduates also enjoyed the post talk social with food and drinks in the Wolfson Canteen in the Commonwealth Building.

“I found this was an amazing opportunity to practice my presenting skills and to share my next career steps as a post-doc” – Iona Davies

The importance of communication between researchers cannot be emphasised enough. Here at Imperial, essential research is happening every day but not everyone always knows about it. EAT provides the space to disseminate knowledge and build networks with other Imperial ECRs. The series helps with presentation practice, as feedback is provided in a friendly and supportive environment. The series also supports researchers to communicate their work in an accessible way to allow it to be understood across the different disciplines here at Imperial.

Here are examples of some talks we have had in the past:

  • Rutian Ding, MRes Clinical Research – “Applying metabolomics strategies to assess postprandial variability in response to two extreme diets in people at risk of cardiovascular diseases.”
  • Jia Jun Lee, PhD – “Skin wound healing models – potential targets for diabetic wound healing.”
  • Iona Davis, Post-doc – “Investigating pancreatic and CNS GIPR signalling; Implications for the treatment of metabolic disease.”
“I learnt new tools and techniques for illustration for presenting academic research such as BioRender. Moreover, meeting new connections is one of the highlights from EAT!” – Onyinye Eze

The event series so far has provided a platform to practice presenting academic work and critically analyse research in a friendly space, fostering an interdisciplinary and collaborative environment. Personally, through the series I have further developed my presenting skills and ability to discuss my PhD project in more depth and answer more challenging questions from my peers. This has simultaneously facilitated broadening my Early Career Researcher network. We hope to see more of you ECRs at our next event!

Next Event: 29 May 2025, 16:10 – 17:00 – SB Seminar Room 10A, Conference Room, Hammersmith Campus.
Event Details https://linktr.ee/earlyacademictalks

A huge thank you to the Early Career Researcher Institute as our sponsors for this talk series!

! Look out for our fliers around the Hammersmith Campus !

 

PhD Student Welfare Evening – Bowling at All Star Lanes

by Lucy Edwardes, Scarlett Brown and Helen Figueira, PhD students from the MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences at the Institute of Clinical Sciences

On the 23rd November the LMS PhD student committee organised a bowling social at All Star Lanes in White City. The aim of the event was to provide an opportunity for students to meet fellow students across different groups within the LMS away from the lab and in a relaxed and fun environment. With the hope to encourage better scientific collaboration between research groups and build support networks for students outside of their lab groups.

25 students came along and were mixed into 4 teams and played 2 games. There was a real range of bowling skills with some unexpected strikes! We had great food and drinks brought to our lanes while we were bowling. Most students stayed on after the bowling had finished to play some of the arcade games at All Star Lanes and enjoy the cocktails on happy hour!

This event was a great opportunity for the students to get together away from the lab and supervisors and have some fun after a long term. It also allowed people to meet some of the new PhD students, who joined in October.

We would like to thank the Graduate School’s Postgraduate Community Fund for sponsoring this event and giving the PhD students the opportunity to meet new people across different groups and have some fun! Hopefully this will become an annual social at the LMS.

Bringing Together Imperial’s Social Scientists: A Flagship PhD and ECR Event

By Lauren Shields, PhD Student in the Centre for Higher Education Research and Scholarship.

On Monday 10th June 2024, over 20 PhD and Early Career Researchers from across all four Imperial faculties met in a first-of-its-kind networking event. As a PhD social scientist in a STEMMB institution, it can be hard to find other researchers conducting similar research to you. We are often either isolated in departments or are lacking targeted training or collaboration sessions with others in the same institution. I wanted to host an event that would bring these researchers together, to form connections and learn from each other, as well as celebrate the hugely important offerings that social science can bring to physical science.

The 3 hour session began with a fascinating keynote speech by Dr. Stephen Webster, who is currently leading the Good Science Project and who was formerly the Director of the Science Communication Unit for 15 years. He discussed the benefits and challenges of researching at the interface of the physical and social sciences, particularly in an institution such as Imperial that is dominated by physical and applied sciences. Taking a philosophical approach to his talk, Dr. Webster walked us through the evolving debates surrounding the nature of the social sciences and showed how the natural sciences can benefit from social science approaches to research.

We then heard from Prof. Arnab Majumdar, Head of External Partnerships at the London Interdisciplinary Social Sciences Doctoral Training Partnerships, who reminded us about the training opportunities available through the LISS-DTP on the social sciences.

The final part of the session was a chance for us all to discuss different social science methodological approaches to our research. We each chose a particular research method, ranging from ethnography to arts-based methods, and shared our experiences of using such methods and their associated challenges. We learned best practice from each other and made connections with those conducting similar research.
The event ended with a new social media group set up for the attendees, and a will for further opportunities to bring this unique but highly important group of researchers together in our STEMMB focussed institution. Ideas raised included a social science careers fair, research symposiums for PhD students at Imperial, workshops in conjunction with social sciences staff.

  • Some comments received after the session include:
    ‘Thank you so much for your effort. One of the best, if not the best, events I have attended at Imperial.’
  • ‘[I enjoyed] the talks by both speakers as well as knowing that there are many researchers who […] use social science theories or methodology. Knowing that this is a shared experience and [to] discuss it with other researchers is helpful.’

An Afternoon at the Transport Museum: Connecting Minds in Transport Research

by Leah Camarcat and Surabhi Ojha, Research Postgraduates in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.

To foster collaboration and networking within the PhD cohort in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Imperial College, we recently organized an event at the Transport Museum for PhD students. This gathering, held on May 25, 2024, brought together bright minds from the transport research group and various other research groups in the department, providing a platform for knowledge exchange and networking.

The Transport Museum’s exhibits provided an excellent icebreaker, sparking conversations about the history and future of transport. The feedback from attendees was positive, with many expressing a desire for similar events in the future.

My experience as a 3rd year PhD student at Imperial’s Rising Scientist Day 2024

Blog by Angelos Manolias, Research Postgraduate in the Department of Metabolism, Digestion and Reproduction

In May 2024, I attended the Rising Scientist Day. The day included 2 sessions of poster presentations from 2nd and 3rd year PhDs, a 3-minute thesis presentation competition, talks from Imperial PhD alumni and networking events. In this blogpost I give my opinions on the events of day, highlight the benefits of attending such an event as a PhD student and give a few ideas for improvement in the next years.

Rising scientist day has many benefits for PhD students that attend it. Starting from the poster presentations, this is a great opportunity to gain experience with presenting your research in poster format but also learning what research is going on around the college by postgraduate students. Personally, by presenting my poster I gained experience in designing it in relevant software (a skill that I will need for future conferences), getting feedback on it by my colleagues and supervisors and ultimately presenting it in a wider audience whilst answering their questions. This is particularly useful for people like me who just entered their last year of PhDs and will start presenting in conferences. The 3-minute thesis presentations were very interesting as well, as I had the opportunity to learn about the research of my colleagues across departments in brief talks presented in lay terms. Since I was nominated by my department, I was also able to take part in the competition, which benefitted me by engaging in exciting discussions regarding my project that may help me for the rest of my studies. For the same reasons I enjoyed the networking events during lunch and afternoon coffee. Lastly, the career talks were very interesting to me personally as they came from two Imperial PhD alumni who stayed in academia, which matches my personal career goals. The talks motivated me and gave me some insight into a young researcher’s early career steps, which I found very engaging.

Overall, Rising Scientist Day is a very enjoyable and productive event for postgraduate students that acts as an internal “friendly” conference helping all students to gain experience in presenting their work. Coupled with talks and, potentially in the future, workshops and seminars, this event has the potential to be particularly educational and productive. I would urge all postgraduate students to attend the event at least once during their PhDs!