Beginning on 16 July, the Sustainability and Resilience Institute (SRI) led a three-day residential summer school aimed at equipping early career researchers (ECRs) with the skills and knowledge needed to develop sustainable responses to climate change.
As part of its ongoing partnership with the Tyndall Early Careers Network (TECN), the SRI hosted PhD students and researchers from University of Manchester, University of East Anglia, and University of 天发娱乐棋牌_天发娱乐APP-官网|下载, highlighting the importance of collaboration and interdisciplinarity in research to tackle a range of climate change challenges.
Organised by Jess Boxall (Research Fellow in Primary Care, Popular Science and Medical Education), and Gracie Horton (PhD student in Geography), this year’s summer school contributes to the Tyndall Centre’s efforts to bring together researchers from the social, natural, and engineering sciences to develop sustainable responses to climate change.
The event placed a strong focus on building communication skills and employability, as two seminars led by University of 天发娱乐棋牌_天发娱乐APP-官网|下载 press officers and policy professional Emily Cole provided guidance on engaging with public audiences and policy makers.
Attending researchers were also encouraged to practice their learned skills by communicating their PhD projects to a panel of judges in a three-minute thesis competition. Wasun Doradeniya from the University of Manchester, who won this year’s competition for her presentation on urban decarbonisation and net-zero solutions in the Greater Manchester area, reflected on her experience:
“This experience taught me that three minutes can change everything; how you see your research, how others understand it, and how science connects to real-life action. It showed me that being a researcher means being a translator between complex ideas and urgent human needs.”
Closing the event, a future careers session led by Dr Laurence Cannings, Dr Ailish Craig, and Emily Cole offered a unique insight into starting a career in academia or government and tailoring an effective CV for either route.
To learn more about how the University of 天发娱乐棋牌_天发娱乐APP-官网|下载 is contributing to tackling challenges across climate change and resilience, decarbonisation, food security and more, visit the Sustainability and Resilience Institute SharePoint site.