DrugSynthMC2.0: A Nested Monte Carlo Tree Search for the design of target-specific small molecules
Tag: Doctoral Students
Addressing Heat-Driven Consequences of Climate Change in Cities
01 – 05 June 2026 | Accra, Ghana, hosted by AIMS Ghana
Imperial College London is delighted to partner with the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS) for the fourth bilateral Global Fellows Programme (GFP), taking place from 1st – 5th June 2026 in Accra, Ghana, hosted by AIMS Ghana.
In the current scientific environment, international and interdisciplinary collaborations and networking are fundamental to developing successful projects. In a competitive research environment, funding bodies increasingly look for interdisciplinary, collaborative research with partners from around the world. The modern researcher requires both excellence in research and strong professional collaborative competencies.
This exciting programme is designed to facilitate participants to actively focus on the development of these professional skills and competencies.
Doctoral candidates from any discipline are invited to apply to this 5-day professional development course: the Imperial-AIMS Global Fellows Programme: ‘Addressing Heat-Driven Consequences of Climate Change in Cities’.
This is a chance to challenge yourself outside of your normal working environment, meet people from other disciplines and cultures, and have fun!
Applications close at 11am on Tuesday 27th January
Professor Sir Bashir M. Al-Hashimi CBE FREng FRS, Vice-President (Research & Innovation) and ARM Professor of Computer Engineering at King’s College London
Wednesday 4th February | 16:00-18:00 | LT229 & Level 2 Concourse, Blackett Building | South Kensington Campus
Please note that from 17:00-18:00 a drinks reception will be held on the Level 2 Concourse, Blackett Building, SK Campus
Complete the short online form to register your place.
Artificial intelligence (AI) and large language models (LLMs) are rapidly reshaping the landscape of scientific discovery. These technologies demonstrate the enormous potential of AI to accelerate research. Yet, they also signal a profound change in how research is conceived, conducted, and communicated, along with how doctoral students and researchers are supervised and intellectually developed.
This evolving landscape demands a re-examination of the human role in research. The human–AI relationship in research must rest on mutual critique, trust, and collaboration. Researchers should rigorously assess AI-generated outputs through their own expertise, while using LLMs to test, challenge, and refine their arguments and hypotheses. This reciprocal ensures that AI acts as an augmentative partner rather than a replacement in the pursuit of scientific knowledge.
Rather than offering definitive conclusions, this talk aims to stimulate dialogue, question assumptions, and inspire new ways of collective thinking about the future of scientific research and PhD training in an AI-driven world.
*This presentation was prepared by human, augmented by LLMs
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Sir Bashir M. Al-Hashimi is a distinguished Professor of Engineering, academic leader, and entrepreneur. He has served as Vice President for Research & Innovation at King’s College London since 2022 and holds the Arm Professorship of Computer Engineering (since 2007). His work in hardware–software co-design and energy-efficient computing has shaped modern digital technologies, with innovations used in billions of smartphones worldwide.
Elected Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS), the Royal Academy of Engineering (FREng), and the European Academy of Sciences and Arts, Sir Bashir is a highly cited researcher with 400 publications, eight books, and 52 supervised PhDs. His honours include the IET Faraday Medal (2020) and the IEEE–HKN Asad M. Madni Award (2025). He was knighted by HM King Charles III in 2025 and was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) by HM Queen Elizabeth II in 2018.
Enquiries
For any further enquiries regarding this guest lecture, please email the Early Career Researcher Institute (ECRI).
Complete the short online form to register your place.
Join the Israeli Society for a 7-day all-inclusive Tech Trip to Israel, exploring the Start-Up Nation up close.
🔹 Visits to leading tech companies & startups (Google, Nvidia, Mobileye)
🔹 Meet founders, engineers, and researchers 🔹 Experience Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, culture, history, nightlife — and lots of hummus
💷 £500 all included! (flights, hotels, meals, transport, visits)
📅 23–30 March 2026
Spaces are limited — sign up here: 👉https://forms.microsoft.com/e/ZVHHWLSWAj
Questions? Email us at israelis@ic.ac.uk
The Research Presentations Day is when BFWG invites doctoral students to present their research to a general, i.e. not subject specialist, audience.
- Are you a woman doctoral student?
- Do you have research you would like to present to a discerning audience – and have the chance of winning a small prize of £150 for the best presentation?
- Or would you like to join with us, just to meet and listen to other postgraduate women students presenting their research?
Our Research Presentations Day (RPD) offers these opportunities. Past attendees, both presenters and audience, have found the Day thoroughly enjoyable and helpful in developing presentation skills.
The day will also involve an introduction to the 2025 BFWG Scholarship Fund Academic Award winners.
If you think you would like to submit an abstract, please look at BFWG webpages www.bfwg.org.uk or contact rpd@bfwg.org.uk for further details. Closing date for applications: 28th March 2026, 9am.
All – students, academics, anyone else interested (not just women!) – are welcome to attend as audience. Lunch is included and there is a door charge of £10 but no charge for bona fide students whether attending as presenters or as audience. Please notify rpd@bfwg.org.uk by 7th May 2026 if attending.
Applications for British Federation of Women Graduates Academic Awards are now being sought. The Awards are made to women doctoral students who are expecting to submit between March 2027 and February 2028, if full time, and between March 2027 and February 2029, if part-time.
Awards are one-off prizes varying in value from £1,000 to £6,000 (at the panel’s discretion) and are given for academic excellence coupled with the ability to communicate to an educated but non-specialist audience.
For further details please go to: https://bfwg.org.uk/bfwg2/awards-and-scholarships/ and look under ‘Academic Awards’ where more information, including criteria for eligibility, can be found.
Closing date for applications is: 9am on Monday 2nd March 2026
Sea2Carbon, an Undaunted start-up, are in urgent need of a part-time or full time person to help them with their lab experiments from 1st Feb 2026 onwards for at least two months (with the possibility of extension for up to six months). It pays £22 per hour, via the Imperial casual worker system. It’s open to all PhD students at Imperial, with a background in biochemistry, biotechnology, environmental science, or marine science preferred.
About Sea2Carbon:
Sea2Carbon is a climate venture working to transform excessive or invasive macroalgae, particularly pelagic Sargassum, into high-value, climate-positive products through a novel process. Founded by Imperial College alumni, the company operates at the intersection of ocean conservation, regenerative agriculture, and industrial decarbonisation. Its mission is to prevent greenhouse gas emissions, regenerate degraded ecosystems, and support vulnerable coastal communities through circular, nature-based innovation.
About the work:
- Support lab-scale experiments at the Imperial White City campus and/or partner labs
- Prepare and operate small-batch experiments (ml/gram scale)
- Conduct experiments to extract and test nutrient/material contents of products such as biostimulant, biochar, polysaccharides, water
- Assist with pre- and post-treatment steps such as washing, leaching, drying, storing feedstock/products
If you are interested, please email utsav.oza@sea2carbon.com and jose.gomes@sea2carbon.com. If you know of someone suitable, we’d appreciate you passing this on.
Closing date for applications is 19 January 2026.
Discounted registration fees for Imperial College members. Registration fees are further reduced for undergraduate and postgraduate students.
Registration can be done using the links below. Alternatively, you can register using grant/project code using internal journal transfer.
Contact us on stathelp@imperial.ac.uk for any queries.
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- INTRODUCTION TO STATISTICS USING STATA – Tuesday 06 January 2026
Course Outline: No previous knowledge of STATA is required to attend this course. This is a half-day practical PC-based course which will go through basics to get started with STATA.
Register via link : https://imperial.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_7WzOMLSEn9W9wJE
- INTRODUCTION TO STATISTICS USING SPSS – Tuesday 13 January 2026
Course Outline: No previous knowledge of SPSS is required to attend this course. This is a half-day practical PC-based course which will go through basics to get started with SPSS.
Register via link : https://imperial.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_cTpefYc2g6439ky
- FOUNDATIONS IN R (Using “tidyverse” Package) – Tuesday 13 and Wednesday 14 January 2026
Course Outline: A command-based workshop which will go through basics of R with further emphasis on data management and manipulation. Firstly, introducing participants with R, a command-driven language for statistical analysis, then progressing from data entry to data management and manipulation using the widely popular “tidyverse” package, finally, visualisation of data using the “ggplot2” package.
Entry requirements: No previous knowledge of R is required to attend the course.
CPD Credits: 12 Credits
Register via link : https://imperial.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_8HX9pwD9tTvJoyi
- ON-LINE COURSE FOR INTRODUCTORY STATISTICS USING SPSS – VLE Course with ONE MONTH FULL ACCESS (Starting Wednesday 14 January 2026)
Course Outline: Based on one-day Introduction to Statistics using SPSS and two-days Data Management and Statistical Analysis using SPSS courses, this VLE course will give one-month unlimited access to all materials plus Tutor support. The guided walkthroughs explain how certain tasks can be done in the SPSS software while going through the theory.
Register via link: https://imperial.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_795G5Gfpicb8Wyy
- ESSENTIALS IN R – Tuesday 20 January 2026
Course Outline: A half-day command-based workshop will go through basics of R. The course will focus on the essentials required to get started with R.
Entry requirements: No previous knowledge of R is required to attend the course.
Register via link : https://imperial.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_aYpjYTehI4zY5Wm
- INTRODUCTION TO MATLAB – Wednesday 21 January 2026
Course Outline: Not related to any specific area of research, this course is aimed for first-time users. This practical PC based course, will introduce you to some of the many useful MATLAB features, focusing on the one’s which are most useful for programming.
Entry requirements: No previous knowledge of MATLAB is required to attend the course.
Register via link : https://imperial.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_1AmImiYYpj0dv4G
- DATA MANAGEMENT & STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USING STATA – Tuesday 27 and Wednesday 28 January 2026
Course Outline: A two-days practical PC-based workshop, which will go through basic statistical methods with further emphasis on data management. Firstly, familiarising participants with STATA, and progressing from data entry and presentation to 1 and 2 sample tests, one-way ANOVA and simple regression.
Entry requirements: No previous knowledge of STATA is required to attend the course.
CPD Credits: 12 Credits
Register via link : https://imperial.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_bNFL4TsGhT1DvdY
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Statistical Advisory Service, Imperial College London provides statistical advice via one-to-one consultations. https://www.imperial.ac.uk/research-and-innovation/support-for-staff/stats-advice-service/consult/
For information about all courses offered by us, please visit our website https://www.imperial.ac.uk/research-and-innovation/support-for-staff/stats-advice-service/courses/
Can you help address challenges like the reproducibility crisis and publish-or-perish culture? Complete a short survey on awareness and use of Open Research practices – it takes less than five minutes.
We’re sharing this opportunity on behalf of Dr Hamid Khan, Imperial’s Open Research Manager and Local Network Lead (LNL) for the UK Reproducibility Network. The survey is being conducted along with LNLs across the country to identify areas for initiatives and training across institutions.
To take part, you can be a researcher in any discipline or career stage, including academic staff, research staff and doctoral students. Any researcher can take part, even if you are completely unaware of Open Research/Open Science – this is intended to help identify gaps in knowledge.
Click here to take part in the survey
The study has received approval from the Brunel Research Ethics Office (30088-A-Jan/2025- 53666-1). Responses will be anonymous and confidential.
To explore how Open Research can benefit you, your research and wider society, get in touch with Hamid in Library Services. He and his team can equip you with the confidence, skills and tools to embed transparency, equity, accessibility and reliability at every stage of your research.
The third NIHR career development hybrid event for post-doctoral researchers titled “Thriving in Transition”, will be held between 10am and 4.00pm on Thursday 29th January in Central Manchester.
The event will cover:
- A panel talking about navigating transition
- Breakouts covering research identity and visibility
- Talks on transitioning knowledge to change
- The chance to meet and network with others at a similar career stage
Planned by a group at this career stage, the day-long hybrid conference will support post-doctoral researchers from all fields of health and social care research to successfully navigate this pivotal, and sometimes challenging, stage of their career.
The event will be open to any researchers at a postdoctoral career stage or in the final year of their PhD interested in pursuing their career with NIHR. If the event is oversubscribed, in-person places will be selected to achieve a balance of attendees.
To register for both in person and virtual places, please complete the registration form via the link below. It also includes further details about the day.
The registration form for the event is open via this link
Please note that in-person registrations are scheduled to close on 14th January; however, we encourage registrations before the Christmas break where possible so that we can confirm your place and you can make travel arrangements. Virtual registration will stay open until the day before the event.
We are looking forward to seeing many of you in Manchester. Any questions, please make contact via ICBS@nihr.ac.uk.
The Post Doctoral Event Planning Committee