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.