Inaugural Pan-Wales NRN PhD Conference Launch

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Science innovation is essential to developing and sustaining the environment around us and in which we live. It is through fundamental research and projects such as the National Research Network (NRN) that we are able to develop these ideas and in turn enhance Welsh scientific research on an international scale.

On Thursday, September 15, 2016, the NRN will launch its first annual conference at Swansea University’s Bay Campus, taking place in the iconic Great Hall, with guest speakers including the Chief Scientific Advisor for Wales, Julie Williams as well as those from academia and industry.

The conference will draw approximately one hundred PhD students from across the three Ser Cymru networks (Advanced Engineering and Materials, Life Sciences and Low Carbon, Energy and Environment) and is a prime opportunity for the projects PhD students to present their latest findings and develop their professional careers further.

Over the past two years alone the NRN has seen collaborations with many outside bodies including that of The Royal Academy of Engineering. From this collaboration the project has seen the internship of four awardees from across pioneering industries including Airbus, the National Grid, Polycast Ltd and Costain Group PLC. It is due to this that the network has been able to increase its strength between academia and industry and be at the forefront of scientific research; taking Wales another step further in becoming a platform for innovative research on a global scale.

This month alone has seen the publication of scientific journals including that of Dr Zenbo Wang and his team at Bangor University who have made a recent cross over to what others thought impossible by discovering the effect spider silk can have on creating a microscope Superlens – a discovery that has been covered in various media outlets and scientific journals across the world. This research is just an example of how the NRN is putting Wales at the forefront of scientific discovery and highlight the opportunities that lie within this network.

The launching of this conference will bring together these talented students from all three networks and it is from this that we will continue to nurture a vital hub of research talent from across Wales in order for us to continue to shape and develop the country’s reputation in Advanced Engineering and Materials, Life Sciences and Low Carbon, Energy and Environment.

Visit http://www.ernw.ac.uk/.