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HireWire CDT Writing Retreat

4 December 2015

• The Centre
• Cohort

The two days CDT HighWire writing retreat in Wyresdale Park Scorton provides a good environment to think and write. Normally an efficient writing requires a peaceful and calm place, and this retreat was structured and scheduled in such a way that researchers could have a better outcome of it. This is achieved in two ways:

1. Setting goals for both days, as well as getting feedback from someone else on the realism of these goals. On the end of the day, reflect on what is a reasonable goal for yourself.
2. Have scheduled breaks and stick to them. Instead of continuingly working until you ‘finished’ a section, write some keywords of what you will need to do to finish the section. This makes it easier to pick up writing and makes your day more fun (compared to writing by yourself non-stop). Furthermore, the absence of internet access allowed for more focussed writing periods.

We attended this writing session in order to work on our group project report. We felt the schedule of the writing retreat would be useful during writing-intensive periods, especially if you can team up with some other PhD students and have breaks together! This turned out to be one of the goals of the program; finding others that are willing to work according to a schedule and have breaks together. Therefore, it would be good to have some other students from our department at a writing retreat session. Furthermore, we believe that working on a group project in a structured way can be beneficial as well. The structured sessions allow group-members to keep each-other up to date on their progress.

Besides the writing sessions the retreat gave us the chance to meet some PhD student from another CDT programme. It was interesting to talk about their PhD topics and learn from their experiences. But most of all it is cool to meet people from various backgrounds and universities.

Last but not least, the location, food and hospitality in general was amazing. And Tish was amazing in sorting this out for us! We would recommend this writing retreat to any CDT student!

Written by Cohort 2 students Ruben Kruiper and Jamal Umer

For more information about Highwire CDT based at Lancaster University or the Digital Economy CDT Network please click the links.

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Melanie at the HSSMI Ltd Leadership Forum

12 November 2015

• Industry
• Cohort

On the 11^th of November 2015, HSSMI Ltd hosted their first Leadership Forum at The ArcelorMittal Orbit in Stratford (London). The High Speed Sustainable Manufacturing Institute (HSSMI) Ltd is a research institute closely working together with industrial companies and leading academic institutions to support manufacturing in the UK.

The subject ‘Manufacturing, the next five years; technology, knowledge building and political support; what is needed? How it is best delivered?’ was discussed on a panel with the following keynote speakers: Margaret Wood MBE ‐ Chairman, ICW (UK) Ltd; Professor Robert Allison ‐ Vice Chancellor and President, Loughborough University; Brian Holliday ‐ Managing Director, Siemens Digital Factory; Peter Domeney - ‎Manufacturing Engineering Director, Jaguar Land Rover. One of the main themes of the discussion involved the need of strengthening the manufacturing in the UK by making engineering more appealing to young people.

As part of the agenda, PhD students sponsored by HSSMI Ltd prepared posters outlining their PhD research. This was a great opportunity for networking and to communicate the research and also get valuable input from industry by representing HSSMI Ltd as well as the CDT-EI.

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Loughborough University awarded £3.9 million to revolutionise electronic communications circuitry

14 October 2015

• Academics
• Loughborough University

Loughborough University has been awarded £3.9 million to develop a totally new way of designing and fabricating high frequency communications circuitry.

The funding from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) will be used to establish the SYMETA – SYnthesizing 3D METAmaterials for RF, microwave and THz applications – research programme.

The SYMETA team will be led by Professor Yiannis Vardaxoglou from Loughborough University. The other research partners include the Universities of Exeter, Oxford, Sheffield and Queen Mary, University of London. Speaking about the consortium, Professor Vardaxoglou said: “Introducing these novel structures into the complex world of electronic design will offer a radical new way of designing and manufacturing electronics at low cost. We are grateful to EPSRC for supporting such an innovative and timely project.”

SYMETA’s research has the potential for significant academic, economic, societal and environmental impacts.  With rapid advancements in the development of metamaterials the possibilities for innovative applications across many sectors are significant.  Industries that could benefit from the research include aviation, space, healthcare and the military.  Employing the advanced manufacturing techniques that the consortium will develop will also remove the need for the harsh chemicals typically used in the manufacture of traditional circuit boards, thereby offering significant environmental benefits.

For more information visit Loughborough University new page.

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Welcome Cohort 2

26 September 2015

• New Students
• Cohort

The months of September and October see the start of the new academic years at Heriot–Watt University and Loughborough University and students in our second cohort have now started their PhD journeys.

Their journey kicked off earlier in September by attending our induction programme in Scotland. The weather was overcast but dry with rays of sunshine emerging for our field trip to a local castle. This did not matter though as most of the week was spent preparing for the coming four years by getting to know themselves better and each other. Members of cohort 1 joined the newbies to share their experiences of a year with CDT-EI and it made them realise how much they have achieved in just one year.

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The 2015 Research to Industry Conference

4 September 2015

• The Centre
• Industry

On 3rd September the CDT-EI attended The R2i Electronics Conference at the University of Sheffield. Following the success of the previous editions in 2012 and 2013 the conference provided the opportunity for the electronics manufacturing industry, research and development companies and institutional research centres to meet, review and discuss the best of the UK’s academic electronic research projects.The event was oraganised by the KTN and IMAPS UK.

The overall aim was to bridge the gap between industry and research and the conference was split into four sessions, Government support for collaborative research in industry, industrial fellowships, Spin-outs and Centres for Doctoral Training. Our new co-Director, Dr Keith Brown, gave an overview of the EPSRC CDT model and explained our innovative training programme. Following Keith’s presentation one of our 2^nd year students, Ian Park, described his experience of the CDT programme and explained the aims of his PhD project, which is co-sponsored by Taylor Hobson Ltd.

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EPSRC National CDT Administrators Conference

29 July 2015

• The Centre

Last month saw all EPSRC CDT Managers and Administrators meet in London for a one day conference. The conference was organised by Imperial College London and was an informal event aimed to provide an opportunity to meet and establish contacts with other CDT administrators to discuss good practice and challenges of centre administration and management. The day started with a number of talks, including Jim Fleming from EPSRC and Alison Mitchell from Vitae. Alison Mitchell presented the outcomes of a Vitae event held a few weeks earlier that focussed on the development of researchers across doctoral training cohorts. The afternoon sessions were facilitated workshops covering the different aspects of a cohort delivered PhD training programme.

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CDT-EI Cohort 1 on their marks and getting set for year 2

1 July 2015

• The Centre
• Loughborough University
• Heriot-Watt University
• Cohort

The past few months have been extremely busy for our first cohort of students with preparing for their first year progress reviews, completing their 2^nd group projects and finalising their assignments for the ILM qualification in Leadership and Management. To bring the first year to a close the CDT-EI Summer School 2015 was hosted by Loughborough University and involved a visit to Donington Park. The Summer School gave the cohort an opportunity to reflect on their first year of PhD study and celebrated the end of their combined year 1 and the camaraderie they have formed. They will now return to their home institutions to continue their studies.

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CDT-EI represented on the PCB Circuit

23 June 2015

• The Centre
• Industry

st month saw a number of events in the UK and Europe organised by the printed circuit industry.

The Institute of Circuit Technology 41st Annual Symposium brought academics and industrialist to the Black Country Living Museum in Dudley, West Midlands.  Kicking off the presentations was CDT-EI and Loughborough University academic, Dr Darren Southee. Darren presented his latest research project that aimed to determine the feasibility of making rechargeable energy storage devices using mass produced printed electrodes. Later in the day CDT-EI Centre Manager Dr Donna Palmer gave a short overview presentation about the CDT and the opportunities it poses for companies to engage with the next generation of scientists and engineers in the industry. For a more information about the Institute of Circuit Technology please visit the website and to read a full write-up of the event by Pete Starkey on I-Connect007 please click here.

The European Institute of Printed Circuits held their annual summer conference in Berlin at the end of June. Dr Donna Palmer (CDT-EI Centre Manager) and Prof. Martin Goosey (Chair of CDT-EI Management Advisory Group) attended the conference. The EIPC is a network of PCB professionals providing platforms to exchange business and technology information for the success of the European electronics industry. Of key signifcance to the CDT-EI were the sessions on new technology such as smart manufacturing systems and the presentations given by researchers at Fraunhofer IZM on new materials, packaging and processes for the next generation of electronics "made in Europe". The conference delegates were given the opportunity to visit Fraunhofer IZM to tour the facilities and find out about the latest research being conducted. For more information about EIPC please visit their website and for more information abotu Fraunhofer IZM vist thier website.

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