Events and information of interest is listed below:
Physics helpdesk - MSc, CDT and PhD students
This month's will be on Wednesday 6th November 2024 from 12:00 - 13:00 pm. Then every first Wednesday of the month from 12:00 pm to 13:00 pm.
The helpdesk runs on the first Wednesday of each month and is run by Jerry Chittenden and myself along with Jessica Popplewell from the Careers Service, supported by post-docs from the Physics Department. Our aim is to help and provide advice about welfare, admin and careers issues, as well as signpost the many resources available across College in terms of wellbeing. We can also make appointments for one-to-one meetings with the relevant persons. If you have any further queries about the Helpdesk, please contact Bob Forsyth ph.pgt-tutor@imperial.ac.uk, Jerry Chittenden j.chittenden@imperial.ac.uk, and Jess Popplewell j.popplewell@imperial.ac.uk. Information on how to join on Teams. Click here to join the meeting: Meeting ID: 344 238 524 117 Passcode: dChX3h
Women in physics
The Department has a women in physics group which aims to empower and support all women through their career by creating a dynamic community. It is open to anyone identifying as female and consists of regular weekly lunches and events.
If you are interested then please sign up.
STEM women events
STEM Women run community events for students who are studying a Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics degree and who identify as female. You can also contact them by emailing info@stemwomen.co.uk or calling 0151 236 8000.
Helpdesk Mentor
We are looking for postgraduate physics students to run the undergraduate Physics and Coding Helpdesks for the 2024/25 academic year. The helpdesks will run three few times week, for one hour, during Terms 1 and 2. These sessions provide cross-year academic support for students and help them with any issues that they may have with their university life. The helpdesks are run on a drop-in basis for all year groups, although are mostly attended by Year 1 and 2 students. All these sessions would be paid at the rate of £19.63 per hour (plus 12.07% holiday pay). The helpdesk mentors facilitate discussion about physics problems based on lecture notes, academic tutorials and problem sheets and offer coding help. The idea is to advise undergraduate students on how to approach physics problems, but not necessarily how to solve them. The coding help deals with code script problems and de-bugging. The sessions also cover any university life issues for undergraduate students, providing signposting to appropriate help (for example funding, mental health, etc) in College. The sessions should be informal and relaxed; a safe place for students to speak out when they don’t understand something or need guidance as to whom to contact with personal problems. Please remember that your role would be to help by signposting students, but not to try to solve their problems yourselves.
How to Apply
You can apply to become a Helpdesk Mentor by emailing the form Helpdesk_Application_Form_2024_25.docto Yasmin Andrew, ph.studentliaison@imperial.ac.uk
Technology Venture Fellowship Opportunity - Rolling basis
This is a part-time internship for current graduate students or postdocs (lasting 3-5 months). The Fellow will support our technology scouting and diligence efforts. It is a great opportunity to gain exposure to the VC space, develop skills in both technology appraisal & market analysis, and support early-stage tough tech companies.
We have been successfully running the Technology Fellowship program since 2020. Many of our Fellows have benefitted from this and gone on to pursue a range of careers including academic positions at leading institutes, leading roles in tough tech start-ups or in the VC world.
We are expecting to onboard our first fellows in the first quarter of 2024 and are reviewing applications on a rolling basis.
For more information and to see where candidates can apply visit: https://engineventures.com/careers-ventures.
StudentShapers
StudentShapers is run from the Education office, and supports staff-student partnership in Learning and Teaching. In particular one project stream has been developed with the support of the Graduate School to enable PhD students to work with staff to develop and enhance an area of our taught curricula, in an area of their disciplinary expertise.
For PhD students aspiring towards an academic career path, this also provides an opportunity for them to become more deeply involved in educational development activities and to offer them a valuable professional development opportunity.
PhD students would typically have some prior experience of teaching through GTA opportunities, and would undertake an educational development project in partnership with staff in place of any other GTA commitments. Proposals must be submitted by students, but must be followed up with a supporting statement from their supervisor. Bursaries are paid to support this activity and are commensurate with GTA rates. A more detailed general overview of the scheme can be found on the StudentShapers website. The specific project stream for PhD students, including a proposal submission portal and assessment criteria are are available. Any questions about the StudentShapers scheme can be directed to studentshapers@imperial.ac.uk.
English courses for PhD students
Join our lively classes to upgrade your English and widen your social and professional network.
More information on the Centre for Academic English website.
English language support - for MSc students and PhD candidates
In addition to the English language entry requirement for YOUR degree, all PhD students have to meet the Imperial College London Doctoral Academic Communication Requirement.
Those who are not exempt must take the Centre's diagnostic assessment (DACR A1), which then means we can give feedback on their starting level of academic STEMM communication and recommend appropriate support throughout their PhD.
You can read about the programme for doctoral students here and also sign up for our newsletter.
International student support upcoming events
There are many events for ALL Imperial Students, regardless of nationality including trips to the theatre, help with applications for visas to other countries, options for work after your studies. For information on how to book, please check the International Student Support.
International Student Support Immigration Workshop Series - Advisers in the International Student Support Team are running a series of webinars up on a range of immigration topics. Sessions are open to all students of the College whether you are in the UK or studying remotely. To register for a session please visit the workshops page.
Friends of Imperial College
Friends contributes to the public understanding of science, technology and medicine through talks and visits exploring the latest discoveries and developments. Visit the Friends of Imperial website. Our aim is to entertain and inform non-specialists and experts alike. Everyone who is curious about science is very welcome to come and socialise with our speakers and guests.
Enterprise Lab
Want to launch the next Google, build the next Tesla, tackle a pressing social or environmental challenge, or simply meet new people and develop skills to get you ahead? The Enterprise Lab have got you covered. It's free of charge and open to all. Don’t believe us? Watch our video here. Find out more on the Enterprise Lab website.
Climate Entrepreneurs Student Club
At the Climate Entrepreneurs Club, we believe that climate change is the biggest threat that our world faces, and we seek to address it with real impact. Radical action through innovation and entrepreneurship is needed. The Climate Entrepreneurs Club aims to be multi-disciplinary across Imperial College London, to foster ideas that in the broader sense move us to net-zero carbon. We connect like-minded students from the bottom-up, across departments, that care about the topic of climate change and want to address it with their hightech or business skills.
By signing up to our club mailing list you will get access to: (1) our newsletter on environmental and entrepreneurship news and opportunities (2) a network of other current/aspiring climate entrepreneurs (3) the events run by the club throughout the year. Due to COVID this year is going to look a little different but previous events include panel discussions, pitch nights and ideation sessions. If you want to join as a participant in the activities, please fill out this form. For more information please contact r.sedgwick19@imperial.ac.uk
Coffee Club - weekly - As a community of climate entrepreneurs, we are all aware of the importance of your network in order to drive concrete impact, and in the socially-distanced world we find ourselves in, we decided to make things a bit easier. We would like to organise and curate 1-1 weekly meetings among our members. That is, a 30 min "coffee" meeting with someone new within the club, each week. We believe this would be a wonderful way to get to know each other, and keep this community connected. If you like the initiative, all you have to do is sign up with the link below, write a short bio, and give us an idea of your availabilities. We will then introduce you to your weekly match! SIGN UP HERE.
Study Efficiency Sessions by the Disability Advisory Service (DAS)
If any student requires study efficiency sessions please contact Emma Morrison e.morrison@imperial.ac.uk to book an appointment.
Career information
The Physics Department has a dedicated Departmental Careers Advisor, Professor Lesley Cohen. She can be contacted at ph.careers@imperial.ac.uk.
You can also contact Jess Popplewell, Careers Consultant from Central College j.popplewell@imperial.ac.uk. She is a very important part of the department. More information on Careers and what the department and College offers can be seen at http://www.imperial.ac.uk/physics/students/current-students/careers-information/ and www.imperial.ac.uk/careers.
Outreach
Would you like to enhance your public engagement skills? Are you enthusiastic about working with young people? Can you help make science fun? Would you like to use your teaching experience for a Fellowship of the HEA application? We are looking for motivated Early Career Researchers (MRes/ PhD students and Post Docs) who are eager to translate their research into a fun outreach activity for schools. Through you, school students will be exposed to science that is fresh, relevant and cutting edge.
For more information contact: Dr Rebecca Holloway, r.holloway@imperial.ac.uk or visit the Outreach website.
Imperial Energy Projects
These projects are an excellent opportunity for postgraduate students to lead a team in working on a topic of interest, build up their soft and hard skillsets, and gain experience working with companies. Students sign up using this form: https://forms.gle/cM7zJ366sGiCB6NP8. If you have any queries do contact Nicholas njf23@ic.ac.uk
Exercises that all PG Research student should focus on
- Any student that started in October 2024 and still hasn’t completed their Research Proposal Confirmation (RP) and Early Stage Research Proposal (ESA), should do so by return and upload them to Blackboard.
- All students that started in 2024, please make sure that you complete your Plagiarism Awareness course which is available to self enrol at PLAGIARISM. You’ll need to send Loli the email confirmation.
- All students that started in 2023, please make sure that you complete your Risk Assessment Foundation Training (RAFT) course which is available to self enrol at RAFT. You’ll need to send Loli the email confirmation.
- Any student that started in October 2023 and still hasn’t completed their 18M Late Stage Assessment Review (LSR), should do so by return and upload them to Blackboard.
- Any student that started in October 2022 and still hasn’t completed their 18M Late Stage Assessment Review (LSR) and their Thesis Progress Review, should do so by return and upload them to Blackboard.. The Thesis Progress Review should be emailed to Loli with all the signatures and relevant Research Plan.
- Any student that started in October 2021 and still hasn’t completed exercises and the Exam Entry forms online should do so by return as your 48M deadline is coming up. The registration will be ending at the end of September unless your supervisor requested an extension.
- Please remember to re-register on your My Imperial by return - it has to be done every year towards the beginning of September. You should get an email prompting you to do so. If you are in receipt of a bursary, it can't be paid unless you have registered online.
All the forms can be found on the PhD schedule of study page.