The School of Life Sciences held their first Postdoc Appreciation Week Event on Wednesday 18 September. This event recognises the importance of the University’s Post Doctoral Community and was the first of its kind held at Westminster as part of National Postdoc Appreciation Week.
This event took a ‘speed-dating’ format, where postdoctoral researchers and research associates within the School of Life Sciences took turns to talk to each other about their research. This allowed the researchers to get to know each other, and their work, over a drink in a relaxed environment.
An attendee of the event, Dr Rhys Mould, Postdoctoral Research Associate, commented: “It was a fantastic opportunity to meet all our postdocs and research associates here in the School of Life Sciences. It was very good to get an understanding of what postdocs and research associates require and are missing. Hopefully, this will be the start of many events that will span the University of Westminster.”
The event was organised by Dr Kevin P Cunningham, Dr Bradley Elliot and Dr Lewis Mattin of the School of Life Sciences, as part of the Pint of Science festival. As such, the event was generously sponsored by Proteintech and the University’s Research Centre for Resilience.
Dr Kevin P Cunningham, Lecturer in Pharmacology and Early and Mid-Career Researcher Representative, said: “The Postdoc Appreciation Week Event was a great opportunity to meet with other postdocs in the School, perhaps for the first time. Not only did we learn about each other's research, we were also able to ask and learn about early career research matters, such as grant writing. I think it's a great step to building a closer postdoc community and I'm excited about where it will take us!”
Professor E. Louise Thomas, Director of Research and Knowledge Exchange at the School of Life Sciences, said: “The inaugural postdoc appreciation event organised by Dr Kevin Cunningham, Dr Brad Elliott and Dr Lewis Mattin from the School of Life Sciences marks a pivotal step in recognising the essential contribution of postdoctoral research fellows and research associates, in advancing the University of Westminster’s Research and Knowledge Exchange strategy. By fostering an environment where postdoctoral researchers thrive and feel valued, we are not only enhancing academic excellence but also strengthening our commitment to innovation and collaboration for future endeavours.”
Among London universities, THE Young University Rankings 2024 recognised Westminster as second for research quality and third for research environment reflecting the University’s key objective of impactful Research and Knowledge Exchange in the University’s Being Westminster 2022-2029 Strategy. This ranking confirms research excellence at Westminster after previously winning recognition for making a difference in the world through research in the 2021 Research Excellence Framework.
The event contributes to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 3: Wellbeing and 8: Decent Work for All. Since 2019, the University of Westminster has used the SDGs holistically to frame strategic decisions to help students and colleagues fulfil their potential and contribute to a more sustainable, equitable and healthier society.
Find out more about Research Degrees at the School of Life Sciences.
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