28 Sep 2022
In July the ARC North Thames Academy successfully hosted an in person residential weekend retreat for ARC North Thames PhD students and members of the Early Career Researcher (ECR) Network which took place at Cumberland Lodge, Windsor. The overarching aim of the event was to provide skills training and co-working time for ARC PhD students and ECRs, with opportunities to network and connect in a collegial residential retreat. The activities of the weekend retreat were:
- focused co-working time
- skills workshops and discussions around applying for small to medium grant funding
- outdoor activities
- social and networking time
The retreat was warmly reviewed by attendees with one commenting:
"I was just so thrilled to be able to get a big piece of work done and to be able to ask advice from other people who had been through similar experiences about how they approached certain things. It was brilliant. I was really inspired by the different paths that people have taken in their careers. I hadn't really thought past the next year in my PhD, but I really thought some of the fellowships sounded interesting and I'll definitely be looking into these in the future."
and another shared:
"I really enjoyed the retreat. I genuinely did not want to leave. It was an excellent opportunity for networking and learning about the other projects across the ARC. I met some fascinating people and made important connections. It was also an opportunity to get out of London and relax a bit, which was much appreciated."