Spring School 2025 - NEF CDT, Cohorts 3, 4 & 5
St Catharine’s College, Newnham College, and Selwyn College – University of Cambridge
Kindly supported by Industry Partners - AWE
We asked a couple of the students their thoughts on the content of the event, and overall benefit and enjoyment. Here is what they had to say….
Student attendee Susannah Lea:
The first ever Nuclear Energy Futures Spring School held at Cambridge was a great event for industry, academics and students in the associated CDT. Across the two days there were talks by final year students, touching on all aspects of the nuclear industry from new generation reactor design and fusion to waste disposal, and even medical applications of radiation. These conference-style presentations, in the McGrath Centre at St Catherine’s College, gave the students practise at concisely and clearly presenting their research, as well as receiving feedback from industry.
Interspersed throughout the days were also talks from experts in both industry and academia. These included an insight into the prospects of nuclear power from the economist Simon Taylor, offering a wider perspective to students often focused on a small technical aspect and explaining the policy drivers at work. This was echoed by Beccy Pleasant from DESNZ presenting the National Nuclear Strategic Plan for Skills, highlighting the projects in place to attract and upskill people to fill ever increasing gaps in the industry. Therefore, the wide range of job opportunities at the careers fair, hosted in Newnham College, was unsurprising and there was clear interest from students in all the stands on offer. These covered the larger companies such as Atkins, UKAEA, NWS, UK NNL and Amentum to smaller startups like Cerberus Nuclear and, on the defence side, AWE and Rolls-Royce Submarines.
Talks from recent PhDs, who now hold permanent academic positions at the University of Cambridge, balanced the opportunities from industry, giving relatable perspectives to final year students trying to decide between the two. This was also touched on during the panel discussion where the gap in long-term postdoctoral funding was raised, as well as the balance between demands in fusion, fission and the defence areas.
Time for discussions and socialisation was also encouraged throughout, with an impressive dinner held in the Great Hall at Newnham College, following the careers event, poster presentations by the 2nd and 3rd year students and a quiz in the Student Bar at St Catherines. This often continued into the evening at Selwyn College, where accommodation was provided for everyone, and encouraged interactions between CDT cohorts, academics and industry, which can often be hard to have. The success of the event will hopefully lead to its establishment for years to come.
A further overview from student attendee Ellie White:
The NEF Spring School was an excellent mix of professional and social events, allowing for inter cohort socialising. Events such as the NEF quiz on the first night allowed for inter cohort socialising and acted as an ice breaker which enabled students and academics to have useful discussions throughout the event and at poster sessions. The venues used for accommodation, presentations and the careers fair were all within walking distance which made transitions easy but also enabled attendees to enjoy Cambridge during the Spring School. The event was beneficial in bringing together researchers in similar fields from different institutions which led to interesting discussions and providing different points of view and feedback to student’s work. As a final year student, the 10min presentation about my thesis was a useful challenge and pushed me to bring together a concise story about my research which a non-expert could understand, this exercise has helped me during my thesis writing.
Invited speakers and focused panel sessions provided a broader overview of the nuclear sector and highlighted the many different career paths that could be taken during a career in nuclear. Another beneficial event as a final year student was the careers fair, which I found very useful to network with representatives from companies such as UKAEA, AWE and Amentum. Having discussions with people from industry has also helped me make decisions around my own career path, and where I may like to work after my PhD. Overall, the NEF Spring School was a fun balance of social and academic events which I found beneficial as a final year student, especially the 10min presentation and careers fair.
