The DAMC CDT held its annual Away Day on Wednesday 17th September 2025 at the scenic Ness Botanic Gardens, bringing together students, management team members and invited speakers for a full day of research, development and networking.
Participants travelled together by coach to the venue, and started the day with coffee and pastries before a welcome from Prof. Alessandro Troisi, CDT Director and a keynote talk from Dr. Andrea Laybourn (University of Leeds) on Sustainable Materials Manufacturing.
The Away Day also featured a student-led research showcase session, moderated by our Cohort 1 Student Representatives Kinjal and Jakub. Students presented updates on their PhD projects, sharing their results, research challenges, plans for future work. These sessions highlighted the depth and diversity of the CDT’s work, from computational design and automation to sustainable materials and advanced characterisation.
After lunch, Adam Gilbert from The Academy led a hands-on, facilitated goal-setting workshop. This session guided students through reflective exercises designed to support effective long-term planning, personal development, and strategies for navigating the PhD journey.
The day concluded with a team-building challenge that saw groups exploring the grounds of Ness Botanic Gardens in search of hidden letters. Once collected, teams raced to decipher the mystery word they spelled out. The competitive spirit (and occasional creative guess!) made for a fun end to the afternoon, with prizes awarded before the journey home.