The 15th NExT PhD workshop will be held at the Cosener's House, Abingdon, 14-17 July 2025.
The NExT PhD workshop is the Summer School of the NExT Institute, targeting PhD students working in theory, experiment and phenomenology within particle physics, astrophysics and cosmology. Other than to PhD students from the NExT Institute nodes, it is also open to those from all other UK institutions.
The programme includes five lecture series on current topics in high energy physics, with an emphasis on cutting edge developments, networking and panel events discussing careers inside and outside of academia, and dedicated sessions for student talks and poster presentations.
Zoom link: https://ukri.zoom.us/j/98859636291?pwd=2epkahDl6ckdjHo5srePAJ9xdcppOp.1
Passcode: 108398
Please fill in the student survey after the workshop!
https://app.onlinesurveys.jisc.ac.uk/s/stfc/2025-student-feedback-form
Lectures:
Phenomenology of String/M-Theories
Bobby Acharya, International Centre for Theoretical Physics, Trieste, Italy/King’s College London
Beyond WIMPs – Exploring Novel Dark Matter Candidates
Juri Smirnov, University of Liverpool (UKRI Future Leaders Fellow)
Probing Fundamental Physics with Quantum Sensors
Richard Howl, Royal Holloway University of London
Neutrino Experiments – Past, Present and Future
Nicola McConkey, Queen Mary University of London (STFC Ernest Rutherford Fellow)
Precision Monte Carlo for the Large Hadron Collider
Jonas Lindert, University of Sussex (former STFC Ernest Rutherford Fellow)
PhD participation:
Accommodation, tuition and catering are free of charge for STFC and self-funded PhD students. We also have similar support for a limited number of other PhD students from the NExT Institute nodes. Depending on budget, travel may also be (partially) refunded, so please retain travel receipts.
The total number of PhD participants is limited to 38, with precedence being given to those in year 1, so please try to register promptly to ensure your participation. PhD students are encouraged to discuss their research in dedicated sessions via poster and talk presentations.
Student talks & poster session
Students are encouraged to submit abstracts for a short (15'+5') talk or to present a poster at the poster session on Tuesday evening. Small prizes will be awarded for the best student talk & poster.
If you would like to give a talk, you can submit an abstract via the call for abstracts page. Limited slots are available so these will also be moderated by the organisers.
If you would like to present a poster, please fill in the relevant section in the registration form.
We ask students to have their poster printed in advance and bring it to the workshop. The required format is A1 or A0, portrait
Career development events:
SEPnet employer panel
This event is aimed at raising awareness of career opportunities outside academia for physics doctorates. Panel representatives, all with physics or PhD backgrounds, will spend a few minutes outlining their role, what their organisation does, what skills/knowledge they are looking for and why they might be interested in physicists. The panel session will be followed by a Q&A session and an opportunity for students to talk to employers in small groups.
Academic careers panel
A selection of academics at various career stages will participate in a Q&A session and round table discussion about the academic career path.
Topics:
Physics beyond the Standard Model, Phenomenology of String/M-Theories, Dark matter, Neutrino Experiments, Quantum Technologies, and Precision Simulations for the Large Hadron Collider
Organisers:
Nikolas Kauer (co-chair, Royal Holloway University of London, i.e. RHUL)
Stephen West (co-chair, RHUL)
Ulla Blumenschein (Director of NExT PhD school, Queen Mary University of London)
Neda Darvishi (RHUL)
Jacob Linacre (Rutherford Appleton Laboratory)
Richard Howl (RHUL)
