On January 22-24, a PhD Induction and Training Event was held at University of Nottingham in the UK for the FRONTIErS Consortium. 10 of the 11 recruited Doctoral Candidates (DCs) attended in person (with one online), along with members of the supervisory board including representatives from TU Delft, NTNU, UPC Barcelona, EDF, Esteyco, SLPE, and UoN. Associated partner members and others attended the event online.

An “Introduction to FRONTIErS” event took place on Day 1, Monday 22nd January, involving presentations from the consortium on an overview of the FRONTIErS training and events schedule, rules and regulations of Marie-Curie Actions, setting up of governance committees, and an introduction to project communications and dissemination. The group then gathered at the Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem in Nottingham City Centre, the oldest inn in England, before officially kicking off the project over a meal.

Day 2 involved an “Introduction to MATLAB” as training for the DCs, followed by a tour of UoN’s geotechnical laboratory facilities for the guest attendees. The consortium then partook in a series of meetings with the European Commission Project Officer who presented an overview to Marie-Curie Doctoral Network administration.

The DCs had the opportunity to orally present a brief overview of themselves to the consortium, giving insight into their diverse backgrounds, their research interests, and why they chose to join FRONTIErS. The day culminated in a Poster Presentation by the DCs to the team and one another at University of Nottingham, which was very successful!

Day 3 involved a full day of training for the DCs in “Quantitative Methods and Analysis” at UoN, where they learned about the use of statistics in research and key skills that will be required throughout the research projects.