Discussions: Elena Ostrovskaya (ANU), Oleg Sushkov (UNSW) and Xiaolin Wang (UOW)
Forging a Centre that is greater than the sum of its parts
FLEET’s inaugural annual workshop in Torquay, Victoria, represented the Centre’s first chance to cement relationships between geographically-isolated research nodes and diverse physics disciplines.
With a focus on education, each day began with a tutorial laying out the fundamentals for one of three research themes. This introduction maximised the value of the more-detailed project updates that followed. Presenters were also carefully briefed to ensure that project updates would be pitched at the right level for a non-expert audience.
As this was our first chance to forge collaborative links, time was left for discussions that cut across geographic and research lines and work.
The workshop was also remarkably successful in incorporating kids and families, with over 30 partners and family involved, including 17 children.
“The inaugural FLEET workshop in Torquay was a highlight of 2017. I learned how my work fits into the grand scheme of FLEET and how the different themes all lead toward the same goal. It was great to put faces to names, and to start to feel part of something much bigger than just my work.” —Dr Daniel Sando, FLEET Research Fellow UNSW
The annual workshop built on other functions that are building and maintaining Centre cohesion, including inductions, an internal monthly newsletter, outreach collaborations and FLEET-branded clothing.