Past Events

Welcome Event

The welcome event for new SUPA students is held in October each year. This engaging day provides an opportunity to learn about the breadth and excellence of research in SUPA, to meet colleagues from other Universities and to receive advice from peers. The 2019 Welcome Event was held at the Technology and Innovation Centre, Glasgow on 17 October 2019. The 2020 and 2022 Welcome Events were both held online, returning to in-person in 2022 in Edinburgh. The 2023 Welcome Event is aiming to be in person.

Annual Gathering

The highlight of the year is the SUPA Annual Gathering, a showcase and celebration of physics in Scotland. 

In 2022 the Annual Gathering returned in person, at the John McIntyre Conference Centre, with the talks streamed online and recorded. 

The 2021 Annual Gathering once again ran virtually, from 25-27 May 2021, with Keynote talks from Prof Sheila Rowan, Prof Heather Lewandowski and Prof Martin Dawson; theme Showcases of research highlights; and a social gathering in Gather, where participants could network, revisit the Showcase posters, and talk to the organisations and companies in our Exhibition area.

In 2020, the Annual Gathering was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Instead, a Virtual Gathering took place from 26-28 May 2020 online, featuring guest lectures and a Showcase of research activities. 

The 2019 Annual Gathering was held on Weds 29 May at the Technology & Innovation Centre, University of Strathclyde, with about 300 participants for talks, posters and an exhibition of physics impact. 

2018 Gathering
2017 Programme and report
2016 Programme

Careers Events

Each January we would offer our researchers (student and post-doc) the opportunity to hear from speakers with a range of careers, all having started with a PhD in physics. Participants could chat to each speaker, whether from academia, industry research, defence, journalism, non-research industry roles and the civil service, as well as having the opportunity to get advice on their CV. 

The last Careers Event was held at Dynamic Earth in Edinburgh, on Tues 14 January 2020. In 2021, we moved our Careers support online, with a fortnight of one-to-one CV clinics, followed by a fortnight of daily lunchtime talks from our speakers, culminating in an afternoon of networking using the platform, Gather. 

Since the 2021/22 academic year, we have moved to monthly lunchtime webinars. By spacing out the support, we aim to engage more students, and have more timely discussions around placement opportunities, linking up with the right organisations at the right time. Details of the upcoming webinars, and recordings of previous speakers are available on MySUPA through the course "Careers Online at Lunchtime".

SUSSP - Scottish Universities Summer School in Physics 

Each year the Scottish Universities Summer School in Physics takes place, with SUPA as a partner, with different themes each time. More information on the SUSSP schools can be found on their website

Public Engagement Forum

In 2021 the SUPA community met online to showcase exemplars of public engagement activity across SUPA and Scottish Physics, but also to offer our community the opportunity to hear from, and network with, the key science festivals and science centres across Scotland. Full details of the event are available on the Public Engagement Forum webpage.

SUPA Workshop on Infrared Technologies and Applications

The aim of this one day workshop at Heriot-Watt University was to have a set of speakers highlighting different aspects of technologies and applications in the near to mid-infrared spectral range and to then discuss, along with industrial representatives, possible future collaborations or joint grant funding projects with EU and UK programs. 

Morning and afternoon sessions on the 6 December 2017 on research and applications were followed by networking and discussions.  Programme