The inaugural Warwick Postdoctoral Science Symposium was held on the 3rd April 2018, organised by Tom Wilks, Mick Staniforth, Blessing Anonye, Chiara Arno, Maria Pérez-Madrigal, Benoit Couturaud, Rebecca Williams and Lena Al Khudairy.

The motivation for holding the WPSS was based on the recognition that, as a postdoc, it can sometimes be difficult to devise your own unique research ideas (ultimately essential for a successful career in academia). This can be because there are fewer opportunities for postdocs to meet colleagues from other departments and learn about their research than there are for academic staff. The first WPSS aimed to address this by bringing together postdocs from across the Science Faculty to foster new cross-departmental collaborations and raise awareness of the diverse range of research going on at the university.

The day consisted of 15 contributed talks, and a keynote address from Nobel prizewinner Professor Sir J. Fraser Stoddart describing "his road to Stockholm" - a fascinating account of the academic ups and downs which eventually led to receiving the Nobel prize for Chemistry.

Following the success of that inaugural event we are pleased to be holding the WPSS again in 2019.