How is it already mid-June?! As the longest day looms depressingly closer, the Bristol leg of the RENKEI program is due to kick off in two weeks. When we got the acceptance notification back in April, July seemed so far away. With a couple of weeks to go we thought we’d update you with the program schedule and our thoughts and feelings at this stage.
Program schedule
The provisional program has been released and it looks like it will be a busy two weeks in Bristol. The program is due to start on the evening of Sunday 30th June with a buffet and drinks reception. Monday morning then gives another opportunity to get to know the other participants during the introduction sessions. Throughout the first week various topics will be covered, including cross-cultural differences, developing presentation skills and creative thinking. The evenings are mixed between informal group dinners and free evenings. Hotel accommodation is kindly provided over the weekend and the formal program resumes at dinner on Sunday 7th July. Monday the 8th looks like an interesting day, the session is titled ‘working with industry’ and the formal dinner in the evening presents a networking opportunity. On Tuesday the participants form teams and the remainder of week two involves various team activities including exploring personality types and the preparation of team presentations. The program culminates on Friday with presentations by each team and a formal dinner. By this point a well-earned rest will probably be needed!
Our thoughts so far: Katie
I’m thoroughly looking forward to the two weeks in Bristol, if a little apprehensive, which I think is natural for anything outside of your normal comfort zone. This week we were asked to provide some additional information to the program organisers, this inadvertently led to finding out a little more about some of the participants from those (and there are always some!) that ‘replied all’ to the email. What struck me was the diversity of the research areas the participants covered. So far, research areas include: the relationship between French philosophical thought and experimental Japanese music, cross-cultural technology transfer and, something of great interest to me, the role of cognition in the design process. So it looks set to be a diverse couple of weeks with interesting people.
I was pleased to receive the program schedule to see what topics would be covered. I am most looking forward to the session on ‘creative thinking and entrepreneurial mind set’ as this is an area I’ve previously identified for professional development and is something I have not had much exposure to in the past. My most pressing concern was the expected dress code, so when the program organisers emailed to see if anyone had any questions I didn’t hesitate to ask. It would appear that a little bit of everything is needed, which sounds like a perfect excuse to go shopping!
Our thoughts so far: Caroline
It’s already mid-June, but I don’t think anyone is complaining! PhD life is busy, but I think many students (including myself) have been taking advantage of the amazing weather, and the air has been full of the smell of barbeques and sun cream. I hope the visiting student can experience the sunshine, as it seems to bring the whole country to life; however the British weather tends to be unpredictable!
The schedule for the Bristol program looks absolutely packed! It looks like the program organisers have been busy arranging a great range of activities, from improving out professional skills through group work and exploring cultural differences, to providing social time, with structured dinners and free time for exploring our host city. I think I’m most looking forward to meeting all of the other participants. As Katie said, we have been asked to provide some background information, in order to create a participant booklet with introductions to everyone. The few profiles that have been shared look great, and there will be a large spectrum of skills and knowledge present, and I’m sure everyone will be able to contribute unique solutions to any of the challenges we might be presented with.
 |
| Southampton University campus in the sun |
