In January 2020 and after the first training camp at UT the UCOM research fellows gave their feedback on the scientific and soft skills training sessions provided by the UCOM consortium up to that date.
“I was really impressed by the organization of the meeting and training week, in particular from the soft skills seminar. I think such courses give us something extra, even professional, which will be certainly useful throughout our careers”, Davide (ESR2/EPFL)
“All the technical lectures were very informative and relevant to our research topics. It was a good experience to learn from people who have ruled the field for last couple of decades or even more viz. Lawrence Crum, Stephane Zaleski, Detlef Lohse and others.
Soft skills training was very helpful to introspect own mistakes during presentation and also on top of it, constructive feedback from Amalia and the other ESRs has also added to the learning.”
Mandeep (ESR 4/SU)
“What the UCOM project offers to me is not only to do research but also to develop my communication skills, to exchange ideas with our research field pioneers from all around the world, and last but not least, to enjoy being in such a friendly professional atmosphere!”,
Saeed (ESR 5/CITY)
“The lectures on experimental methods for multi-phase flows, computational methods for bubble / interface tracking, cavitation in the bioengineering field and cavitation control technologies gave a good overview on the overall project and better understanding and background to the other ESRs’ projects. Furthermore, a lot of information could be used for my own project and lead to interesting talks and networking.
The presentation skills training was very helpful, as it allowed practise of the way one’s giving presentation in a friendly environment with constructive critic and good tips. Giving high quality presentations, the audience can easily follow, as a researcher is essential to show the work done and possibly attract new collaborations or funding. I felt much more confident giving presentations after the workshop. “,
Lisa (ESR 7/ ICR)
“IICR 2019: It is always a pleasure to listen to top notch people, pioneers in their respective domains, talk about science. I’m personally grateful that I’m having these recurring chances, i.e. these events, to meet people and learn from them.”, Youssef (ESR 9/ UT)
“The IICR Workshop 2019 displayed the multiple applications of cavitation research encompassing hydrodynamic, high-energy physics and biomechanics, which in turn has broadened my knowledge on the field.
Often overlooked by the scientific community the presentation skills training provided by Amalia Petrova was on the point ! We improved our communication skills by listening, looking and doing using modern methods such as story-telling ”,
Armand (ESR10/ CITY)
“Prof. Crum’s lecture was great! His passion and experience made it pure pleasure to listen to! The lecture of Prof. Lohse gathered a crowd of listeners for a reason –
it’s rare to be able to learn from a scientist of this class. Presentation skills are essential for modern day scientists. I’m glad UCOM gave me a chance to work on them.”
Dawid (ESR 11/UT)
“For me the lectures given by Prof. Lawrence Crum were fascinating. He talked about his findings on ultrasound and tissue interaction (Lithotripsy and Histotripsy) which was very helpful for me and he gave me a good insight into my project. Me and my colleges were so motivated by his lectures.
The lecture given by Dr. David Fernández Rivas was also so inspiring for me. Especially the Bubble Bag that he invented was interesting because it facilitates and speeds up cleaning the tools in Lab using cavitation. I think consulting with this person is beneficial for the ESRs who want to pursue their careers in the industry.
Presentation Skill Workshop: For PhD students, it is really important to communicate with other scientists and present their findings. The workshop that we took part in was a great opportunity to learn skills useful for scientific presentations. I had no experience at this level before, so I needed to learn how to attract people’s attention to my lecture. Sometimes we also have to make an age-appropriate presentation for high school students about our project, so it is really important to gain the skills for such events.
UCOM meetings: I see the UCOM meetings as great opportunities for the ESRs to become aware of the progress of each other’s projects. It was at one of the meetings that I found out there are some common areas of research between me and ESR7. She is making some tissue-mimicking materials that I need for my project. Networking is another excellent aspect of meetings. The ESRs have the opportunity to discuss with professors and supervisors from other universities and receive scientific hints and lots of motivation!”
Ali (ESR12/UT)
“I was touched by the lectures and the personality of Prof Lawrence Crum. Such a respectable person and still a passionate researcher! A role model for me.” Jingyu (ESR13/TUM)
“The training provided by the UCOM network was exceptional, for one more time. The presentation skills training was much needed for everyone and the things we learned will follow all of us in the future. Among the other great lectures, the ones from Prof. Lawrence Crum were invaluable, as it’s not common to be given the chance to have a meaningful discussion with a professor that has worked for decades on the subject we are studying.”, Vangelis (ESR14/CITY)
“The training events were immensely helpful for me in the development of my soft skills and personality. The lecture series were carefully handpicked as they were interesting and informative as well. I would suggest that if we could record the lecture series it would be an asset for research enthusiasts as a reference”,
Basil (ESR15/SU)