On Monday 17th and Tuesday 18th July 2023, the DSP Centre hosted a bespoke Training School for PhD students, to explore the latest advancements in short-to-long range optical wireless communication (OWC) systems.
Twenty-three students from universities across the UK and Europe, who are currently studying towards PhD degrees in subjects across the field of optical communications, were selected to attend the two-day Training School, to learn about our research in OWC systems and innovative digital signal processing (DSP) technologies.
Several world-leading experts from universities across the globe (including the University of Oxford, University of Edinburgh, Northumbria University, Valencia Polytechnic University - Spain, & University of Aveiro - Portugal) joined us in-person, to present their research in a series of lectures and tutorials for the students. DSP Centre Senior Lecturers, Dr Roger Giddings and Dr Sujan Rajbhandari, then led specialist workshops presenting our digital communication technologies and providing guidance on publishing scientific research papers. The trainees also had the opportunity see live technical demonstrations on our state-of-the-art equipment and get involved in some practical activities led by our research team.
The Training School was organised as part of ‘NEWFOCUS’; an EU-funded project led by a network of university academics, research institutions, businesses and government bodies across UK and Europe, aiming to develop sophisticated communication systems that meet the demands of future networks. These days, current networks, such as 3G and 4G, are struggling to cope with various pressures, including risks to online security and privacy, demands for faster online connection, and the need to reduce environmental impacts. In 2023, we successfully submitted an application to COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology); the funding organisation responsible for the NEWFOCUS project, to deliver the Training School, to share the research we’re leading and the technologies we’re developing to meet these demands and make future networks more accessible, more convenient and more secure.
Dr Sujan Rajbhandari, Senior Lecturer and organiser of the event, said
the Training School provided the platform for the DSP Centre, students and experts from across the world to come together to share knowledge, establish academic partnerships, and to showcase the world-leading research that takes place here at Bangor University. It was a highly rewarding experience for DSP Centre colleagues to meet fellow students and experts from across the world and has opened the doors for further research collaborations in the future.
You can find more information and photos of the event on our Twitter and Linkedin pages.
