Fifteen STAI CDT students attended the 2023 Turing CDT conference in Birmingham in November. The conference was an exciting opportunity for students to network with peers across other AI CDTs, engage with active research, hear from experts and join panel sessions and skills activities.
The conference was also the first chance for PhD students in the newest cohort to attend a conference in person. For Sam Goring (2023 cohort), the conference was full of inspiring talks and a great start to the PhD experience.
Sam said, “Attending the Turing CDT conference was an enjoyable and useful experience. It was great to hear from, and network with, other AI PhD students, industry professionals and academics. Even though I’d only just started my PhD it was very useful to trade ideas and share insights about the specifics of research areas, the process of study, and the potential of AI in industry. Sue Black’s keynote was a very inspiring highlight, demonstrating that researchers can, and must, play our part in breaking down structural barriers to positive outcomes through research, teaching and outreach. Regulation was touched upon, with an enlightening session giving an overview of approaches to this in the western world. I left the conference feeling very positive and with renewed confidence in the PhD process and the positive impact of AI research.”
The conference was also an opportunity for students to share their research in a poster presentation. It was great to see so many STAI CDT students take up the opportunity to attend and build up their networks within the wider Turing network.