What are Cake Meetings?
Cake Meetings are monthly gatherings bringing together academics, PhD students, and researchers from across the WPE department. These collaborative sessions provide a platform for knowledge sharing, interdisciplinary discussion, and community building - all accompanied by delicious cake!
While particularly valuable for Early Career Researchers (ECRs), these meetings are open to all department members regardless of career stage. The informal atmosphere encourages open dialogue and creates opportunities for unexpected collaborations across our research groups.
Meeting Types
Rainbow Sessions
Interdisciplinary discussions where researchers from different groups share perspectives on common challenges, encouraging cross-pollination of ideas.
Career Tips & Tricks
Professional development sessions focused on skills like grant writing, publishing strategies, and career advancement in academic and industry settings.
Your Story
Personal journeys and experiences shared by department members, highlighting diverse career paths and the human side of academic research.
Research Presentations
Technical sessions where researchers present their latest findings, methodologies, and results, sparking detailed discussions on specific research topics.
Upcoming Meetings
Microplastics in Urban Water Systems
An interdisciplinary discussion on microplastic contamination in urban water infrastructure and potential remediation strategies from multiple perspectives.
Publishing in High-Impact Journals
Insights and strategies for early career researchers to increase their chances of publication in prestigious academic journals in the environmental sciences.
From Uncertainty to Impact
A personal journey through academic research, industry collaboration, and policy influence in the field of environmental health and sanitation.
Novel Approaches in Resource Recovery
Presentation of innovative biological processes for recovering valuable resources from waste streams, with potential applications in circular economy.
Climate Change and Indoor Environments
Cross-disciplinary discussion on how climate change affects indoor air quality, health outcomes, and architectural adaptations needed in future buildings.
Microbial Communities in Urban Soils
Research findings on how urbanization affects soil microbial diversity and the implications for ecosystem services and public health.
