Day 2 - wednesday

WEDNESday 2 july - Programme

To sign up to sessions at the staff meeting, please use the form here

Notes and Additional Information

Skills and Resource Sessions

Discover Your Hidden Talents – and What to Grow Next (30 mins x 2)
Join us for a hands-on skills sort session using JPL’s skills cards. Whether you're just starting out or have years of experience, this activity helps you reflect on the skills you enjoy using and spot areas you’d like to develop. It's quick, surprisingly insightful, and a great way to kickstart personal development planning. (People attending the first slot can stay for the second slot to complete the action planning part of the exercise)

Communicating climate change: How the right words and pictures change the way we feel. (Full session time)
What is the difference between terms like ‘global warming’ and ‘climate chaos’? Why do certain words and visuals trigger some of us, and don’t affect others? How do personal values and worldviews change our reading of the same message? This workshop will offer you an insight into how to communicate climate change effectively.

The Concordat for the Environmental Sustainability of Research and Innovation Practice (30 mins x 2)
Outlining the aims and priorities of the Concordat for the Environmental Sustainability of Research and Innovation Practice, with a focus on understanding the different roles we all must play in embedding environmental sustainability into R&I practice across the sector and our collective responsibility to deliver the commitments.

Staff Led Sessions

The voice of scientists in perturbed times : navigating between communication, expertise and advocacy (Full session time)

How and why should scientists contribute to public debates ? Understanding the different registry of producing new knowledge, of providing established knowledge for decision making, of issue advocacy is key to engage safely and in a relevant way with the diversity of stakeholders that make society. The blurry boundaries between science communication, expertise and advocacy require to have a clear understanding of the values that motivate the public voice of scientists. [CANCELLED]

FORCE overview  (Full session time)

Display recent work completed by FORCE and promote services to NCAS community.

Drones in Atmospheric Research  (Full session time)

We would like the opportunity to bring together users of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs, UASs or drones). The aim is to get a better understanding of existing or future use cases to explore if NCAS could benefit from a better-coordinated approach.

History of Atmospheric Science and NCAS  (Full session time)

As NCAS approaches its 25th anniversary, it is appropriate to think about what it has achieved and how it fits into the wider picture of developments in atmospheric science. There was an initial discussion at the March Staff Briefing. There is more to say about how NCAS is part of modern Atmospheric Science than many of us believed. The timing is important because over the next decade it is likely that a significant number of people who remember the start of NCAS will no longer be around.

Part of the aim is to help put NCAS contributions in a historical perspective. There is no definitive history of Atmospheric Science and everyone has their own perspective. Part of this session will be to share thoughts and ideas concerning the history. There may well be opportunities, for example, to present the history of Atmospheric Science in a different way, bringing to the fore contributions which may have been overlooked or ignored in the past.

There will be some questions for participants to consider before the session.

GenAI in the Office: Everyday Use, Opportunities & Boundaries (45 minutes)

Explore how we use—and could use—Generative AI tools like ChatGPT and Copilot in office-based tasks such as writing, planning, and admin. Share your experiences, identify barriers, and help shape practical guidelines for responsible use across our organisation. (Note: this session focuses on non-research applications.)

Women in NCAS - breaking down barriers (45 minutes)

This is an opportunity for women in NCAS to support each other and share strategies on aspects of our work and careers that are disproportionately affected by how we work differently, our responsibilities and health matters.

The aims are to:

- Listen and support each other

- Gather examples of difficulties encountered and barriers

- Share experiences and successes in overcoming these

- Scope out appetite for a Women in NCAS network or mentors

The session is open to everyone and we welcome different viewpoints.