Student Talks on Trending Topics in Theory 2018 is a discussion meeting on field theory-related topics organised by and for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows working in India.

We hope to create a somewhat interdisciplinary environment comprising of students and postdocs working in string theory, quantum field theory and general relativity. Researchers involved in the adjoining areas of theoretical condensed matter, mathematical physics and statistical mechanics are also welcome.

It will be held during 6 - 14 July 2018, at the National Institute of Science Education and Research, Bhubaneswar. Registration for the event is closed.

The first edition of this workshop (ST4 2017) was held at the Chennai Mathematical Institute in May 2017. In spirit, the workshop is similar to the Modave Summer School on Mathematical Physics, held in Belgium every year.

The participants will primarily be graduate students from their last three years and postdoctoral fellows during their first two years. We are open to younger participants and more senior postdocs depending on logistical constraints; this age bracket will merely be the one given preference.

The primary aims of the meeting (in no particular order) are:

• • To bring together graduate students and postdocs working in India into a vibrant community by stimulating academic interaction with each other.

  • To provide enough exposure to various new research topics culminating in thriving research ventures.

  • To open channels of communication between students and postdocs who work in string theory and other field theoretic areas.

  • To facilitate and encourage student collaborations.

  • To enhance the teaching and speaking experience of students.

  • To foster an environment where students can get useful feedback about their ideas in a low-pressure setting.

The program duration is nine days comprising eight days of lectures with a full day break in between. We will have four series of lectures over this period, four lectures each, with the topics to be decided by popular vote. The format will be intensive, and intensely interactive lecture series will be given by students and postdocs to an audience of their peers.

There will also be slots for talks late in the evening that feature voluntary lectures by participants on their current research. We will not schedule these before the meeting; we will just delineate slots at the time and they can be taken up by anyone who wants to.

This year's meeting is funded by NISER, Bhubaneswar and is being organised by students and postdocs at NISER, CMI, ICTS, University of Delhi, IISER TVM and TIFR. 

The organisers are enormously grateful to Prof. Sudhakar Panda and Dr. Chethan Gowdigere at NISER, Bhubaneshwar for their immense support.