The first day saw staff and students unveil their creativity and teamwork, with an animation workshop hosted by Aardman Animations of Wallace & Gromit fame. The theme for short stop-motion animations produced by the group was ‘Making New Friends’, a nice reflection for the purpose of the trip. Afterwards, teams got competitive with a trivia quiz, with one round revealing interesting facts about the academic and operations teams.

Dinner provided another opportunity for the group to join together, this time in the atmospheric Orangery Restaurant, followed by socialising and board games. Conversations about research flowed, and the relaxed atmosphere fostered a safe environment for sharing ideas for scientific collaboration.

Following breakfast, the group headed out on a country walk, taking in the local countryside (and a few natural obstacles!). A group discussion on how to enhance training and culture within QET Labs followed, with more creativity finishing off the trip. Small groups came together to paint sections of a large QET Labs logo with the theme ‘paint the future QET Labs you want to see’, this will be displayed in the NSQI Building where many of our teams are based.

Feedback from the group was that the away day was enjoyed by all, it proved a successful event for meeting new group members and making strong connections across all of our research areas.