The kick-off event for the Space Weather Innovation, Measurement, Modelling and Risk Study (one of the Wave 2 programmes of the UKRI Strategic Priorities Fund) took place in the Wolfson Library of the Royal Society on Tuesday November 26th. Seventy-five people attended the event, representing a range of academic institutions, as well as representatives from industry, government and public sector research establishments such as the UK Met Office.
The morning session of the meeting consisted of five presentations, introducing the programme and its relevance to government, the Research Councils and the Met Office, as well as describing details of the potential calls. The presentations were as follows:
During the lunch break, the Announcement of Opportunity for the five NERC SWIMMR calls was issued on the NERC web site. The afternoon therefore began with a brief introduction by Jacky Wood to the NERC Announcement of Opportunity, and the particular terms and conditions which it contained.
The remainder of the afternoon session was spent in a Question and Answer session in which attendees were able to ask questions to the speakers about the nature of the programme and the potential timing of future calls, and finally to an informal discussion session, in which participants gathered into groups to discuss the opportunities for funding which had been outlined.
Previously, MIST Council announced the cancellation or postponement of Autumn MIST if proposed UCU strike action had not been cancelled by 22 November. The strike action is still scheduled to take place, and as such, Autumn MIST will indeed be cancelled or rescheduled.
We appreciate that this news will inconvenience some Autumn MIST attendees, but after much discussion, MIST Council feels that this is the best way to proceed to ensure a vibrant and constructive meeting.