The launch had approximately 120 in-person attendees, and >100 people online. From a personal perspective, this launch event was a tremendous success, and I don’t think that anything could have gone better on the day. I think that the success and positivity that was tangible during the day was a just reward for the huge amount of effort that the whole of the CCAP team have put in over the last 18 months, encompassing the initial proposal stage, delivery and installation, and organisation of the launch.

Post-event surveys were sent out, and the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, from both in-person and virtual attendees. Some of the free-text responses are included below:

“Great Algal networking event”

“The tour was fantastic – such diversity on display and it was great to see

what kit is available. Special shout out to the catering too.”

“The presentations were really interesting and well-paced, not too long but

informative at the same time. Thank you for organizing the event and making it available for us around the world!”

“Very glad to be able to attend this way at all – excellent opportunity! Very good to include students flash talks and industry perspectives. All together very good diversity of content”

“excellent sound and image quality for online attendees”

“Overall I think this was a fantastic event.”

The event also included a session for postgraduate flash-presentations. The students were all linked in some way with CCAP; from supervision by science leads, use of CCAP strains, or use of CCAP-ARIES services. They were all very grateful for the opportunity to present their research projects, and in some cases this was the first time presenting to a live audience.

I asked them to provide some of their personal perspectives of the event:

It was delightful to see so many people excited about the event going ahead at SAMS, especially after the difficulties of the last two years. It was particularly great to see those who worked so hard to run the event rewarded by an engaged audience and well-deserved recognition for their efforts. It was great to see representation of experts from so many places and whilst also reaching those across the world virtually. I started when the ARIES-CCAP project had just been given the go ahead and funding secured, to be present and to observe the development and the achievement of opening the facility is wonderful. – Robert Grisenthwaite – MRes student SAMS

The CCAP-ARIES launch was a great in person event that brought science and industry together in a friendly and accessible way. I led one of the groups around the different labs which was a nice way to interact with the visiting delegates and show them the vast array of facilities we have for algal research here at SAMS. I had some fascinating conversations with people from previous algae events and I also met new contacts that I hope to keep in touch with.
I was lucky to have the opportunity to present at this event and share my findings from the experiment that I carried out in the CCAP-ARIES reactors. It was the first in person presentation I have had given since the lock down and it was a good way to spark conversation with the other delegates afterwards. – Eleanor Wood – PhD student SAMS

CCAP-ARIES launch was an amazing event. It opened new directions to algal biotechnology research. I guess through the academic talks, the attendees managed to get an overview of the potential of this venture and its wide range of application. At the same time, student talks supported that potential by showing the extend of research that can be supported by the CCAP-ARIES center. Also, I got an opportunity to interact with algal experts and students from other universities. The event was perfectly organized. – Leena Pushpam – ACES MRes student SAMS