The Horizon CDT 2023 cohort was proud to host the Horizon CDT Conference 2025 on Tuesday 13th May 2025 at the Jubilee Conference Centre. Unlike previous years, where this conference formed part of the annual CDT retreat, this year’s event stood proudly on its own — a full day dedicated to showcasing the research progress and ideas of our second-year CDT students.
This annual event is a central part of the Year 2 Peer-Review Publication training module. As part of the module, each student writes an academic paper on a developing aspect of their PhD research and presents it at the conference. The event represents a key opportunity for students to share their work, receive feedback, and engage with peers, academics and supervisors. Many thanks to all supervisors who supported their students through the preparation process — your guidance is a crucial part of this collaborative effort.
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Keynote: Generative AI for Research
Speaker: Dr Kai Xu
Associate Professor, School of Computer Science, University of Nottingham
Co-director, Visualisation and Tracking Group (VisTAG)
The conference opened with an engaging keynote by Dr Kai Xu, who explored the rapidly evolving landscape of generative AI and its applications across the academic research lifecycle. From tools aiding literature reviews to those capable of generating full publication drafts, Dr Xu provided an overview of both commercial products and research prototypes — including one of his own. His talk prompted engaging discussion on the evolving role of emerging technologies in shaping research practices and methodologies.
Conference Sessions
Following the keynote, the day was structured around four themed sessions:
Each session featured several 15-minute presentations, offering Year 2 researchers an opportunity to share their progress, receive feedback and engage in dialogue around emerging themes.
You can explore the research projects of Year 2 by visiting the Cohort 2023 page.
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Social Event
To conclude the day, attendees gathered at Browns Brasserie & Bar in Nottingham for a celebratory dinner. It was a wonderful opportunity to relax, reflect on the day’s success and strengthen connections across the CDT community.
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Special thanks to Ramneek Kaur Rai and Bogna Liziniewicz for their excellent work in presenting and guiding the conference throughout the day!
