A delegation of students and academics from the EPSRC-NERC Aura Centre for Doctoral Training in Offshore Wind Energy and the Environment took a prominent role at the Global Offshore Wind (GOW) conference in Manchester on 18 -19 June 2024.

Our session, titled “Innovation in action: Solving real industry challenges”, took place in the Innovation Theatre, sponsored by Vestas. Aura CDT Director, Prof Rob Dorrell and Aura CDT Deputy Director, Prof James Gilbert delivered short presentations and former Aura Innovation Centre Director, Louise Smith chaired a panel discussion featuring CDT students Sarah Bee, Dax Blackhorse-Hull, Sarah Dickson and Anna Weatherburn.

Anna Weatherburn is a Cohort 3 student at Durham University, where she is researching the creation and optimisation of a new material for wind turbine blades. Reflecting on her experience at Global Offshore Wind, she said:

“It’s always interesting to find out more about what’s happening in the industry and this year I had the opportunity to speak on a panel highlighting how the Aura CDT can help solve real industry challenges such as the need for new materials for turbine blades. It was great to be involved in a discussion on how we can improve the transfer of knowledge between industry and academia.”

Hosted by RenewableUK, GOW is a flagship event for the offshore wind sector. This year it attracted over 5000 attendees, 260 exhibitors and 200 speakers from more than 50 countries. Our students and academics were able to join industry leaders, innovators, and policymakers to explore cutting-edge technologies, forge strategic partnerships, and address critical sector challenges.

Sarah Bee, a Cohort 2 Aura CDT student at the University of Sheffield, is researching the use of machine learning to improve structural health monitoring in offshore wind farms. She shared her thoughts on the conference:

“GOW24 felt like the place to be!! With impressive representation from across the offshore wind industry; from coatings to cables, all facets of the industry were present. It has been an absolute privilege to represent Aura CDT alongside my colleagues in the panel on innovation in action. Most importantly, conversations were started – paving the way for future collaboration.”

Aura CDT students drawn from four cohorts and all four partner institutions attended the wider conference as part of our Continuing Professional Development programme. They enjoyed exploring the exhibition, attending presentations and networking with sector colleagues.

Our Centres for Doctoral Training in Offshore Wind Energy support sector research and innovation ambitions as well as provide skills training to help develop the talent pipeline needed to achieve UK net zero ambitions. We offer a wide range of partnership opportunities for offshore wind industry partners.  To learn more, view our Industry Prospectus.