We were delighted to welcome partners and guests to this year’s SEPnet Public Engagement Awards, an evening dedicated to celebrating the creativity, dedication, and impact of physics outreach across the network. The event showcased an inspiring range of projects that bring research to life for schools, families, and communities, and highlighted the vital role of collaboration in widening participation in STEM.

Awards on the night recognised innovative hands-on engagement with complex physics, inclusive approaches to reaching new audiences, and outstanding strategic commitment to public engagement.

Our winners were:

• Dr Andrew Gow and Dr Wolfgang Enzi from the University of Portsmouth for their interactive gravitational lensing workshops

• Dr Ed Macaulay from Queen Mary University London for his wonderfully creative “A Bite of Space-Time” relativity outreach activity

• The Particle Physics Research Centre at Queen Mary University London for their excellent culture and support for participating in physics outreach

• The Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation at the University of Portsmouth for their long-standing leadership in embedding engagement across research culture.

• Curiosity Sussex, whose volunteer-led partnerships continue to deliver free, accessible STEM festivals and events for thousands of families in Brighton, Lewes and beyond.

The evening was a reminder of the passion, generosity, and imagination within the SEPnet community. We extend our warmest congratulations to all the award winners and nominees, and thank everyone who contributes year-round to making physics and astronomy accessible, inclusive, and inspiring.

The XV NExT PhD Workshop: Future Horizons in Particle Physics was held at Cosener's House, Abingdon, 14-17 July 20205.

The NExT PhD workshop is the Summer School of the NExT Institute, targeting PhD students working in theory, experiment and phenomenology within particle physics, astrophysics and cosmology. Other than to PhD students from the NExT Institute nodes, it is also open to those from all other UK institutions.

The programme includes five lecture series on current topics in high energy physics, with an emphasis on cutting edge developments, networking and panel events discussing careers inside and outside of academia, and dedicated sessions for student talks and poster presentations.

SEPnet were please to contribute, organising an Industry Employer round table session. Physics PhD alumni employers from diverse sectors shared their experiences and gave an insight their sectors. Participants included a Photonic Engineer, A group leader for sample environment at the ISIS Neutron and Muon Source , A team leader for radiation detection and a Patent Attorney Advocate.