NBIC Deliver Technical Module: Surfaces and Materials meet Biofilms
The NBIC Doctoral Training Centre in Biofilms Innovation, Technology, and Engineering (BITE) along with the Open Innovation Hub for Antimicrobial Surfaces (OPIHAS), at the University of Liverpool, held its first NBIC BITE-CTP Technical Module, titled ‘Surfaces and Materials meet Biofilms’ from 1-4 July 2024. The module training was hosted at the Liverpool’s Management School and organised and delivered by both NBIC and the University of Liverpool.
The opening lecture was hosted by OPIHAS Director and NBIC Liverpool Co-Director, Professor Rasmita Raval, who gave the students a brief introduction of the training and highlighting the importance of developing interdisciplinary skills.
Group picture of module participants on a tour of the Royal Liver Building.
The lectures that followed were held by Dr George Darling, Professor Dmitry Shchukin, Dr Adrian Gardner, Dr Andrea Vezzoli, Dr Elisabetta Mariani, Dr Paul Pudney and Professor Mathias Brust, experts on Surfaces and Materials from the University of Liverpool, and who shared the latest advancements and challenges in the intersection of surfaces, materials, and biofilm science.
In this module, BITE-CTP students had the opportunity to learn about characterisation techniques such as imaging, microscopy, and spectroscopy and to visit specialist laboratories. As truly interdisciplinary exercises, NBIC students also had the opportunity to create and characterise nanomaterials by themselves as well as take leadership on policy engagement.
In addition, Liverpool provided a wonderful backdrop, and participants were given an opportunity to find out about its history by visiting the famous Royal Liver Building, once one of the tallest buildings in the UK.
As mentioned, one focus of the module and its case study was on policy engagement and policy impact, an area most students had not encountered before. Students were tasked to work in groups on policy case studies, identifying societal issues, biofilm relevance (any positives and/or negatives), alongside policy actors and possible avenues of policy engagement.
The case study topics were:
- Biofilm Growth in the Preservation and Restoration of Historic Buildings
- Biofilm Challenges in Food Production on Cruise Ships
- Marine Biofouling Challenges
- Waste Water Challenges
Winning group from left: Amy Foo Guest, Jack Martin and Malek Hawela plus Ines Foidl, from the NBIC Operations Team, who was overseeing the module.
All groups engaged with this case study in very creative ways, as they were broadly laid out to allow their own knowledge and scientific backgrounds to influence a different direction for this task. The winning group consisted of Malek Hawela (University of Southampton), Jack Martin (University of Liverpool) and Amy Foo Guest (University of Liverpool) with their case study on ‘Biofilm Growth in the Preservation and Restoration of Historic Buildings’, showcasing an engaging overview of the impact of biofilms and focussing a large part of their case study on the local policy scale, ie specifically focussing on Liverpool and discussing the importance of such buildings as the Royal Liver Building but also the detrimental social effects of dilapidated homes and buildings on a community.
For this policy engagement case study, NBIC engaged with the Scottish Policy and Research Exchange (SPRE) to deliver an introductory session for the PhD students. This was for many their first encounter with this topic and from this word cloud, people conveyed their uncertainty with this topic.
After the module and presentations were over, this exercise was repeated, and the changes in students’ perception was significant, showing how overall ‘interested’ and positive this module on policy engagement had made them. It showed them an additional avenue of impact for their own research.
Word cloud generated via Mentimeter, conducted by SPRE.
