James Spragg was awarded a Rideal Travel Bursary to attend the 16th European Congress on Catalysis held from 31 August to 5 September in Trondheim, Norway. Here he tells us about his highlights from the conference.
"Recently, I had the notable opportunity to attend the 16th European Congress on Catalysis from 31st August - 5th September in Trondheim, Norway. The Rideal Travel Bursary awarded to me by the SCI and RSC were key for my attendance, and I would like to sincerely thank the SCI and RSC for allowing me this great opportunity as a second-year PhD. My abstract was originally accepted for a poster presentation, but I was later given the opportunity to also present a 20-minute oral presentation in the session titled “Advancements in catalysis: Materials and fundamentals”. These presentations were a successful way for me to communicate my research to the wider catalysis community, simultaneously providing me the opportunity to increase the effectiveness of my ability to summarise novel work and communicate complex fundamentals for future occasions across several catalytic disciplines. I also engaged in interesting and useful discussion with experienced academics and industry professionals, providing insights into my work and avenues for future research I had not considered, which I will bear in mind for future work.
"The conference was strongly attended by PhD students, experienced academics and industry experts, creating a keen atmosphere of knowledge and learning. The range of topics presented at the conference made for a fascinating experience, providing insights into the broader world of catalysis and allowing for awareness of spaces into which my research may fit. I also attended a mingling event for early career researchers and young industry professionals, meeting many new researchers in similar stages as myself. We had interesting discussions over dinner, and I am confident I will keep in touch with the people I met over time and meet up in future conferences.
"Attending this conference also came with the opportunity to explore Trondheim, a beautiful city set on a fjord. I very luckily got to see the Northern Lights on one of the evenings, which was remarkable. Overall, I had a great experience at EuropaCat 2025, and am very grateful to the Rideal Travel Bursary for the opportunity to attend."
James Spragg
PhD student
Cardiff University
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