Group meetings#

We have hybrid group meetings every Monday at 15:30, and you are always welcome to join and propose a topic. You can find the room and link for the zoom meeting are in the header of the group meetings channel, together with the past meetings’ recordings and the schedule.

In a month, we have 5 types of meetings that we cycle over.

1. Minute meeting + talk#

In a minute meeting everyone gives a personal update from the past month. We write the updates in a hackmd before the meeting, and then read them and ask questions. After the minute meeting there is a talk by a visitor or a group member. The topic can be a project pitch idea, a finished project or a progress update.

2. ArXiv roundup#

Goals#

Discuss recent papers in a fun, informal setting so that we:

  • Encourage group members to keep up with the arXiv

  • Learn us about each other’s research interests

  • Find interesting papers that we might have otherwise missed

  • Can bestow the “Quantum Tinkerer Dankest Paper Of The Month Award” (QTDPOMA™)

Rules#

  • Before the discussion everyone picks an interesting paper that is at most one month old. Any subject is valid as long as a) you found the paper genuinely interesting (no meme submissions please), and b) it’s a paper from outside the group (and of the groups of anyone likely to attend).

  • During the discussion each person takes turns giving a short summary of the paper using one slide and explaining why they found it interesting. Presentations should last at most 5 minutes including time for questions.

  • Prior to the roundup we will post a link to Google Slides where you can put your slide. This way we ensure there are no duplicates.

  • The presentations are meant to be informal. You are not expected to understand the paper in detail, but ideally you should be able to summarize its main claim(s) in a way that is accessible for the rest of the group.

  • At the end of the roundup everyone votes for QTDPOMA™

  • Participation is 100% voluntary but highly encouraged!

3. Project ideas#

Goals#

  • To motivate group members to think about feasible and interesting project ideas.

  • To learn about each others interests

  • To help each other to formulate successful project ideas

Activity#

  • Share ideas at an early stage. Then engage in a discussion with other group members following some of the proposed questions.

  • The following criteria can be used as a guide for project ideas, but does not need to be answered in detail:

    • Context

    • Research question

    • Goal of the idea

    • Possible approach(es)

    • Possible outcome(s)

Rules#

  • The activity is voluntary, with a maximum of 8 people presenting in one session.

    • If very few people sign up, we’ll consider an alternative.

  • Everyone gets 4 minutes to talk about their idea, and 4 minutes for questions and discussion, = 8 minutes per person

Format#

  • Everyone gets 2 slides (we’ll share a google presentation)

  • Everyone gets the chance to write on their slides or to write down in a blackboard during the presentation (we’ll attach a tablet to the laptop)

Questions for discussion#

  • Who could be interested in working in this project in the group?

  • Who do you expect to be interested in the results?

  • Could it be a student project?

  • How feasible is this project?

  • Does anyone in the group have experience already in this?

  • What are the possible directions that this idea could go?

4. Project updates#

Once a month we give updates on the projects we work on. We write the updates in google slides before the meeting, and then read them and ask questions. After the minute meeting there is a talk by a visitor or a group member. The topic can be a project pitch idea, a finished project or a progress update.

What?#

Short presentations about different project goals and latest progress.

Goals#

  • To not forget projects

  • To keep group members up to date with projects

  • To get a starting point for discussions

Format#

Before the meeting:

  • People sign up for the meeting: either to present or just listen and give feedback

  • 8 projects are chosen, with priority given to those not presented the month before

  • People attending get assigned at least one project to give feedback on and all projects get feedback from at least one person

  • All projects get 1-2 slides

  • The group meeting curator reminds people of the meeting goals

During the meeting:

  • One person per project introduces the project goals and recent updates in 8 minutes including questions

  • The speaker should try to balance between a factual and reflective approach. We state what the status of the project is and reflect on it, so that others can understand better.

After the meeting:

  • People give feedback to each other on a 1 to 1 basis via chat or meeting. It is important to address the following points:

    • Was the project goal clear?

    • Was the context enough to follow the latest updates?

5. Coding meeting#

In a coding meeting a speaker presents about a coding related topic with slides and/or a live notebook demonstration. Topics are varied and can include:

  • Coding practices

  • A computational package

  • An algorithm

  • A method used in a project

6. Project pitch#

Project pitch is a short presentation of a project idea that we consider promising. The presentation be around 30 minutes + 15 minute discussion.

The presentation should:

  1. Introduce the necessary physics background.

  2. Explain why we consider the project interesting and to whom it may be interesting.

  3. Review our expertise and capacity:

    • What does the project take?

    • What knowledge or skill we may need that we do not have?

    • How much work will the project take from us?

  4. Consider the risks of the project

    • Can the project lead to a negative answer or a less interesting answer?

    • Can the project be too hard to carry out?

    • How likely are we to be scooped if we are too slow?

When starting a presentation it is good to also state the aspects of the presentation for which the presenter is especially interested in feedback.