We were so thrilled to hear that team ‘Beariables’ have won the national supercomputing challenge at Computing Insight UK (CIUK2025)! The team of undergraduate students from the University of Birmingham are studying for degrees in the School of Physics & Astronomy, and the School of Computer Science, and competed against 16 other teams from institutions … Continue reading “Team of undergraduate students wins national computing challenge!”
Category: Events
Bio-inspired FSI and HPC-driven aerodynamic optimisation
In this case study we hear from Hibah Saddal, a PhD student in Aerospace Engineering, who is using BlueBEAR to optimise aerodynamic performance. At the 14th BEAR Conference 2025, I had the opportunity to present my research carried out with my PhD advisor, Dr Chandan Bose, on bio-inspired fluid-structure interaction (FSI) problems, where we leveraged … Continue reading “Bio-inspired FSI and HPC-driven aerodynamic optimisation”
BEAR Challenge 2025
Over the three days of 24-26 June, we welcomed 90 undergraduate and postgraduate taught students to #BEARChallenge2025. In an attempt to meet demand for places, this year we expanded to allow 15 teams but demand also rose at a pace, with 31 teams registering their interest! It is great to see the level of interest … Continue reading “BEAR Challenge 2025”
Do restaurants care about consumers’ ratings?
In this case study we talk to Zhuangchen Wu, a final year PhD student in Economics, he is also the winner of the best presentation at the BEAR Conference 2025. Zhuangchen is investigating customer anger and consumer ratings. Consumer anger or fair pricing theory (Rotemberg 2005, 2011) proposes that firms have stable prices because they … Continue reading “Do restaurants care about consumers’ ratings?”
June 2025 BEAR Newsletter
Birmingham Environment for Academic Research (BEAR) Newsletter Whilst June has seen several of the team head out to conferences and events, including ISC High Performance 2025, we are busy preparing for our own event next week to welcome 15 teams of taught students to the heavily oversubscribed BEAR Challenge 2025, part of the UoB Xtra series of events. … Continue reading “June 2025 BEAR Newsletter”
Reflections from the BEAR Conference 2025
The 14th annual BEAR Conference, a vibrant event organised by postgraduates for postgraduates, took place on 22 May 2025 at the Alan Walters Building—and what a fantastic day it was! With 55 attendees, the conference was packed with insightful talks, lively discussions, and a strong sense of community. Dietmar Heinke, Chair of the BEAR User … Continue reading “Reflections from the BEAR Conference 2025”
Digital Research Conversations – Interdisciplinary data science
In our latest Digital Research Conversation, held on the 29 November 2024, research staff and students from the University of Birmingham gathered to discuss ‘Interdisciplinary data science: strategies for success’ in the home of the Institute for Data and AI (IDAI), at Elm House. Senior Research Data Scientist Dr Cai Wingfield arranged the event and … Continue reading “Digital Research Conversations – Interdisciplinary data science”
BEAR Challenge student teams compete in national Cluster Challenge
Two of the top-performing student teams from BEAR Challenge 2024 have gone onto compete in a national student cluster challenge. Online challenges began in October and culminated in three days of in-person activities in Manchester, where they competed with 14 other teams from universities across the UK at Computing Insight UK (CIUK). From the start … Continue reading “BEAR Challenge student teams compete in national Cluster Challenge”
BEAR PGR/ECR Conference opportunity 2025
We are starting to plan for the 14th BEAR conference – an event originally created to give PhD students experience in running a conference, as well as provide a showcase for the fantastic research done on services provided by Birmingham Environment for Academic Research (BEAR). With previous support from the Graduate School and our suppliers, … Continue reading “BEAR PGR/ECR Conference opportunity 2025”
Reflections on the BEAR Challenge 2024
In this blog post, we hear from Ivan Korniichuk, a member of the third-placed team in BEAR Challenge 2024, who gives his perspective on the recent event. I am delighted to announce that our team “return -1” achieved 3rd place in the BEAR Challenge 2024! Participating in this intensive three-day event at the University of … Continue reading “Reflections on the BEAR Challenge 2024”