Third year PGR student and SAG rep Emily Glover reports on this year’s CDT Away Day, a team building activity which rounded off Induction Week:
Following on from the tradition which was started last year, the last day of Induction Week (20th September) found PGRs from all years taking part in a variety of activities for team building and get to know the CDT’s newest cohort. It was a welcome change for the older cohorts, taking a break from their normal days in the lab or at the computer, and a chance for the newest cohort to get to know people the best way possible, by lifting them through rope holes in the name of team building. This year, we went to Shillingford Organics farm for a day of activities hosted by Exeter Forest School.
Splitting up into four groups, we took part in a range of activities to improve our communication, team work, and mindfulness to stop life from becoming overwhelming. Lunchtime gave everyone an opportunity to relive a staple of British secondary school PE (and show those who didn’t go to school in the UK how no-one remembers the rules of secondary school sports) with a quick game of one-hit rounders. While it might not have been a professional game of rounders, with many missed throws and a few bruises, everyone had a smile on their face and were ready for their afternoon activities.
Overall, everyone enjoyed themselves, learning new faces and skills that we will be able to bring into our day-to-day lives, and some survival skills should we ever find ourselves lost in a forest, needing to build and subsequently set fire to a woodland creature made out of willow (which a whale clearly is, according to our panel of physicists).
More photos from the day below:
