On 14 April 2016, the YGN held the YGN National Speaking Competition Southern heat. The annual event, organised by the YGN, gives young members of the nuclear industry a chance to practice their public speaking skills and compete for the 1st prize of £300.
The event host Sarah Embleton of Burges Salmon LLP called in the audience and introduced the judging panel. This year we were fortunate to have a very highly regarded judging panel made up of Anna Ellis (NI Western Branch Chair, of Indigon Consulting); Tom Scott (University of Bristol, Director of the Interface Analysis Centre); and Anne Lawrence (EDF, Site Controls Manager, and ex-Chair of the NI Western Branch). The YGN would like to thank the judges for taking the time to be involved in the event.
The YGN would also like to thank the NI who were the sponsor for the speaking competition and Burges Salmon LLP, the host. The event could not have taken place without their support.
The first speaker of the night was Richard Cousins from QinetiQ. Richard delivered an informative and thought provoking talk entitled “Better together – Project Control”, looking at managing uncertainty and risk in complex projects and the benefits of cost scheduling risk analysis.
Rebecca Smale representing Horizon Nuclear Power presented on the intriguing topic of “how do you teach nuclear fission to 10 year olds”, an inspired choice, suggesting how we can engage the nuclear experts of the future.
Next up was Thomas Hudson representing EDF who discussed “Nuclear Disasters – The Carbon Impact”, presenting an intriguing insight into a little known aspect of nuclear incidents.
Sophie Osbourne from Hydrock NMCL was the fourth speaker, with “Are Small Modular Reactors the next Smoke Detectors”, a look at the benefits of SMRs and the Generic Design Assessment process for their use.
The fifth and final speaker of the night, Chris Hutton from the University of Bristol, delivered a session entitled “Diamond based radiation detectors for very high dose rate environments”, encouraging the audience to consider how these fascinating detectors can be used in decommissioning, based on research carried out at the University of Bristol.
The judges then broke off to confer and pick their top three. This was no small feat given the high calibre of the speakers.
The judges reached a decision and after thanking the speakers, the winners were announced. The results this year were:
3rd place: Richard Cousins, who was praised for an interesting topic and an enthusiastic presentation, along with the way he dealt with questions from the audience.
Joint 1st Place: Due to the quality of the speakers and the breadth of the topics, the judges decided it was appropriate to award two speakers first prize. These were Rebecca Smale, who was praised for her excellent delivery and innovative subject matter – certainly a winner with the parents in the room; and Chris Hutton, who dealt with a very technical subject in an engaging, thought provoking and confident fashion.
The YGN and the NI would like to thank the contenders, the judges, the host of the competition, Burges Salmon LLP, and of course the audience for making this year’s event another great success.
[Michael Bray]