The NetDRIVE 2026 Summer School

15th-19th June 2026

Location: Durham University, Department of Computer Science, Durham, UK

Information for participants

We have put together a page of useful info, which will be added to from time to time!

What is it?

A 5-day fully-funded summer school aimed at PhD students interested in changing the way they work with large-scale compute, HPC and the Digital Research Infrastructure to enable a move to Net Zero. The school will provide training and skills to help empower attendees to make real positive environmental change.

Registration

Registration has now closed.

We welcome applications from any UK based PhD student whose PhD research involves the use of computational or data facilities. The school provides practical training in sustainable practices but also has a strong emphasis on creating advocates for sustainable DRI. Applicants should therefore have a willingness and interest in becoming such an advocate. Applicants will be selected to represent a range of research areas, covering the different research councils within UKRI.

Key Dates

Deadline for applications: 1st February 2026 - CLOSED
Notification of acceptance: 15th February 2026 - CLOSED
Accpetance of place: 28th February 2026 - CLOSED
Second round acceptance, beginning 1st March 2026 - CLOSED
Summer school dates: 15-19th June 2026

Programme

The overview programme is currently TBC and subject to change, however this draft should give an idea. The agenda is given below.

	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
9:00		HPC Days talk: Performace optimisation	Talks: Environmental cost JASMIN CEDA data QMUL data centre	Green software use (HPC Days)	Keynote: Sufficiency Practical: Monitoring
10:30	Refreshment break
11:00		Talks: GreenDisk Sustainable software	Talks: Data centres heat reuse Poster prep	Responsible computing	Activity: DRI design
12:00	Arrival, registration and lunch	Lunch
13:00	Welcome Keynote: The challenge Facilitation	HPC Days talk: Performance optimisation	Data centre tour Practical: Impact mapping	Practical: FAIR data Case study: champion Poster prep	Goodbyes and departure
14:30	Refreshment break
15:00	Facilitation Talk: DRI Net-Zero	Storytelling workshop	Practical: Impact mapping Engagement: planning	Keynote talks: Politics Monitoring
16:00	Refreshment break
16:30	Storytelling workshop	Practical: Optimisation Poster prep	HPC Days: scavenger hunt	Engagement: lifestyle Practical: repair
18:00	Board games	Ceilidh	Botanic garden tour	Social time

Accommodation, Travel and Funding

The summer school is located at the University of Durham and accommodation has been arranged at the Marriott Hotel in central Durham.

Accommodation will be provided to all successful applicants free of charge. Reasonable travel expenses will be also be funded. We anticipate all applicants will travel by train and consider their environmental footprint when travelling.

We recognise that this may be challenging for some individuals and should not be a barrier to participation, alternative forms of travel are appropriate to meet individual circumstances.

Agenda

The session summary is here, but for more information, please see the detailed agenda. The Summer School is integrated with HPC Days.

This agenda is subject to change, and will be modified to allow participants to join relevant sessions at the HPC Days meeting, once the timetable for these becomes available.

Monday (PM):

12:00 - Arrival, lunch, registration
13:00 - Welcome, introduction and aims
13:30 - Keynote: Introducing the Net Zero challenge, Stuart Basden (co-founder XR, climate activist),
14:00 - Facilitation session, Stuart Basden
14:30 - Break
15:00 - Facilitation session, Stuart Basden
15:30 - Talk: Net Zero from a DRI context, Martin Farley (UKRI)
16:00 - Break
16:30 - Storytelling workshop - Beginning at the beginning - What’s your story? , Erinma Ochu (UWE, Bristol), Rosie Stanbury (Coach)
17:30 - Poster preparation
17:55 - Tuesday instructions
18:00 - Evening activity: Climate board games

Tuesday (AM):

09:00 - HPC Days joint session: Node level performance optimisation, Thomas Gruber (Friedrich-Alexander-Universität)
10:30 - Break
11:00 - Keynote: GreenDisk, Loic Lannelongue (Cambridge University)
11:25 - Talk: Sustainable computing in the research lifecycle, Liz Ing-Simmons (King’s College London)
12:00 - Lunch

Tuesday (PM):

13:00 - HPC Days joint session: Node level performance optimisation, Thomas Gruber (Friedrich-Alexander-Universität)
14:30 - Break
15:00 - Storytelling workshop, Erinma Ochu (UWE, Bristol), Rosie Stanbury (Coach)
16:00 - Break
16:30 - Practical: Software Sustainability Institute online sustainability evaluation, Kirsty Pringle (EPCC)
17:55 - Wednesday instructions
18:00 - Evening activity: Ceilidh

Wednesday (AM):

09:00 - Societal, environmental and economic benefits verses environmental cost and CO2 offsetting, Martin Juckes (Oxford University)
09:25 - Talk: CEDA, the CEDA Archive and its role in the NERC Environmental Data Service (Alison Pamment)
09:45 - Talk: JASMIN: the UK’s environmental data analysis facility (Matt Pritchard)
10:10 - Talk: Queen Mary data centre case study, Alex Owen (Queen Mary University London)
10:30 - Break
11:00 - Talk: Sustainable data centres and the ACF, Lorna Smith (EPCC)
11:15 - Talk: Heat storage and reuse, Alastair Basden (Durham)
11:30 - Poster preparation
12:00 - Lunch
13:00 - Tour: The DiRAC Machine Room

Wednesday (PM):

13:45 - Practical: Environmental impact mapping, Marcia Smith (Lancaster)
14:30 - Break
15:00 - (continued) Practical: Environmental impact mapping, Marcia Smith (Lancaster), Kirsty Blair (UK CEH)
15:30 - Engagement: Planning public engagement materials and activities, Lorna Smith (EPCC)
15:55 - Thursday instructions
16:00 - Break
16:30 - HPC Days Scavenger hunt and vendor talks
18:00 - Evening activity: Botanic garden trip

Thursday (AM):

09:00 - HPC Days joint session: Responsible computing plans, Andy Turner (EPCC)
10:30 - Break
11:00 - Green software use on HPC, Andy Turner (EPCC)
12:00 - Lunch

Thursday (PM):

13:00 - Practical: FAIR data management and sustainability on JASMIN, Fatima Chami (JASMIN)
13:30 - Case study: My route to becoming a sustainability champion, Jessica Huntley (STFC)
14:00 - Final poster preparation session
14:30 - Break
15:00 - Keynote: Energy markets, external pressures, politics and funding, Michael Rudgyard (NetDRIVE champion)
15:30 - Keynote: Monitoring and estimating emissions in your workflow, Alex Owen (Queen Mary University London)
16:00 - Break
16:30 - Engagement: Lifestyle choices, the three Rs, Lorna, Fatima, Alastair
17:00 - Practical: Laptop and server repair
17:55 - Friday instructions
18:00 - Social evening: Free style (backup for Botanic garden visit)

Friday (AM):

09:00 - Keynote: Making the Case for Sufficiency: Cross-case study lessons, Carolynne Lord (UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology)
09:30 - Practical: ARCHER2 monitoring, Lorna Smith (EPCC)
10:30 - Break and poster session
11:00 - Activity: Design a DRI facility, Alastair Basden (Durham)
11:30 - Close: Creating a plan and feedback, Lorna, Alastair, Fatima
12:00 - Lunch and poster session
13:00 - End of summer school