About Nexus
Nexus Membership Benefits
Student members of the Institute of Physics can look forward to the following membership benefits:
Institute of Physics Magazines
Student members will receive regular copies of the Institute's magazine publications by post - Physics World and Interactions.
Physics World is the Institute's official flagship publication. It is a monthly magazine that includes the latest physics news, features, reviews, editorials and analysis covering areas of research, industry and careers. All members of the Institute receive Physics World directly by post and with over 35,000 readers it forms the basis of our physics community throughout the world.
Interactions is the Institute's membership newspaper including details of member achievements, opinions and events. This title has ten issues a year and is delivered with Physics World.
Trips and Events
Nexus organises events and excursions for its members throughout the year, on local, regional and national scales. Nexus representatives from different areas of the UK and Ireland organise a variety of intercollegiate events, while individual student physics societies affiliated to Nexus are usually involved with more local events. The latter are often supported by Nexus and sometimes are open to student members from other universities. In addition, Nexus members have the opportunity to attend international trips and events organised in conjunction with IAPS.
Events and excursions are often financially subsidised for Nexus members, and student societies can apply for grants for their planned events.
Future events will be listed on the Nexus Now pages and members will stay updated about forthcoming opportunities.
In the past, excursion destinations have included: the Eden Project in Cornwall; the DESY synchrotron in Hamburg, Germany; the ILL neutron source and the ESRF synchrotron in Grenoble, France; and the CERN particle accelerator near Geneva, Switzerland. The trip to Grenoble and CERN in June 2007 was the most popular Nexus event ever, with all 50 places filled in just over four hours! Due to high interest it is very likely that we will run this trip again in June 2009.
Nexus has also organised social events such as large-scale dinner balls held in London, Manchester and Edinburgh.
Nexus Student Conference
This is a new annual weekend event in mid-November, which is open to all Nexus members as well as some early career professionals who have graduated recently. The weekend includes a lecture and poster sessions given by the attending students, exhibitions and presentations from the affiliated student societies, a number of careers talks given by recent graduates, as well as opportunities for discussions, networking and of course socialising, including a physics quiz on the Friday evening.
The weekend also incorporates the annual Nexus awards given to societies for outstanding achievements in a number of areas. Society representatives will be asked to give short presentations on their activities and attending members will have the chance to vote for the best society in each category. The winners will receive their awards at a dinner event to take place on the Saturday evening.
International Conference of Physics Students (ICPS)
This is the largest student physics conference in the world, organised each year by a different member organisation of the International Association of Physics Students (IAPS) and held in a different city. Between 300 and 450 students from over 30 nations take part in a week of academic and social highlights. The former include student and invited guest lectures, poster sessions, physics demonstrations, academic excursions and discussion sessions. The latter include city tours and sightseeing, excursions to nearby places of interest, team sports and a variety of evening parties. This includes the now-traditional National Party, where participants share around food and drink from their country or region, as well as performing songs or dance if brave enough!
ICPS 2007 was organised by Nexus and hosted at University College London. ICPS 2008 will be held in Krakow, Poland, and in 2009 the conference will take place in Split, Croatia.
Careers Advice and Professional Development
In addition to a range of online resources, members can receive individually tailored advice on career choices and queries, either by e-mail or by arranging a meeting with a careers adviser. This includes specific guidance on CV writing and job interviews, including the chance to request a mock interview. Finally the IOP arranges an annual Virtual Careers Fair where a range of employers exhibit, and members have the opportunity to ask questions about potential employers in the chat rooms. For more information on the above services visit our Careers page.
Members can also benefit from a range of Continuous Professional Development (CPD) services, promoting lifelong learning in a professional context. This includes courses and help with achieving chartered status later in your career.
Discounts, Grants and Bursaries
Members receive substantial discounts for a range of scientific journals published by the IOP, a large number of physics related books published by the Taylor & Francis Group and Oxford University Press, a range of software packages and also membership of some other selected organisations.
A number of financial support schemes and bursaries are available for individual student members, both undergraduate and postgraduate, including travel bursaries to attend conferences. There is also the Undergraduate Bursary Scheme supporting physics students on accredited courses, and the Public Engagement Grant Scheme for running physics-based events and activities. More information on the discounts and financial support available can be found here.
IOP Member Benefits
For a full list of general member benefits when joining the Institute of Physics, click here.
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