About
The Journal Club is a weekly meeting for sharing, presenting and discussing academic literature relevant to our research projects. Our research spans many domains including policy, economics, markets, engineering, optimisation and more. The club therefore serves a few purposes: helping each member deepen their own literature review, giving us the opportunity to practice presenting and discussing our specific topics, and broadening everyone’s awareness of the wider energy research landscape.
Each week, two members will present a paper from their own reading. The club meetings are conversations, not seminars - presenters are expected to have read their paper and prepared thoroughly, but their role is to facilitate a discussion rather than deliver a lecture.
Weekly Format
Two papers per session - approximately 50 minutes total
For each paper:
- 10-minute presentation by the presenting member
- 15-minute discussion open to all attendees
After both papers: trip to the union.
Suggested Presentation Structure (10 minutes)
- 1-2 min: The big picture. What problem does this paper address? Assume no prior knowledge of the specific domain.
- 5-6 min: What they did and found. The methodology, key results, and the authors’ conclusions.
- 2 min: Your take. What is surprising, debatable, or important? What do you agree or disagree with?
Slides are optional but welcome. The goal is to inform and provoke discussion, not to reproduce the paper.
Handout (circulated 24 hours before)
Each presenter should prepare a one-page handout for the group before the session. As an example, the document could include:
- Full citation and link to the paper
- 2-3 sentence summarising the paper’s question and contribution in plain English
- One key figure or result - the one you find most interesting or most debatable
- 2-3 discussion questions you want the group to explore
- Suggestions for further reading
The handout lets participants arrive prepared for a discussion, so the presentation can focus on insight rather than summarisation.
Discussion Guidelines
- The discussion events are formatted to foster debate, information sharing and lively discussion.
- Presenters act as facilitators during discussion, not advocates - invite challenge; do not defend the paper.
- It is fine not to understand every part of a paper. Admitting uncertainty often generates the best discussions.
Further Reading
- How to prepare for and present at a journal club - ResearchGate
- How to successfully start and run a journal club - Astrobites
- A guide to starting your own journal club - Addgene
- Establishing and sustaining an effective journal club - PMC / BJA Education
- How to organize a journal club for fellows and residents - Stroke / AHA Journals