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Robert, Annika and me decided our workgroup should finally meet for a regular weekly coffee break as of today (well yesterday, technically). And we did. We even managed to get two more people join us for this first meeting - so I'm optimistic things will work nicely once the term starts again.
Also, I still consider trying to kick off a student-only seminar in our department in the style of the 'graduate seminar' we had in Warwick: a relaxed atmosphere where people can present topics they like to a general (well, say 3rd year+) audience. This should broaden the horizons of the people who listen, be a good practice for giving talks (in a non-hostile environment) and you get to know more people and what they're doing in the departments - even in applied maths. Feedback so far has been mixed - while the idea seems generally enjoyable, many people seem to think that giving a talk is too much hassle. Fools, them. I guess a fair bit of talking to and kicking people will have to be done. I'll see how much support (a room mainly) I can get from the department for this after I return from England the week after next.