The Cockcroft Institute has transitioned to a mode in which a much larger proportion of staff and students spend all or part of each working week at Daresbury Laboratory and/or the associated labs at our partner university campuses. This is especially the case for our STFC staff who have major responsibilities for the maintenance and operation of Daresbury Laboratory facilities. We will welcome a new cohort of PhD students to the Institute this autumn and offer face-to-face teaching and supervision.

Despite the disruptive nature of the pandemic, the Cockcroft Institute was able to continue its business as efficiently and effectively as possible since 2020. Whilst experimental operations had to be suspended for a few months initially, the majority of these activities have now resumed, with some of work now moved online. These include our world-renowned education and training programme; software, modelling and simulation; data analysis from recent experiments, dissemination of knowledge through publications, online conferences, and workshops; collaborative projects with businesses; applications of accelerators for security, healthcare and the environment; and our highly praised public engagement programmes.