ViCEPHEC25 – Variety in Chemistry Education / Physics Higher Education Conference
A Vibrant Conference Dedicated to Advancing Chemistry Education and Sharing Innovative Teaching Practices
Date: 28–29 August
Venue: University of Liverpool, Central Teaching Hub
ViCEPHEC 2025 is the leading annual conference for chemistry educators in the UK and Ireland, bringing together lecturers, researchers, and educators to share best practices, innovative teaching ideas, and educational research in chemistry higher education.
Join the CCDC talk: The Role of 3D Structural Data in Developing Chemical Understanding: Educational Applications of the Cambridge Structural Database
Speaker: Andrew Peel, CCDC Training, Education, and Outreach Officer
Molecular structure emerges as a foundational concept at an early stage in chemistry education. As soon as a chemical diagram appears in the classroom, students must understand how atomic connectivity defines a particular molecule.
As topics such as stereochemistry are introduced, the progression of a learner’s understanding of structure from 2D to 3D becomes essential. In turn, the connection between geometry and electronic structure that underpins molecular chemistry manifests when models such VSEPR theory are taught and is extended when discussing topics such as hapticity in organometallic chemistry. Proper appreciation of these connections requires both detailed structural analysis and an abundance of examples to study.
The Cambridge Structural Database (CSD) contains over 1.3 million entries spanning diverse chemical classes from small organic molecules to coordination frameworks; as such, it provides the richest source of 3D information available to teachers and learners alike.
In this talk, we will illustrate how structures from the CSD can enhance the learning experience of students studying chemistry and explore resources, including freely available software from the Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre (CCDC), which can aid students in guided study of selected topics, whilst simultaneously helping them to gain analytical skills of wider scientific value.
Find out more and register on the organizers’ website.