Reading students take part in the British Conference of Undergraduate Research

Tuesday, 12 May 2015

L- R: Lara Sams (Psychology) Thom Rawson (Maths), Laura Armstrong (English Language), Matthew Chambers (Chemistry), Eunyoung Lee (Pharmacy)

Engaging undergraduate students in research - making them producers of knowledge rather than consumers of it - is growing in strength here at Reading and in many other universities. This trend was illustrated well at the fifth British Conference of Undergraduate Research (BCUR) held recently at the University of Winchester where, over two days, a record 360 students from thirty countries presented their research.  

Reading was well-represented with eleven students giving talks or posters on their Undergraduate Research Opportunities Programme (UROP) outcomes with projects spanning Chemistry, Maths and its application in optimising planting design, Classics, Pharmacy, Psychology, Graphic Communication, History and a study exploring attitudes to multilingualism in Reading.

Four students accompanied Dr Helen Dodd to present the outcome of the innovative Autumn Term Enhancement Week research project in Psychology where undergraduates from all years collaborated  to collect, analyse and interpret data from over 1200 respondents to test the hypothesis that the Ice Bucket Challenge represented narcissistic rather than altruistic behaviour. Engaging large numbers of students in a focused research activity in this way prompted lots of discussion.

BCUR 2015 gave participants a fantastic insight into the world of academia and research across disciplines. Each of the Reading undergraduates was a great representative for the university and their research.

For further information on the UROP scheme and how it can support your research and an undergraduate student contact John Thompson in the Careers Centre.