Two postgraduate students have won the ‘most fascinating’ and ‘most significant’ poster prizes at a convention day for the Research and Knowledge Exchange Institute for Planetary Resilience and Community Transformation (PACT).
Over 40 people, including staff, students and external guests, attended the Convention in June 2024, to share and celebrate the research carried out by the Institute’s members over this academic year. Attendees were invited to vote for their favourite poster in two different categories from a display of 25 research posters submitted by PACT researchers.
The winner of the ‘Wish I’d thought of that!’ prize for the most fascinating research was master’s student Arinze Uzoezie with his poster drawn from the research project Dragons in the hills: Understanding the impact of citizen based science conservation program on health and wellbeing of children.
This was a three year project funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund and led by the Amphibian and Reptile Groups UK (ARG UK) in partnership with Newry, Mourne and Down District Council and The Herpetological Society of Ireland. The project engaged with local landowners and community groups within each of the three main Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs) in Newry, Mourne and Down District, and in Ards and North Down. The aim was to create and maintain habitat for native amphibians and the common lizard, and increase public engagement and understanding with the natural environment through a focus on these species.
The Healthy and Sustainable Settings Unit (HSSU) at the University undertook a mixed-method evaluation with school-aged children, teachers, a range of community partners and landowners. The aim of the research was to investigate the effects of this citizen-science amphibian and reptile conservation programme upon children’s health and wellbeing.
The research team, led by Professor Michelle Baybutt (HSSU) with researcher Neil Wilson (RFDU) worked with Dr Angela Julian and the team from ARG UK. Applied Public Health MSc student, Arinze Uzoezie, participated in the research via aligned workplace experience offered within the HSSU.
The winner of the ‘Most relevant to society’ prize was PhD student, Suntosh Kaur, with her poster “Snowy white peaks” – the higher you go up, the whiter it gets, depicting her PhD research findings. This award was for what attendees considered to be the most significant, transformational and necessary research to solve the significant issues that we collectively are facing today.
Suntosh is based in the University’s Global Race Centre for Equality (GRACE) research centre. Her supervisors are Dr John Wainwright, Professor Aidan Worsley, and Dr Zoe O’Riordan. Suntosh is in her second phase of research which focuses on interviewing Black and Asian women academics. By centring their voices and experiences, the research offers new insights into the structural inequalities present within academia. It looks at the importance of addressing these issues to create inclusivity and equity.
Copies of all the posters submitted to the Convention will be available in the forthcoming PACT yearbook later in the year.
For more information about research being conducted by PACT members, please email the PACT Team.
