Cutting-edge academic research produced by undergraduate students over the summer has been exhibited at the University of Central Lancashire.
Over 40 undergraduates spent ten weeks working as paid interns with supervisors to produce high level, impactful research and their work was put on display at the Preston Campus.
Dance studies, artificial intelligence, carbon capture technology, domestic abuse support, automobile recycling and major trauma were among the topics covered.
The Undergraduate Research Internship Programme helps students with skills development, promotes research career pathways and provides opportunities for conference attendance, data collection & analysis and community working.
The winner of the research poster competition was Kimberly Tellis for her project entitled ‘Evaluating the effectiveness of an advice and guidance system.' The medical student conducted a survey to understand the experience of primary and secondary care staff users of Advice and Guidance (A & G) Systems in Pennine Lancashire. The term A & G refers to a web-based messaging system which enables communication between clinicians.
"I got to communicate with actual staff from the NHS in Accrington and Burnley, so I was able to not only gain experience from research work but also get experience with interviewing them, taking thematic analysis and attending weekly meetings."
— Kimberly Tellis
Talking about what she enjoyed most about the Undergraduate Research Internship Programme, Kimberly said: “It was the whole experience of actually conducting your research in real life and to know that at the end it is going to be valued in a quality improvement project which is quite meaningful.”
Kimberly was rewarded with a first prize £200 Amazon voucher and is invited to present her poster at the British Conference of Undergraduate Research (BCUR2023) in April 2023. Kimberly worked with a team of academic supervisors: Dr Lucy Astle, Dr Sunil Nedungayil, Dr Nicola Cooper-Moss, and Professor Umesh Chauhan.
The runner up prize was awarded to Kennedy Tellis, who worked with the UCLan Research Institute of Citizenship, Society and Change, on ‘Cycle Commuting’ research. Rebecca Lind Murray came third with her poster ‘The future of stroke rehabilitation… behaviour change and digital health technology.’
Clarish Alvarez who worked with colleagues from the UCLan Research Institute for Global Health and Wellbeing (LIFE) was highly commended for her research into ‘Social media influencers’ impact on health behaviours, health and wellbeing: A scoping review.’
The Undergraduate Research Internship Programme has run each year since 2008, with over 700 interns successfully completing internships and presenting the results of their research. Professor StJohn Crean Pro-Vice Chancellor for Research and Enterprise, who presented the students with their certificates and prizes welcomed the value added by the Programme, both to students and the wider research environment, adding:
“The work produced by our undergraduates on the summer internship programme showcases the quality of our student engagement with high performing research teams, helping the University maintain its reputation for research excellence.”