OU Postgraduate Research Poster Competition 2020

The OU Postgraduate Research Poster Competition 2020 (10 June 2020) showcased a wide range of OU research and reinforced the contribution these PhD and Professional Doctorate students make to the OU research community.

Presented by the OU’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Tim Blackman, this year’s awards, now in their 15^th year, demonstrated the vastness of the OU’s research agenda with winning topics ranging from building communities, to potential health impacts of household waste, to Martian life, to having fun while doing fieldwork.

The winners are:

Judges’ Choice Online Poster Competition

Winner: Claire Saunders, an OU EdD student for her entry Building a community of writers in a university, which considers the role of a writing community in developing the writing practices of academics.

Community Choice Poster

Sana Ahmed, a Research Student in the OU’s Faculty of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics for her entry Is the household food waste bin a source of potential health impacts? which explores the problems caused by the almost 10 million tonnes of food wasted in the UK each year.

Choice Best Use of Imagery in a Poster

Zoe Morland, Research Student in the OU’s Faculty of Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics with her entry Mars Moon Phobos: a better place to search for Martian life than Mars itself? which suggests that Phobos, which orbits Mars, could be a good place to search for biomarkers.

Community Choice Multimedia (online)

Freya Wise, Research Student in the OU’s Faculty of Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics for her entry Fieldwork is fun!, which comes up with her eight realisations about social dynamics in her field work so far, which involved visiting heritage buildings to interview the owners about their energy use and values.

Speaking at the awards ceremony which took place completely online this year, Professor Blackman said:

“21st century researchers need to be able to convey their research ideas to a broad audience. This competition, judged by colleagues across the university, gives students the chance to practice these skills. Congratulations to all the lucky winners.”

The event was organised by the Academic Professional Development Team in the OU's Institute of Educational Technology in collaboration with the Graduate School.