Daisy Kirtley and Maisy Inston with MP Ben Bradshaw

Inspiring Exeter students present research at Parliament

Two student researchers have presented their work to MPs in a national undergraduate exhibition at the Houses of Parliament.

Daisy Kirtley, a 3rd year Bachelor of Medicine Bachelor of Surgery student currently on placement in Cornwall, and Maisy Inston, a 3rd year MSci Zoology student based at the Penryn campus, both presented research posters based on work they have completed in the last year at “Posters in Parliament” on 7 March. Following the presentation of her poster titled “Teaching tomorrow’s doctors to prescribe art and dancing in classes for their patients: a national movement”, Daisy Kirtley received a commendation from the event’s judges.

Meanwhile, Maisy Inston presented a poster based on research looking at how some tent-making bats species build and use their tents. Reflecting on her experience presenting at the exhibition, Maisy said, “Attending Posters in Parliament has been such a fantastic experience! Not only has it helped me improve my science communication skills, but it has also provided an opportunity to learn from other students about all the fascinating research they've been doing!”

Posters in Parliament is an annual event hosted by the British Conference of Undergraduate Research (BCUR), which aims to provide an insight into the innovative student research undertaken across the UK for MPs and national policy makers. Throughout the day, both students met and spoke with numerous MPs in attendance at this year’s event, including Ben Bradshaw, MP for Exeter.

Daisy Kirtley and Maisy Inston were selected to attend “Posters in Parliament” as the two winning entries from the University’s 2019 Undergraduate Research Showcase. This annual event has now been running for three years, and is an opportunity to celebrate undergraduate research undertaken across every subject at Exeter, as well as inspire students and staff across the University community to undertake more research-based activities.

Speaking about the importance of this type of activity in relation to education at Exeter, Professor Tim Quine, Deputy Vice Chancellor for Education said, “The synergy between education and research, and providing an environment in which students have the opportunity to undertake and communicate their research in partnership with academics, is hugely important to us as a University and a core element of our emerging new Education Strategy. As Maisy Inston and Daisy Kirtley have shown, initiatives such as Posters in Parliament are a great example of this and a great way to help students develop skills in communicating their work to the wider public, improving the impact that they can have.”

In addition to nominating the two students to attend Posters in Parliament, the Undergraduate Research Showcase also supports a large number of Exeter students in attending the BCUR annual conference, this year taking place in Cardiff on 15-16 April. Staff wishing to explore opportunities to align any modules or assessments to the Showcase should contact the Academic Skills and Student Engagement Team (UGresearch@exeter.ac.uk), who organise the annual showcase.

Date: 26 March 2019