Four student researchers from the Queen Mary Centre for Undergraduate Research (QMCUR) have presented their work at the prestigious British Conference of Undergraduate Research (BCUR), held at the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Presentations by Barbaros Zeren (first-year student in Aerospace Engineering), Yash Vaghela (first-year student in Mechanical Engineering), Emma Nicolai (second-year student in Aerospace Engineering), and Xiang Li (second-year student in Materials Science) featured among the 250 oral presentations, delivered in front of 350 undergraduate students from universities in the UK and abroad.

After just a few months of research engagement, the Queen Mary students delivered excellent talks that attracted considerable interest from their respective audiences.

Their presentations highlighted the depth of talent and intellectual curiosity nurtured within QMCUR. They engaged in interesting discussions during the question-and-answer sessions, demonstrating remarkable confidence in addressing the questions received.

Reflecting on the experience, Barbaros said: "Presenting at BCUR 2024 was an eye-opening experience that greatly benefitted me. Seeing substantial amounts of research done on very different topics makes you feel like you are in a knowledge hub. I hope to continue attending these kinds of conferences in in the future”.

On meeting students from other universities, Emma said that she felt: “united by our common desire to learn." She also commented on the skills the event helped the group to develop: "I had the chance to present in a professional environment, learn interdisciplinary skills and network”.

The performance of these students highlights the excellent supervision they received, as well as QMCUR’s commitment to fostering research-driven education and empowering students to make meaningful contributions to their fields.

A QMCUR representative said: "We congratulate these students for their outstanding achievements and look forward to continuing support for undergraduate research initiatives, aiming to involve more students in similar events. QMCUR hopes that this experience will serve as an example and increase the enthusiasm among academic staff and research groups in hosting undergraduate research projects, to continue training the next generation of scientists, researchers, and innovators."