Levitation, lame sheep and river silt – research students’ posters paint a picture of their work

The mystery of levitating Buddhists, a collar to detect lame sheep and the escape behaviours of rats were just some of the research projects from the University of Northampton highlighted at a special competition.

Sixteen doctoral research students entered the University’s 11th annual postgraduate research student poster competition – a contest which challenges researchers to present their work in a way the general public can understand, on a poster.

Karen Beaulieu, pictured, scooped the £100 top prize for her poster, which outlined her conceptual framework to help those with brain injuries to return to work.

Zainab Al-Rubaye’s poster, which explained how data from a collar could help the detection of lame sheep, came second, followed by Kim Dodd’s ‘Disclosures of social worker identities in mental health services’. Both won £75.

Other topics showcased at the awards event, held on Wednesday 18 May at Park Campus, included the cause of river silt in the South Downs National Park; the phenomenon of levitation during Buddhist meditation; peer-to-peer support involving secondary school-age children; research around non-contact healing and a microbiology project on a common food poisoning bug.

The Graduate School’s Researcher Developer, Simone Apel, said: “Poster competitions are an effective and engaging way for research students to present their research project and are often promoted as a gentler alternative to speaking at a conference.

“Our competition gives our students practice designing posters, discussing their research with others in a comfortable, supportive environment.

“I’d like to thank all the students who participated and our judges and visitors.

“Many congratulations to our winning students – Karen, Zainab and Kim.”