SDS PhD Research Competition Winners

When creating your research poster, what was the biggest challenge and what did you enjoy the most?

The biggest challenge I faced was distilling the breadth of my entire PhD into a single-page poster. This was a self-inflicted challenge, as I chose to present an overview of the whole project rather than focusing on one specific feature. The other challenge I faced was designing a poster that was logically structured, easy to follow and visually engaging.

What I enjoyed most was the opportunity to step back and identify the key messages from my research. This was the first time I shared my work beyond my supervisory team, and I really appreciated the chance to communicate what my research is about to a broader audience. The process of creating the poster helped me clarify what the most important aspects of my research are and how best to convey their relevance and impact.

What’s next in your PhD research?

I’m in the final stretch of my PhD and currently focused on writing up my thesis, which I’m aiming to submit at the end of the year. I’m really looking forward to sharing what I’ve found as widely as possible, and especially with the people who took part in the research and supported it along the way. I’m also excited to work with my supervisors on publishing the findings, so they can reach an even wider audience and hopefully make a meaningful contribution to the field.

What will you spend your vouchers on?

I haven’t decided what to spend my vouchers on yet, but they won’t hang around for long! I’ll be sure to spend them on something useful and something to treat myself as well.

Anya Kaufman

University of Strathclyde

When creating your research poster, what was the biggest challenge and what did you enjoy the most?

I would say that the biggest challenge I faced was in working out what parts of my research to leave out! I’ve been lucky enough to collect a wide range of findings and I had to decide which ones could be best condensed onto an A4 sheet. I really enjoyed creating the visual design elements of the poster as I was able to dust off some of the skills I gained when working for my high school’s magazine.

What’s next in your PhD research?

Once my dissertation is submitted in the next few months, I’m really excited to spend some more time sharing my findings with as many people and institutions as possible.

What will you spend your vouchers on?

Thank you SDS for the voucher! My plan is to treat myself to a piece of jewellery to mark the end of my PhD journey. I don’t usually let myself spend money on that sort of thing, so winning this prize has been an excellent form of permission!

Erin Bartley

University of Glasgow

When creating your research poster, what was the biggest challenge and what did you enjoy the most?

I really love making posters and I find it helps me to work through my ideas as I’m a very visual person. The biggest challenge is definitely not getting too carried away and cramming it choc full of information and graphics. I always have to cut it right down in the edits to make it clearer to people who are not as immersed in the project as I am.

What’s next in your PhD research?

I’ve collected the first batch of data for my PhD so after the summer break I’ll be working with my collaboration team to deliver the activities we have designed to BGE pupils and that will give me more data to analyse and work through. I’m really excited to get started on that.

What will you spend your vouchers on?

I haven’t really thought about spending my vouchers yet but I might treat myself to more textbooks from Waterstones!!