On Friday 9 May 2025, research degree students and academic judges came together to showcase their presentations at Rising Scientist Day – an annual event designed to showcase the talent and hard work of our postgraduate research students.
The day featured two parts: a PhD poster competition and a three-minute thesis competition which allowed students to win prizes based on their clarity and communication of scientific ideas.
For the poster competition, students presented their research and assessed the originality and quality of their research, poster content and design and presentation and communication skills. The judges then reviewed the posters and agreed on the winners.
For the three-minute thesis, judges scored the presentations out of ten using the same criteria to then determine the prize winners for first, second, and third place.
Beyond the prizes, Rising Scientist Day offered students a valuable platform to share their scientific ideas, engage with peers and experts, and sharpen their presentation skills. Here’s what some of the participants had to say about their experience:
Aya Elmeligy
I am grateful to have attended the Rising Scientist Day event and participate in the poster presentation session; it was inspiring to see an incredible range of work beyond my usual area of study. My own poster focused on “Regulation of Haematopoietic Stem Cells in aging and stress haematopoiesis”, it was great to be given the opportunity to discuss my research with others. I am also appreciative of receiving a prize for my poster and having my work recognised amongst so many impressive projects.
Kavita Gulati
I am a 2nd Year PhD Student, working within the Department of Immunology and Inflammation. I am grateful to have been awarded a prize for my poster “Novel Therapeutic Targets in Glomerulonephritis and Renal Vasculitis”. This was a much-needed confidence boost, as I had recently returned following a year-long maternity leave.
I felt this day was a great opportunity to interact with other students both within and outside of my department. I particularly enjoyed the thought-provoking discussion that came from presenting my poster. I found presenting my work to an audience outside of my speciality helped gain a refreshing perspective.
I also really enjoyed the aspirational 3-minute thesis competition, and I loved seeing the breadth of research that is currently being undertaken in the faculty. It was particularly useful to see the different presentation styles and approaches to summarising years of work. I look forward to hopefully presenting next year when I am also a final year student.