London Met's first University-wide research conference brought together students and staff to share and showcase their research with other curious minds within our community.
Date: 20 July 2020
London Met’s first University-wide research conference took place on 14-15 July 2020, with two days of inspiring and thought-provoking subjects across a range of disciplines.
Between Tradition and Innovation: New Research at London Met featured a wide variety of topics. The opening keynote saw an exploration of fine motor skills and unsystematic spatial binding in ASD and ADHD children; while other researchers showcases their work into the use of digital media in Vietnamese political dissent; women’s experiences of victim blame following sexual violence; understanding how cells change in the immune system; and the application of the Michael Chekhov technique to drama-based pedagogy for teacher training. The closing keynote explored the highly topical subject of viruses and the hunt for vaccines.
The online event took place on Blackboard Collaborate, with the opening address and a keynote on tradition, innovation and the growth of knowledge being delivered by Professor Don MacRaild, Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research and Knowledge Exchange. The conference was organised by the Postgraduate Research Student and Staff Liaison Forum, where research students and staff meet to discuss academic and research community matters. It received expert support from the Centre for Professional and Educational Development and the Research and Postgraduate Office.
Klaus Fischer, Head of the Graduate School, said: “The success of the conference far surpassed our expectations and shows the excellence of our research and the vitality of our research culture. It attracted participants from outside the university, both from the UK and abroad. Our PGR students were involved in all aspects of the conference, in its design, the reviewing of submissions, the chairing of sessions, and in the selection of prize winners.
“The online format worked very well with a quick succession of panels, separate rooms for poster presentations, a virtual courtyard, and live voting, creating the sense of a shared experience. I have received many emails from students and staff expressing what an invigorating and formative experience the conference has been and how they are looking forward to future events. We aim at preparing conference proceedings from the event.”
The two days featured papers from the six Schools of the University, allocated to a ‘Social and Creative Panel’ and an ‘ICT and Science Panel’, in the form of 20-minute talks, three-minute lightning talks and poster presentations in break-out rooms.
Following the conference, awards were presented to students in the following categories:
- Best poster: Francesca Filatondi
- Best lightning talk: Marjan Jeddi
- Best student paper: Wally Shannon Mbassi Elong
- Most engaging student paper: Mayra Gallardo Andrade
- Best link to the conference topic (Between Tradition and Innovation): Anthony Phipps
- Best Paper on Discourse in the Public Sphere: Hien Nguyen
The first three prizes were decided by a Judging Panel, while the following two were voted for online by conference attendees. The final one was awarded by the Graduate School.
The recordings of the conference talks are now available to view.
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Image: photograph from participatory case-study 'Growing Structures' from Maiia Sivtseva's presentation, Civic Engagement on Permafrost