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Undergraduates shine at national research event

from left to right: Amelia-Jeme Thornton, Grace Spencer and Shauna Roach

Press release issued: 11 March 2020

Today [11 March 2020], three undergraduate students from the University of Bristol will take part in a national event celebrating the best undergraduate research in the country.

Posters in Parliament gives 50 undergraduate students from across the UK the opportunity to present their research to policy makers and legislators. Along with the opportunity for students to present their research work in the Houses of Parliament, the top three submitted posters will be selected by a judging panel.

Representing the University of Bristol are third year BA English student Shauna Roach and Psychology students Amelia-Jeme Thornton and Grace Spencer, who have been assisted by the Bristol Institute for Learning and Teaching.

Shauna was selected for her research 'A French Connection: The Influence of Medieval French Writings on Chaucer's Merchant's Tale'. In her research, Shauna explores and highlights the existence of a notably French presence in Chaucer’s Merchant's Tale (c.1400) through direct textual comparisons including the works of Eustache Deschamps, Guillaume de Lorris, Jean de Meun and Guillaume de Machaut.

Shauna said: "It is a pleasure and a privilege to be representing the University at such a prestigious event. I'm excited to be able to give something back to the English Department which has given me so much support and guidance over the past three years. I can't thank the teaching staff enough for their encouragement."

Joining Shauna are Amelia and Grace, who were invited to showcase their research 'The steaks are high: creating sustainable diets', in which they used an online food choice task to test the effects of eco-labelling and green nudging to see which is more effective at influencing consumers to act sustainably.

Amelia said: "We both feel strongly that evidence-based policy making is the future and so we're really excited to be presenting our research to policy makers today."

Grace added: "This crucial crossover between policy and research is exactly where we'd both like to go in our careers and it's a fantastic opportunity for undergraduates like us across the country to demonstrate our expertise."

The event is part of the British Conference of Undergraduate Research (BCUR), an open coalition of universities dedicated to encouraging a national culture of undergraduate research.

Professor Tansy Jessop, Pro Vice-Chancellor for Education at the University, said: "When you think of research, you probably think of a passionate postgraduate working on a Masters or PhD. In reality, many of these unique research ideas begin at undergraduate level, which is why we encourage research during these crucial, formative years at University. Posters in Parliament is an excellent opportunity to shine a light on some of the incredible, innovative research our undergraduates are working on, as expertly demonstrated by Amelia, Grace and Shauna."

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