Celebrating Undergraduate Research at ACUR@ANU

ANU proudly hosted the 2021 Australasian Council of Undergraduate Research (ACUR@ANU) online from September 15th-17th.
01 Nov 2021

It was a fantastic experience to prepare me to present at more conferences in the future, through gaining experience of the peer review and Q&A process.

ACUR@ANU, the inaugurual online Australasian Council of Undergraduate Research (ACUR) conference, welcomed 143 student presenters from around the world. ACUR@ANU was sponsored by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, and supported by the ANU Gender Institute and the John Curtin School of Medical Research.  

Following an international call for abstracts, ACUR@ANU included 48 student presentation sessions across three days. Each student presentation session was judged by two academic staff members from around the world. 58% of all ACUR@ANU student participants presented research for the first time at the conference, and we are delighted to have collaborated with ACUR to support undergraduate students to develop their skills. Indeed, a student participant remarked that ACUR@ANU "...was a fantastic experience to prepare me to present at more conferences in the future, through gaining experience of the peer review and Q&A process."

ACUR@ANU also included 12 events focussed on supporting multidisciplinary undergraduate research: an opening address including a Welcome to Country, three keynote addresses, three workshops, four panels and the closing ceremony including the presentation of awards. These events featured more than 35 speakers from around the world, and more than 200 conference registrations were purchased in support of undergraduate research. 

The ACUR@ANU conference organising team wishes to acknowledge the generous contributions of our peer review and judging teams of academic staff from around the world. Their support and generous contributions made this conference possible. This conference was also made possible by our ACUR@ANU Student Volunteer Committee, and our Session Chair team. Thank you also to the ACUR Executive and ACUR Student Committee. 

Congratulations to all student presenters, and especially to our winners: 

Oral presentation category (joint first place winners): 
Andrew Quattrocchi- The 51³Ô¹ÏÍø of Sydney 
Rebecca Marie Hetherington- The 51³Ô¹ÏÍø of Notre Dame Australia (Sydney) 
Veronica Padilla- The 51³Ô¹ÏÍø of New South Wales (UNSW) 

Poster presentation category:
First place: Kira Simmons- 51³Ô¹ÏÍø of the Sunshine Coast 
Second place: Amy Lu- The 51³Ô¹ÏÍø of Adelaide 
Second place: Claudia Goodman- 51³Ô¹ÏÍø of Wollongong 

Group presentation category (joint first place winners): 
Asha Clementi and Rebecca Crisp- The Australian National 51³Ô¹ÏÍø 
Jessica Turner and Narelle Jones- The 51³Ô¹ÏÍø of Adelaide 

John Curtin School of Medical Research Best Female Presenter: (joint winners) 
Rebecca Marie Hetherington- The 51³Ô¹ÏÍø of Notre Dame Australia (Sydney) 
Veronica Padilla- The 51³Ô¹ÏÍø of New South Wales (UNSW) 

Sponsors and Supporters:

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS)

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) is Australia's national statistical agency and an official source of independent, reliable information. The ABS tells the real story of Australia, its economy and its people by bringing life and meaning to numbers.

The John Curtin School of Medical Research

Founded in 1948, the John Curtin School of Medical Research (JCSMR), Australian National 51³Ô¹ÏÍø, is Australia's national medical research institute. The School was conceptualized by Australia-born Baron Howard Florey, who won the Nobel Prize in 1945 for his contribution to creating penicillin as a drug while working at Oxford 51³Ô¹ÏÍø.

ANU Gender Institute

The Gender Institute is a cross-campus ANU institute launched in March 2011. It has a dual mission: (1) to connect our ongoing work on gender and sexuality in research, education and outreach and (2) to promote innovative research and programs to help redress gendered inequalities at ANU. Our approach to gender is inclusive and intersectional - embracing women, men, transgender and gender diverse people - and highlighting the profound interaction between gender, sexuality, race, religion, class, age and ability in structures of unequal power within and beyond the 51³Ô¹ÏÍø.

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