Record number of @b_and_fc students invited to present at prestigious undergraduate research conference

A record number of students from Blackpool and The Fylde College have presented their work at the prestigious British Conference of Undergraduate Research at the University of Sheffield.

Six students from Computing, six from Leadership, Management and Lifestyle and five from B&FC’s Project Management Centre of Excellence were chosen for the honour after submitting their academic research proposals for peer review by the event organisers.

Luke Brockbank, 27, from Blackpool, studying BSc Hons Software Engineering and Game Development, presented on the research behind his design of a virtual reality hazard perception test.

Following the event, he said: “I felt our work really stood up well against some of the leading universities which were there. In fact, their work was nearly as good as ours.

“We had one of the organisers of next year’s event at the University of Cardiff come over and ask where we were from. When I told him Blackpool he said that we were definitely doing something right here, that kind of recognition is great.”

Hollie O’Reilly, 24, from Blackpool, studying BSc Hons Interactive Media Development, added: “It was a big confidence boost, both for me in presenting and in my work. People were really interested in what we were saying and the level of work on display was excellent.”

Josh Soer, 27, from Blackpool, also studying BSc Hons Interactive Media Development, said: “Being involved in BCUR is great for your CV. I put it on LinkedIn and have already been contacted by a few people about it.”

Other highlights from the event included a presentation by BA(Hons) Hospitality & Events Management student Ceri Bastin on Transferable Skills Gained in the Cruise Industry and BSc(Hons) Projecty Management student Christiane Rogerson’s presentation on Making Change Stick and Realising the Benefits.

Colette Mazzola, Programme Leader for higher education in Computing at B&FC, added: “I was really impressed with the quality of our students’ presentations and how they compared to those by delegates from other universities. They have really taken a lot of confidence from the process and realised how well their work stands up.

“It’s quite a bit of work applying for the conference and you have to be on the front foot with your dissertation as it has to be ready to present well in advance of normal deadlines. They all did really well.”

The conference, which was established in 2011, welcomes student presentations from all academic disciplines.

B&FC offers more than 60 degrees accredited by long-standing partner Lancaster University, ranked in the top 10 of universities in the UK.