Hi, I'm a Durham University undergraduate studying Economics and Politics. My Laidlaw Scholarship independent research project focuses on 'Youth Employment Experiences in the Informal-Formal Nexus of the Indian Labour Market’ and explores the employment aspirations of India’s youth in an economic environment that is characterised by increasing job precariousness. I am a published author, and my recently-released book ‘Why People Give’ (Sage Publications), which discusses the motivations that drive philanthropy. I am also a NextGen leader at the Aspen Institute and discuss how the potential of artificial intelligence can be realised in an ethical manner with other thinkers. Currently spending my days reading, sketching and watching a lot of Netflix in between planning my next projects!

Hello! I'm Riccardo, Laidlaw Scholar of the 2019 cohort. I'm passionate about technology and how it can aid our transition to a more ethical and sustainable society. My Undergraduate Scholarship research focused on the  theoretical side of quantum computing: the physics of open dissipative quantum systems. These days, I work as R&D analyst, quantifying financial risk and developing models, tools and processes to extract information from insurance data.

I am an incoming MPhil candidate in Medieval History at the University of Oxford. Alongside my research specialism of late medieval religious and social history, other interests of mine include social and labour history in the nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries, the history of medieval devotional objects, and nineteenth-century art. My research project was supervised by Drs Amy Blakeway and Jacqueline Rose. Titled 'History, religion and community in North East Fife', my project investigated the history of the village of Kingsbarns using archival material and interviews. My essay was a social history of the area, with a section on historical methodology. This was later supplemented with an oral account of the church in its current form by one of its contemporary administrators. In my second summer, I created and hosted a local history workshop in collaboration with the Boomerang Community Centre in Stobswell, Dundee. This combined archival research with an empowering leadership project, which encouraged participants to continue to investigate historical topics they are passionate about. The workshop was greatly successful, and feedback from the participants was wholly positive.

I’m a 4th-year Theoretical Physics student at Trinity College Dublin. For my research project, I will analyse data from the Zwicky Transient Factory to establish a relation between supernova explosions and their host galaxies and determine a subsample of Type Ia Supernovae that will help us constrain the origin of dark energy.

I'm a third-year student at St Andrews studying English! My research is into spoken word poetry and its connection to politics, particularly in Edinburgh (it's a bit niche but I love it). I am also part of the feminist society and a public face of Nightline. I love to meet new people and bake what is objectively too much shortbread at odd hours.

I am a PhD researcher in Global Health at University College London. I am also a qualified pharmacist (MPharm and BSc Pharm) with an MSc degree in sociology. My research interests include global health, health inequity, health policy, politics and systems and gender. More details are available here.

Hi, I'm Yung-Hsuan from the beautiful Formosa Taiwan! I'm a political science student double majoring in economics, learning 3 languages (French, Stata, and R), and aiming to become an international politics analyst. Drop me an email anytime!

My Laidlaw Research is set to explore World Cave art as an emotional and educational vehicle to decolonizing practices through the use of new technologies. Starting with a documentary pilot, I only hope to help shed more light onto conversations that are today more vital than ever, in such a beautiful yet maddening world unquestionably still lost in the dark. Currently chasing my childhood's 'American dream' with an enduring will, I am currently studying for a BA of Archaeology & Heritage at the University of York with the aim of pursuing a career in Museums in the United States. I previously worked professionally in the international film and television industry in Australia and France, including film productions as an independent filmmaker where I have focused on Australia’s colonial history. My ambition is to unite my creative side to a career in Heritage Archaeology to explore decolonizing practices in global context, and help blaze new trails towards a more inclusive future.

I am currently an undergraduate at Columbia University, studying biophysics. My research interests fall in the intersection of biophysics and neuroscience.

Visit my website https://arvomm.com/

I am a Career Development Fellow in the Psychology Department at Durham University, where I research the psychological processes that enable people to adapt, remain motivated, and flourish in challenging environments. My research sits at the intersection of resilience science, Self-Determination Theory, and well-being. I am particularly interested in understanding how individual, social, and environmental resources interact to support resilient well-being across diverse contexts. My doctoral research examined these processes among polar expeditioners living and working in isolated, confined, and extreme environments, using mixed methods to explore how basic psychological needs underpin resilient functioning. I am now extending this work beyond polar environments to investigate resilient well-being in higher education, sport, and other high-challenge settings. My research adopts a socioecological perspective, recognising that resilience emerges through the dynamic interaction between people and their environments rather than residing solely within the individual. Alongside research, I teach quantitative and qualitative research methods, statistics, and psychology at undergraduate level, supervise student research, and enjoy translating psychological science into practical applications for education, sport, organisations, and communities. Before entering academia, I spent over two decades working in community development and youth work, founding and leading a social enterprise supporting children, young people, and disadvantaged communities. These experiences continue to shape my research philosophy: I believe the best psychological science should not only advance theory but also improve people's lives. My work combines rigorous empirical research with a strong commitment to real-world impact, and I am always interested in collaborating with researchers and practitioners working in resilience, motivation, well-being, Self-Determination Theory, higher education, sport psychology, extreme environments, and community-based research.

I am passionate about literature and foreign languages. I love creative writing and hope to pursue a career in an artistic field. A lot of my research involved finding out about the horrific military dictatorships in Argentina and Uruguay towards the end of the 20th century. For this reason, I have become really interested in the notion of emotional trauma, how it can leave invisible scars on a population, and how it can haunt a nation. I'm also a huge fan of podcasts and hope to start my own one day! I'm in love with The Poetry Exchange podcast and the BBC Arts and Ideas!

Hi everyone, I am Joshua, currently serving as the Alumni Society president. I was selected for Laidlaw Research and Leadership Scholarship in 2020 at UCL. I am doing my MSc Management degree now at Imperial College London. I have experience with Entrepreneurship, Fashion, Marketing, and Data Science. Feel free to reach out to me if I can help!

Recently graduated Geology student @ the University of St Andrews. Am now working towards an MSc (Research) in Earth Sciences @ the University of St Andrews. I am interested in early Earth, early life, and the mechanics of magma systems.

I am a Year 3 student at The University of Hong Kong and I am pursuing Biomedical Science as my major and Genetics as my minor. I like to keep up with the latest innovations and research in the biomedical field and aspire to be a researcher in the near future myself. As a Laidlaw Scholar, my research project will be focusing on developing a new cancer therapy delivery system by synthesizing and employing use of photosensitive, drug-carrying nanoparticles which can be triggered by light irradiation to accumulate in the esophageal tumor cells and release cancer drugs such as docetaxel. Prior to this project, I have had experience in working in a Neuromodulation Laboratory where I was part of a projecting testing the effects of hippocampal Deep Brain Stimulation and methionine drug administration on depression, anxiety and memory using animal models.