I am a 2021 Laidlaw Scholar from the University of York, focusing my research on the question:  How was the U.K. Labour Party changed their discourse and proposed to challenge domestic poverty and inequality since 2010? I have been involved in Politics at a local, grassroots level, including community campaigning, and previously worked for Rachel Reeves MP in her constituency office. As a Politics student, I am interested in all things political and anything related to International Relations, with particular interest on the European Union, Women in Politics and International Development. 

I am an incoming MPhil candidate in Visual, Material and Museum Anthropology at the University of Oxford. My Laidlaw research explores the Incan Empire's positive view of female homosexuality, exploring how their diverse understandings of gender influenced these views on sexuality. It also considered how La Conquista's use of a European lens and translation when documenting Incan civilisation resulted in the erasure of much of the sexual and gender diversity which existed throughout Incan Peru.  Show more

I am a fourth year student studying Geography and Sustainable Development at The University of St Andrews. I have a particular interest in reforestation, conservation and climate change mitigation. For the first summer of the Laidlaw Scholars Leadership and Research Programme I produced a research essay and poster titled 'Climate Change Mitigation: Investigating the impact of land use on soil organic matter (SOM)'. My research focuses on measuring and reporting soil organic matter content across different land use types such as cropland and woodland. I explore the climate change mitigation potential of soil and the potential of adding soil organic matter through woodland restoration. For the second summer of the Laidlaw Scholars Leadership and Research Programme I produced a Leadership-in-Action Video about my project on sustainable agricultural practices in Williamsburg, Virginia. My LiA project involved interviewing farmers in and around Williamsburg, academic researchers at the local university, The College of William and Mary and the manager of the Williamsburg Farmers Market. I also produced a reflective essay about my experience over the Laidlaw Scholarship titled 'Learning, Growing and Developing as a Leader'.

Sustainable Development student at the University of St Andrews (Class of 2024) and UWC Alumna. My research focuses on exploring pathways to sustainability in the fashion industry, assessing the potential of circular economy models and thinking to address the unsustainability of current production and consumption patterns. 

I’m a Laidlaw Undergraduate Programme alum turned management consultant. I studied psychology in my undergraduate degree and conducted my research on immigrant children’s experience and factors influencing their wellbeing. I now specialise in People and Change transformation projects.

I am currently studying Sustainable Development and International Relations at the University of St. Andrews where I also sit on the Environmental Sustainability Board that advises the University on its Net Zero by 2035 strategy. I have experience with green entrepreneurship having co-founded the zero-waste company Concept Zero and been part of the sustainability consultancy OnePointFive as an intern and Sustainability Associate. I am passionate about regenerative farming and design, urban planning and nature-based solutions. I worked as a Growth and Community Engagement intern at Second Time Founders where I gained experience with outreach and community building through storytelling. I am always keen to explore the ways in which systems thinking, community participation, conscious leadership and emotional intelligence can accelerate the transition towards healthy, just, biodiverse and carbon-negative societies.

I study International Relations and Russian at the University of St Andrews', and have a specific interest in the history, cultures and politics of the everyday. I am particularly interested in identity and security in the post-Soviet space, especially Central Asia. I'm looking to take these interests into practice and policy. This summer, I've been researching the interplay between regional foreign policy and how interacts with the development of state identities, by conducting research and then fieldwork in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.  I'm also an adventure cycling obsessive and love being outdoors (even in the Scottish weather). 

I am an MMath Mathematics student at the University of St Andrews, focusing on Applied Maths and Statistics. I have long been passionate about Mathematics, History, and Languages, studying Russian alongside my Mathematics degree. I also care strongly about education, dedicating much of my time to tutoring different levels of Mathematics to various children and teens of different ages. Through Laidlaw, I have recognised that my key strengths of confidence, communication, and curiosity can be applied to leadership and that there is no archetypal leader. 

Hi everybody. I am Mateo. I am an Experimental Physics graduate from the University of St Andrews. I am a curious, talkative and reflective individual with a love for telling and hearing stories. I am from Peru, but have moved around quite a bit having lived in Equatorial Guinea, England and now Scotland. I consider having such a multicultural background a very nourishing and essential part of my being. Consequentially, I love travelling and learning languages, and I am always happy to connect with people from all walks of life and parts of the world. When I am not busy demystifying the rules of the universe, I enjoy dancing, cooking, walking and analysing movies. I also love programming and its applications for simulating real-world physics and processing large amounts of day-to-day data. In June, I will be graduating with an Integrated Masters in Physics, however, I aspire to develop professionally outside of academia possibly in the field of data analytics. I am happy to connect with any Scholars! 

I'm a Joint Honours German and Psychology student at the University of St Andrews. My research will include a comparative analysis of how WW2 is taught and assessed in schools in the UK and Germany.

I am a Physics student at the University of St Andrews excited about theoretical physics and its applications to industry. I quite like programming as well, and seeing where code can be used to model physics. I also have an interest in improving the speed with which the latest scientific developments can be implemented into humanitarian aid. 

1st year medical student at the University of St Andrews with a particular interest in cancer! Outside of university I am interested in cooking, chess, and the outdoors. Feel free to get in touch about any or all of these things :)

Hi everyone, I'm Alex. I come from Northern Ireland, and am currently reading French and Philosophy at the University of St Andrews. I'm interested in politics, philosophy, journalism, and new ideas - I find the old ones quite stale!  Previously, I've worked in hospitality, as appears to be the trodden path for British students. Additionally, I have worked in logistics - a real eye-opener, given Brexit and its ramifications in Northern Ireland - and have done some adhoc Diversity and Inclusion for a legal firm in my hometown. My research project for the summer of 2022 will be entitled "The Viability of Novel Identities in Response to Separatist Tensions: A Comparison of French Algeria and Northern Ireland."

I am a Scholar from the 2022 cohort at the University of St Andrews, pursuing an MA (Joint Hons) in English and Art History. My areas of interest include nineteenth and early twentieth-century art and literature, with a particular focus on the Victorian and Modernist periods. My Laidlaw research project was on 'Alfred Tennyson's Idylls of the King and Other Poems Illustrated by Julia Margaret Cameron: challenges to gender roles and tradition in the formation of Victorian artistic and literary legacies.' This interdisciplinary project presented the overlooked contributions of a female photographer in one of the most dynamic transitory periods in art and literature. Using Cameron's edition of Tennyson's Idylls as a case study that focuses on the female gaze as a 'translator' of the male poetic voice, this project aimed to understand how this work challenged traditional views of art, literature, and gender roles. I was honoured to have been awarded 'Best Poster in the Arts Faculty' for the research poster that I created based on my project. My Leadership in Action project has taken some of the core ideas from my self-defined research project and seeks to apply them in educational settings. I am partnering with local schools and non-profit arts organisations in Scotland to create workshops that promote widening access in the arts and the many benefits of creative engagement to young people facing disadvantages in education. These dynamic, hands-on workshops are oriented around the idea of finding personal connections to the art and literature of the past and promoting its accessibility and contemporary relevance.

Hello everyone! I'm Sarah (she/her) and I am a fourth-year undergraduate student in Philosophy at the University of St Andrews. I am particularly interested in the applications of philosophy to social and political issues, and how we can use philosophical arguments to inform policy decisions. As such, my research project concerned the appropriateness of belief and doubt in cases of sexual assault and the implications for university and legal policy. For my Leadership-in-Action, I conducted an evaluation of a sexual violence prevention education programme run by an NGO in Auckland, New Zealand