Hello and welcome to my Laidlaw scholarship experience!  Last summer I had the privilege to carry out research on invasive freshwater crayfish (it's as glamorous as it sounds) and have since presented my research in three conferences.   This summer I will be heading to the Peruvian Amazon as part of my LiA documenting the realities of conservation and voluntourism on local communities and the environment. 

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'.

Dia Dhaoibh ! My name is Eimear Kearins and I'm an undergraduate Economics and Politics student at Trinity College Dublin. My research focuses on the effects economics and trade has on minority languages. As a lover and speaker of the Irish language, I'm delving deeper in the impact trade with Britain had on the language's decline particularly during the 19th century.  I feel really privileged to be a part of the Laidlaw community, and I'm really looking forward to connecting with everyone on this Network!

Hello! My name is Yusra, and I graduated from the University of Toronto, St. George, in 2023. I'm now currently doing my MSc. in Negotiation and Conflict Resolution at Columbia University.  My Laidlaw research utilizes the concepts of Self-determination theory, and focused on analyzing the biggest barriers to a 'positive' university experience, possible solutions that can be enacted, and how all these factors influenced student mental health.  My work now spans the intersection of mental health, conflict resolution, and social justice. I work as a Case Manager at an anti-human trafficking organization, and also work in the climate justice space with Canadian civil society.

I was fortunate enough to conduct academic research under the supervision of Stephen Gethins,  Professor of Practice in International Relations at the University of St Andrews and now a sitting MP. Stephen introduced me to a truly fascinating yet often overlooked area of International Relations: sub-state and regional actors and their place in global politics, with a focus on Scotland in particular. Through this, I have developed an interest in Scotland's place in the world as a nation without an independent foreign office, but as a nation with extensive international influence and a powerful global diaspora. This topic formed the basis of my Laidlaw project, my undergraduate and postgraduate dissertation, and my PhD. I take a keen interested in other academic fields such as politics, history, and philosophy. Although an International Relations and Sociology student first and foremost, I had the opportunity of studying Ancient History and Classics alongside my degree for two years. If I were to ever win the lottery, you would find me endlessly cycling University, spending my remaining days studying Ancient History and Philosophy, Politics, Anthropology, Theology, Theoretical Physics and Maths, or whatever subject I develop an interest in down the line. Since leaving the University of St Andrews and the Laidlaw Programme, I completed an MRes degree at the University of Glasgow in Sociology and Research Methods. I received a scholarship for a PhD in Sociology at the University of Glasgow which I am completing part-time in addition to my role as Research Officer at Carers Trust Scotland - a charity supporting unpaid carers which I had previously volunteered for. My PhD is a continuation of my Scottish diaspora studies, seeking to reconcile the notion of 'civic Scottishness' with the Scottish identity of the lived diaspora.  

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! My name is Eleanor Campbell, and I am a 2021 Laidlaw Scholar. I am a student at Columbia University in the City of New York, and I am originally from Raleigh, NC, USA. I major in Economics and am particularly interested in Behavioral Economics. During my first year with Laidlaw, I worked with Professor Hitendra Wadhwa of the Columbia Business School in developing a leadership fellowship for aspiring young changemakers. For my Leadership in Action project, I worked with World Vision on a menstrual hygiene management campaign in West Gonja, Ghana.

I am a second-year student at the University of St Andrews, pursuing a Joint Honours Degree in Economics and Sustainable Development. My vision is to enable more sustainability-oriented initiatives through financial tools and market-based solutions. One of my other interests is literature, that is why my summer research project is an attempt to understand the representation of nature in current children’s environmental literature and define the relationships between “nature literacy”, education, sustainability and social transition. Outside of my studies I enjoy staying active (water sports are my favourite) and baking.

I am currently about to enter my fourth year of my Integrate Masters in Theoretical Physics and Applied Maths. My Laidlaw research project was part of  QuVis ( The Quantum Mechanics Visualisation Project). In particular, I worked on the spin uncertainty stimulation  and then investigated it's effectiveness by conducting student interviews. I have a wide range of interests including Unification theories, sustainable fashion, digital creative advertising , behavioural science and art amongst many more. 

Hi there! I am studying the Bachelor of Science in both Molecular Biology & Biotechnology and Food & Nutritional Science. Doing and learning from research are of interest to me for better understanding of the world and unprecedented benefits to humanity of all kinds. Feel free to exchange knowledge and ideas with me!

I'm an environmental scientist from Dublin, Ireland. My primary interest is in vegetation-climate interactions, feedbacks and tipping points and vegetation resilience to climate change. I have developed skills in and an understanding of global dynamic vegetation models, while carrying out an internship at the Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry. There I assisted with the integration of new plant hydraulics module into the DGVM QUINCY. I intend to develop foundational skills in machine learning with the aim to integrate remote sensing, machine learning and DGVM's. This webpage is no longer maintained.

I am a fourth-year English and Modern History student at the University of St Andrews. My research looked at the intersection of gender history and transnational history by examining women's involvement in the Esperanto movement in Scotland and the Midlands, and my leadership-in-action was the Think Pacific Health Promotion project. I'm interested in all things art, history, literature, and social change! 

I am fascinated by stories. My research project centres on the often uneasy relationship between truth and entertainment in antiquity, a theme I hope will shed some light on modern times.. I am also a keen advocate for the promotion of the humanities in education. The stories we tell ourselves have far-reaching cultural consequences, and as such I believe we all have the right to education in this field. If you’re looking for someone to listen to a story or to tell one, please get in touch!

Hi👋🏾 I’m Pearls I am a final year Law student at the University of Leeds. I recently completed a placement year at The Walt Disney Company as a CPGP Contract Management Intern (hence the 'industrial' next to my degree title) My first-year research project looked at the way game-based learning could be incorporated into Multi-Academy Trusts (aka MATs) to improve the academic attainment and classroom engagement of GCSE-year black students. My Leadership-in-Action project was with MakeSense and focused on empowering minority communities within Mexico City.

Hello all! My name is Shubhecchha Dhaurali (pronounced Sue-betcha Dur-all-e). I am a first-generation student originally from Nepal double-majoring in Community Health and Biology at Tufts University. My research is housed in the Tufts University School of Medicine with Dr. Ndidiamaka Amutah-Onukagha who is an Associate Professor and Assistant Dean of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at the Medical School's Department of Community Health & Medicine. 

Pronouns: she/her, they/them I am an undergraduate scholar and an International Relations and Social Anthropology student at St Andrews. Growing up in various countries across Asia and Europe, I have become particularly interested in global politics, postcolonialism, and social justice. I am also passionate about languages, and speak Chinese, Persian, Urdu, French, and Spanish to varying degrees, in addition to my native Hindi and English.

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'm currently 2/6th of the way to becoming a doctor 👩🏻‍⚕️   Studying medicine at The University of St Andrews means not only a great uni but also beautiful surroundings. I have interests in: lifestyle medicine, psychiatry, infectious diseases and emergency medicine. My dream is to become an expedition medic. Ask me what I'm reading just now I love to wild swim 🏊🏻‍♀️, wanna go?

I am currently in my fourth year of an undergraduate degree in Classics/Comparative Literature at the University of St Andrews and am particularly interested in accessibility within academia through public engagement and community building. In my research project Queer Catullus, Catullan Queers, I looked at the history of queer adaptations of poems by the ancient Roman poet Catullus. Based on this research, I set up the collaborative arts project Catullan Identities which invited people to respond to the ancient poems creatively. During my Leadership-in-Action project I transformed this approach into a series of queer creative workshops which I ran in different parts of Scotland and that aimed at empowering queer communities in the face of rising transphobia and queerphobia across the UK. Please feel free to browse the gallery of Catullan Identities on my website and don’t hesitate to get in touch with any questions.