I am a 3-year BSc Natural Sciences student, majoring in Neuroscience and Psychology. I am interested in pursuing a career in brain-imaging and neurotechnology. I want to participate in projects devoted to innovating new ways to support people who live with neural conditions, and help share their stories through documentary film-making. I believe that providing more and better ways to cultivate understanding for one another can bring more compassion and kindness to our world. I think these two elements are often overlooked and under-practiced, and yet have a profound impact when integrated into our work and our lives. With this idea, I really love to travel and get involved in new projects and experiences to learn more about myself and other humans and their stories.
On weekdays, I'm a microengineering student fascinated by 3D bioprinting of living tissue, wearable devices, electronic skin, soft robotics and neural interfaces.
On weekends, I'm a House and Freestyle Hip-Hop dancer.
Hi, I'm Grace, a second-year Geography BSc student at Durham University,
To me, sustainability is not just about maintaining an ecological balance, but also achieving a social one. I want to be a part of the movement to achieve this.
Before starting university, I knew I wanted to have a career in sustainable agriculture, as it combines two industries that fascinated me. As a rapidly growing field, it has the potential to help secure the future and make sure that sufficient nutrition is available in all corners of the world. It is important to me that my future career has an active role in innovating resilient agricultural practices and creating a sustainable food production system, whilst advocating the importance of sustainability and mitigating the impacts of global warming.
With that being said, I knew that being part of the Laidlaw Research and Leadership Programme would give me an incredible opportunity to develop my leadership skills. Feeding off the passion and enthusiasm that fellow scholars also embrace I'll be able to further my knowledge in a structured and beneficial practice, with firsthand experience as part of my LiA.
I have now completed my Laidlaw Scholar journey, however I know my journey to becoming a great leader will never truly be over...
Please feel free to reach out, I would love to chat!
I am from London, UK
I study Philosophy and English at St Andrews
My research/leadership project is about the philosophy of ecology - specifically, ways of thinking about Nature and what that entails for human beings. I will be evaluating the two main alternative models to the 'anthropocentric' one (which considers human beings separate two and above Nature). These are the Holistic view - that we should dissolve the human/nature barrier and consider ourselves as parts of one entangled system - and the Othering view - which defines what is natural as what is non-human.
I chose this project because I believe that the Earth Systems Crisis we are experiencing is not merely technological, but deeply rooted in the way humans beings think about nature. I also chose it because I find the ideas involved to be ecstatically beautiful, and to deepen by experience of the world.
When I'm not studying, I like to write and read poetry, spend hours in art galleries, wander in forests, and dance the nights away. I also help run Refugee Action St Andrews, as Vice President.
I'd love to connect with someone who is interested in philosophy, poetry, or nature, wherever they may be.
Hello! I'm Ami, a fourth year English and Art History student from Upstate New York. My research interests include contemporary British and American drama, creative writing, Anglo Saxon, Older Scots, medieval folklore, Renaissance painting and the Dutch Golden Age. For my research project, I examined uses of anthropomorphism, or nonhuman voices, in Old and Middle English dream poetry. In my Leadership in Action project, I am now a Summer Teaching Fellow at the Los Angeles chapter of the nonprofit organization 826, which provides free writing workshops, tutoring and other educational opportunities for kids ages 6-18 around the US. I am assisting with teaching the 2024 Summer Writer's Workshops, as well as working individually with students on their creative writing pursuits.
Hi, I'm Ele, a University of St Andrews Scholar. Primarily, my studies are in psychology but I am undertaking research in biochemistry and biophotonics. The aim of my project is to understand the effect of alpha-synuclein aggregates on astrocyte Calcium signaling in neurodegeneration (more precisely Parkinson's disease). This research has not been conducted before and the aim is to understand astrocytic calcium waves with the hopes of finding an aid to therapeutic targets for Parkinson's.
My future research and ambitious lie in clinical and forensic psychology as well as gender psychology. I am also a mental health advocate and I am extremely passionate about raising awareness about mental illness.
Outside of my academic pursuits I enjoy music (especially drums), writing, any and all forms of art, being with my family and friends. and most of all traveling. I am also a die hard football fan and avid watcher. I also love most things to do with Spanish and Latin American cultures as I am from Madrid myself.
If you would like to chat about practically anything, I would be very excited if you sent me a message! I would love to connect and understand your project and personal interests!
Have a great day!
Hi there! My name is Finn Smyth and I am a final year student in Modern History at the University of St Andrews. For the Laidlaw programme my research focused on how Left political organisations across Scotland have performed, organizationally and ideologically, since devolution. I am also interested in modern political economy, and the emergence of modern political communications strategies and how they have been used in political campaigns since the 1980s.
My dissertation this year focuses on the modernisation of the Labour Party in the 1980s, and among recent projects I have been awarded grant funding to research the rise of populism in Europe alongside colleagues at Charles University, Prague.
I am an undergraduate student at the University of Leeds studying BSc Environmental Science.
I am particularly interested in climate change - the science behind it and its impacts, biodiversity and ecology, and sustainable development.
I am also currently partaking in a Year in Industry placement at Network Rail working for the Environment and Sustainable Development team.
My Laidlaw Research was on the reintroduction of beavers in Scotland, looking at attitudes towards them and trying to understand why they are illegally killed. This particularly interested me as it is vital to understand local opinions on wildlife to succeed in reintroductions and rewilding schemes.
For my Laidlaw Leadership Development, I was lucky enough to spend a summer with Think Pacific on an Environment and Sustainable Development project in Fiji.
Outside of work and study, I enjoy food (cooking and eating it), as well as sports like powerlifting (which allow me to eat lots without any negatives!), and exploring new places and nature sites.
