Jorja Oladiran, URSS Participant 2022
Liberal Arts

Project title: The Historical and Political insurgence of Barbados Republicanism

"URSS was such a valuable and enriching experience. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who wants to research something that they are very interested in but typically wouldn't get the opportunity within their normal degree. The project really encouraged a sense of agency and confidence that I didn't know I had because of its inherently independent nature of research discovery, I was forced to challenge myself on what I was researching and how I wanted to add to the academic literature. It gave me freedom to explore any project that I wanted to and all terrains of that project that interested me.

I got the amazing opportunity to go to Barbados, and research on something that is very new. It felt so good that I was able to add to this academic debate, especially as it is still in its inception era."

Davina Nwachukwu, URSS Affiliate Participant 2023

Physics

Project Title: The Birth of Warwick’s Windmill Hill Observatory

My project was based in Warwick’s new observatory, now known as The Marsh Observatory. I worked closely with academics in the Astronomy and Astrophysics Group, learning about the construction of the observatory, and calibrating different aspects of the facility.

I worked on a large range of topics, from observing different objects in the Messier Catalogue, to developing code to analyse data that we collect from the telescope. My favourite aspect of the project was the image processing; taking raw data and reducing it to produce spectacular images of planetary nebulae and globular clusters was a rewarding experience. For my outreach, I got to teach Brownie Girl Guides how modern-day Astronomers observe and presented the images I had created, prompting many to want to become Astronauts.

An unexpected outcome of my project was being invited to the grand opening of the observatory, where I got to meet the acclaimed Astrophysicist Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell, and talk to many esteemed faculty members about my project work, including Vice Chancellor Stuart Croft. This event gave me the opportunity to network with visiting academics, and learn about the different research being done at Warwick.

Overall, I would highly recommend any student to undertake a URSS project as you never know where it could lead you. You are well supported through the process and are able to meet like-minded students who can become very good friends.