The Undergraduate Research Showcase is a fantastic way to network with other students and promote your research to academics. It will develop your communication skills and help you get noticed on applications for funding and further study. If you are considering studying for a research degree, such as a PhD, this is a fantastic opportunity to demonstrate experience in disseminating your contribution within an academic environment to the public and wider university community.

All entrants will receive a certificate of entry and be invited to present at the Undergraduate Research Showcase celebration reception in June. 

In addition, participation in the Showcase can be counted towards your Exeter Award hours, which can help you to develop your employability as a researcher even further.

Winning poster entries will receive one of two funded places to attend and present at Posters in Parliament 2024.

All Showcase entries will compete for other prizes including Amazon vouchers and a £500 bursary to attend and present at an external conference of your choosing, such as the British Conference of Undergraduate Research (BCUR) if accepted to present.

Do I need to be an undergraduate to submit?

No. Recent alumni who have graduated in the last year are eligible to submit research they completed as an undergraduate. If you graduated from your undergraduate degree in Summer or Christmas 2023, you are eligible to submit to the 2024 Showcase.

Do I need to include references on my submission?

Yes. Just like any university submission, it must include references. If submitting a poster or video, we ask that you include the references at the end of your submission. Examples of this can be found on the previous s ubmissions page. The submission form will also ask you to upload a separate document just for your references for all submissions.

Can I submit my research in different formats?

Yes. We welcome a variety of research formats. You are more than welcome to submit your research as a poster, an abstract and a video.

Does my research have to correlate to the subject I study?

No. Most commonly, students decide to submit research in the field they are currently doing their degree course in but that is not compulsory. As long as the research is conducted to university-level argumentation and is referenced correctly, we welcome students to research outside of their degree course.

I have never created a research poster or written an abstract before – where should I start?

Head over to the submissions guidance page for tips, templates and checklists. Make sure to also check out the previous submissions page to get a good idea of what a typical submission looks like.

You can also attend a Study Zone drop-in session for help with your submission.

Can I still submit if my research is incomplete?

We recommend that if you have not yet completed your work that you submit an abstract rather than a poster, as you can give your preliminary conclusions in this abstract. You will be judged just as fairly this way for the Showcase competition, and we often receive entries from students who have not finished their research (there are examples like this one on our website).

However, please note that external events such as Posters in Parliament and BCUR do require you to have completed your research by the time you will come to present at the event itself. 

Can I submit research as part of a group?

Yes, you are allowed to submit research as a group. Please ensure that all names of students submitting are on the research (please see this previous example as a guide); multiple presenters will be allowed to present at any internal events we invite you to take part in. You can find more guidance on submitting as a group on the submission guidance page under the general guidance tab.

However, please note that we will only be able to send one representative per poster to those winning entries chosen to attend Posters in Parliament; you must consider who will attend if you are entering a group poster to be considered for this event.