Around 250 people attended the University's annual celebration of doctoral research and innovation, with highlights including:
- The University Final of the Three-Minute Thesis (3MT®) Competition
- The Hybrid Poster Exhibition, featuring 75 posters showcasing research, interactive exhibition stands, videos and research imagery
- A keynote speech by Professor Dan Parsons, Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research and Innovation, who highlighted the importance of doctoral researchers to the University’s community
- A session led by The Conversation UK, a key publishing platform that shares the expertise of academics with wider public audiences
Professor Dan Parsons (Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research and Innovation), said:
“The Summer Showcase is one of the highlights of our research calendar and a powerful demonstration of why our Doctoral Researchers are such a ‘Pretty Huge Deal’. Their ideas, energy and ambition are fundamental to the strength of Loughborough’s research and innovation community, and by extension to our future success as a university.
“What impressed me most was not only the quality and breadth of the research on display, but the confidence, creativity and clarity with which it was communicated. From the outstanding Three-Minute Thesis finalists to the exhibitions, rapid presentations and conversations throughout the day, our Doctoral Researchers showed how complex ideas can be made engaging, accessible and relevant to wider audiences.
“My congratulations to everyone who participated, particularly the competition winners and finalists, and my sincere thanks to the colleagues from across the University whose commitment and hard work made such an ambitious and uplifting event possible.”
Professor Valerie Pinfield (Associate Pro Vice-Chancellor – Doctoral College) commented:
"This year's Research Showcase showed off the immense talent of our Doctoral Researchers in communicating their research in innovative and entertaining ways. There was a great atmosphere, a real buzz, as researchers participated in the competitions, built new networks, discussed their research and their experiences as Doctoral Researchers. I was struck by how supportive our Doctoral Researchers were of each other - through quiet words of confidence building as well as through cheering and whooping as their colleagues presented their work. I am so proud of our Doctoral Researcher community! Huge thanks and congratulations to all those who took part, and to the great organising team!"
Dr Katryna Kalawsky (Strategic Partner Researcher Professional Development – Loughborough University Research Academy) and Event Lead for the Summer Showcase added:
"This year’s Summer Showcase was a fantastic celebration of our Doctoral Researchers, highlighting their creativity, commitment and the vibrant community they're part of. More than 110 colleagues from academic Schools and professional services contributed to the planning and delivery of Summer Showcase 2026, demonstrating the University's commitment to supporting Doctoral Researchers and celebrating research excellence. Big thank you to everyone who supported the event, especially the Doctoral Researchers who took part!"
The following competition results were announced at the showcase:
Three-Minute Thesis (3MT®) Competition
- Winner: Susan Babirye, ‘Stopping Cyber Attacks Before They Spread’, Mechanical, Electrical and Manufacturing Engineering
- Runner-up: Hasini Abeyratna Siyambalangamuwe Mudiyansele M, ‘SEPSENSE - Adaptive Early Detection of Sepsis’, Loughborough University London
- People's Choice: Susan Babirye
Rapid Research Relay
- People's Choice Winner: Eyram Tawia, ‘Can Games Help Citizens Take Part in Politics?’, Social Sciences and Humanities
- People's Choice Runner-up: Jessie Akambadi, ‘They Still Call It Africa: The Role of Youth Participatory Storytelling on Civic Engagement in Malawi’, Loughborough University London
No-Bell Prize Competition
- Winner: Saurav Roy, ‘Come On! It's Just a Packet... Or Is It?’, Design and Creative Arts
- Runner-up: Greeshma Giridhar, ‘Cake Crumbs to Cake. Concrete Crumbs to Concrete’, Architecture, Building and Civil Engineering
- People's Choice: Greeshma Giridhar
Vlog Exhibition
- Winner: Clare Deal, ‘What Is It With You People?’, Social Sciences and Humanities
- Runner-up: Sheida Yazdan Joo, ‘Capturing What Is There and What Is Not’, Design and Creative Arts
- People's Choice: Lucinda Abell, ‘Meraki: Navigating the Intersections of Design and Sport Science’, Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences
Images of Research
- Winner: Clare Deal, ‘A Fresh Start for Transformative Thinking’, Social Sciences and Humanities
- Runner-up: Sai Kulkarni, ‘Seeing the Winds Better: Using Videos of Tree Motion for Urban Wind Analysis’, Social Sciences and Humanities
- People's Choice: Aqsa Bano, ‘Green Edge AI: Measuring Carbon Emissions from Machine Learning Inference’, Mechanical, Electrical and Manufacturing Engineering
Interactive Exhibition
- Winner: Benjamin Keyser, ‘Who Wants to Do Some Product Repair?’, Design and Creative Arts
- Runner-up: Danielle Vaughan, ‘What Does Ripping Paper Do to Your Attention?’, Design and Creative Arts
- People's Choice: Bibi Duman, ‘Loop by Loop: An Introduction to Textile Making’, Design and Creative Arts
Poster Competition
- Winner: Kevin Tan, ‘From Sensors to Skeletons: A Wearable-Compatible Musculoskeletal Workflow’, Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences
- Runner-up: Derrick David, ‘Breath of a Butterfly: Using Air Chemistry to Study Insect Health’, Science
- People's Choice: Congcong Qi, ‘From Cultural Roots to Social Scale: A Dual-Axis Analysis of Football Fandom and Regional Identity in Contemporary China’, Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences
Social Media Winners
- Alaa Abdallah, ‘Next Generation of Resilient Modular Housebuilding Businesses in the Digital Era’, Architecture, Building and Civil Engineering
- Mohamed Shamroukh Mohamed Mahmoud, ‘Mapping Where People Walk’, Architecture, Building and Civil Engineering
Explore the highlights of the event on the Summer Showcase webpages.