The best and brightest students from around the world are gathering in Dublin from Monday 14 November for the annual Global Undergraduate Awards, the world’s leading multi-discipline academic awards programme recognising undergraduate research.
Thousands of students from 410 universities and 73 countries submitted their undergraduate research to the programme.
The 600 academics who volunteer in the months-long judging process evaluated the submissions for their academic rigour and originality, and have identified the single-best entrant in each of the 25 categories.
The winners are travelling to Dublin to formally receive their awards and take part in The Global Undergraduate Awards' annual Global Summit, a three-day-long event aimed at discussing research and sharing ideas.
The event will feature keynote speakers from a wide range of fields including business, broadcasting, design and academia.
In Association with
Dr Garret Maher, executive director of the awards, said this year the competition received submissions from more institutions than ever before.
“The quality of the research and papers submitted by the students has been extraordinary and covering some fascinating topics, from medical DNA research to the Irish constitution to how online discourse affected pandemic responses,” he said.
“In the world of academia, there aren't many opportunities for undergraduates to be recognised for their work outside of their institution, and we want to change that and help students understand that their contribution is important and worthwhile.”
The Global Undergraduates Awards was established in 2008 as an all-Ireland programme and in 2012 the programme expanded to accept submissions from the top universities in the world.
Undergraduate students can submit their undergraduate research to the programme every Spring and can choose from 25 categories, which represent a broad range of academic disciplines.
The best 10% of work is shortlisted as highly commended, and the top submission in each category is deemed the global winner.
The Global Undergraduate Awards funds the winners to attend the Summit, providing for their flights and accommodation.
The directors of the non-profit company that organises the awards and Summit are former KPMG boss Terence O’Rourke, Ruairi Quinn, Louise Hodgson, Jim Barry and Oisin Hanrahan.
Irish Undergraduate Awards CLG raised €430,000 in public and private donations in 2019, and donations fell to €172,000 in 2020 when the awards were disrupted by Covid.
The company’s 2020 accounts filing, signed off in September 2022, stated that continued lockdowns and emerging issues caused by Covid-19 variants throughout 2021 hampered the company’s ability to fundraise and attract sponsorship.
“However, as in previous years, IUA chair Jim Barry has committed to continue supporting the Irish Undergraduate Awards throughout 2021 and 2022 and it is anticipated that the company will be operational in the 12 months following the approval date of these financial statement,” the accounts stated.
