Celebrating the success of ICUR 2020

Successfully hosting 550 undergraduate presenters virtually from around the world, the eighth annual International Conference of Undergraduate Research (ICUR) took place on 29 and 30 September, with more student participants than any previous conference.

Supported by the Monash Warwick Alliance, this year’s ICUR also included more institutions than ever before, virtually linking students from Warwick and Monash’s Australian and Malaysia campuses with fellow researchers from ten other institutions across Europe, Africa, Asia and North America.

Due to the challenges of the pandemic, the ICUR team undertook a huge shift to adapt their already partially virtual infrastructure into a new, totally hybrid, mode of delivery. As a result,  ICUR saw a massive increase in engagement with the conference, facilitated through the newly developed ICUR app. Over the 48-hour period, just under 2,500 audience members joined the conference to watch and interact with 109 individual webinar sessions, viewing presentations by some of the best undergraduate researchers from around the world.

After working tirelessly to pivot ICUR to an online mode, Monash and Warwick ICUR Student Directors hosted two amazing keynote sessions. Opening the conference for Asia Pacific was Dr Brian Martin, Associate Dean, Indigenous, Monash Art Design and Architecture (MADA), and current Monash student, Simone Pianko, founder of the Monash Borrow Cup sustainability initiative. For the 2020 International Keynote session, ICUR welcomed BBC presenter, scientist and comedian Helen Keen, who spoke about her varied career and the often-hilarious directions research can take you!

On behalf of the ICUR team, we would like to thank all who attended the conference to make 2020 the biggest ICUR yet. Congratulations to all the presenters connecting from homes, campuses, and offices across the world, delivering insightful and impactful research presentations to a global audience.