By students, for students

A research conference with a difference – ANU Student Research Conference 2022

23 Aug 2022

The charm of SRC lies in student program designers, graphic designers and social media designers coming together with Engagement and Success staff to build the platform for student researchers to build their research presentation skills and confidence.

The events program for the 2022 ANU Student Research Conference launched this week, showcasing a range of keynote speeches, workshops, and interactive events. The program has been co-designed by student volunteers with support of Engagement and Success staff. The SRC is a multi-disciplinary conference designed with the intention of supporting undergraduate, Honours and Masters (coursework) students to build skills, confidence and community in research. All events are open to ANU students and staff, with some events open to the wider ANU community also. 

These events, along with the graphic design and social media initiatives to promote them, have been co-designed by a team of 12 student volunteers and staff within a 27-week personal and professional development program coordinated by Engagement and Success. In line with the multidisciplinary focus of the ANU Student Research Conference, collectively the members of the student committee range from first to fourth year across degree programs from all ANU academic colleges. The team includes domestic and international students studying undergraduate and postgraduate (coursework) programs. It is this multidisciplinary approach which has been central to this "collaborative effort that stems out of students' personal experiences and those around them," reflects SRC Program Designer and first year student Anneysha Sarkar. 

The team attributes the distinctiveness of this opportunity to the staff-student partnership at the heart of the project. "The charm of SRC lies in student program designers, graphic designers and social media designers coming together with Engagement and Success staff to build the platform for student researchers to build their research presentation skills and confidence," reflects Shaam Gupta, SRC Program Designer and first year student. Graphic designer Wei Lerr describes her journey as "being supported by professional staffs and fellow students to develop a visual solution that helps to promote the conference." As part of the program, staff facilitate a human-centered design process which provides students with the tools to design solutions that are relevant, timely and specific to supporting coursework research within the ANU student community. "It's a rarity that we get the opportunity as students to actively contribute our perspectives directly to established University events, and getting the opportunity to do so through the SRC co-design committee is something that I really believe sets an amazing precedent for what the future of design in this context can look like!" reflects graphic designer Natasha Tareen, a third year Bachelor of Business Administration student. 

 
Currently in week 19 of the 27-week program, the team is already reflecting on the personal and professional development that they have gained. Third year Bachelor of Commerce/Bachelor of Arts student Rebecca Haller-Trost says she has gained "professional, back-end research and design experience". Master of Business Information Systems student Shashank CG also highlights skills learned through human-centered design during the program: "I gained an interesting perspective into designing a solution based on the approach of design thinking and user research." Anneysha remarks that "I have observed huge improvements in my communication skills. I can now communicate my ideas more effectively and am no longer afraid to ask questions." Looking back on the process, she reflects that "it is amazing that students can pitch in their ideas to make a conference geared towards fellow students successful." 

The ANU Student Research Conference will be hosted in person on level 6 of the Marie Reay Teaching Building from 14-16 September 2022. All events are free and registrations are essential! Check out the conference events program here.

The ANU Student Research Conference Co-Design Committee:  