Eight Western undergraduate student researchers representing five faculties were recently named among the best in the world in The Global Undergraduate Awards, including one scholar who has been awarded a gold medal for the second year in a row. Exploring a diverse range of research topics, including ancient literature studies, brain functionality testing, law and bioscience, the Western scholars being recognized for their outstanding coursework are: “Western continues to be a leader in the Global Undergraduate Awards program, with our student scholars receiving global recognition for their work in a wide range of disciplines this year,” said Lily Cho, vice-provost and associate vice-president (international). “As an institution, we have an obligation to not only provide an outstanding education in all our faculties, but to also contribute to educating global citizens who are able to compete on the world stage. Our students’ continued success in this program is an indicator that we are achieving those goals.”  

Submissions came from 345 institutions

The Global Undergraduate Awards is a global cross-disciplinary competition that invites undergraduates to submit their work to be judged anonymously by academic panels in each category. Global winners are the top submissions worldwide in their respective categories and regional winners represent the top submissions in a specific region. This year, nearly 2,400 submissions from 345 institutions were received, according to the organizers. In addition to the four global and four regional winners, 20 other student scholars from Western were named to the Highly Commended List. To be considered for a Global Undergraduate Award, entrants submit their work to one of 25 categories. Global winners, regional winners and highly commended scholars each receive a certificate along with publication of their paper in The Undergraduate Library and access to the Undergraduate Award Network. They are also invited to share their research and connect with other scholars at the Global Undergraduate Summit Nov. 10 to 13 in Dublin, Ireland.  

Western student honoured for second year

James Kenneth, a master’s student in the Faculty of Arts and Humanities, was selected as a global winner again this year, after also earning this distinction in 2023 – a feat that program organizers say has been accomplished only one other time since 2018. “Having James recognized as one of the only double global winners in recent years is exceptional. We are extremely proud to have him representing Western again this year at the Global Undergraduate Summit,” said Cho. Reflecting on his second win, Kenneth said last year’s positive experience prompted him to become more involved with the program this year, including promoting the opportunity to other students on campus. “I am honoured to have been selected as a global winner twice. Winning an award is a nice feather in your cap and I believe that having won last year factored into my acceptance to my master’s program,” said Kenneth, whose winning paper explored primary sources concerning ancient army recruitment practices. “I was most excited for another opportunity to attend the Global Summit. I’m passionate about what the Global Undergraduate Awards program does to connect scholars from around the world and to give them the opportunity to learn from each other. Now, I tell everyone I know to apply.”  

Meet the winners

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James Kenneth, BA’24, now pursuing a master’s degree in classical studies: “One of the things that I’m always interested in is looking closely at our established interpretations of history and questioning them or looking at them in a different way.” Read more about Kenneth’s winning research. Diana Urian, medical sciences student: “Knowing that someone not only read but also recognized my work was incredibly rewarding. I like to believe it may have even influenced how they perceive the heterogeneity of diseases. At the end of the day, it’s all about making people view things differently. I’m not interested in doing research just for the sake of doing research. I want to see it have an impact.” Read more about Urian’s winning research. Christy Xie, BSc’24: “For a long time, I have been interested in the application of technology to solve real-world problems. Being part of an integrated science program allowed me to explore the connections between various scientific disciplines and see how different fields can complement and enhance each other.” Read more about Xie’s winning research. Hongshu Wang, BA’24, now pursuing a master’s degree in sociology: “I am interested in understanding Chinese social media from a sociological perspective. I saw many negative views toward vegetarianism on Chinese social media, which made me wonder how to use my sociological imagination to systematically understand Chinese netizens’ attitudes toward vegetarianism.” Read more about Wang’s winning research. Emma Cleland, BA’24: “Ever since I was little, it was always books everywhere and I just loved reading. I took my first-year English course at Western and I knew it was English all the way.” Read more about Cleland’s winning research. Katrina Crone, history student: “I couldn’t believe that I had won a global competition with thousands of entrants. I think winning also helped me overcome some of the impostor syndrome I had felt about my work as a student, so that was a nice confidence boost.” Read more about Crone’s winning research. Shan Malhi, law student: “Online gambling preys on people like me – young men with some money to spend. They use celebrities and sports figures we grew up admiring to sell gambling, making it seem cool or harmless when, in fact, it can be devastating. My passion for fairness in the legal system drives me to push for stronger laws that protect vulnerable people from being exploited.” Read more about Malhi’s winning research. Gabriella Simonelli, BSc’24, now pursing a master’s of management of applied science: “I have always wanted to be a doctor. I can’t remember ever having another career aspiration. I’ve never had a backup plan. I think I was just immediately drawn to human body anatomy when I was younger and then I took a bunch of science courses through elementary school and high school, and I decided that those were my favourite classes.” Read more about Simonelli’s winning research.