WISERD have announced the winner of their PhD Poster Competition 2021.

Muhao Du from Cardiff University has won the prize for his poster – ‘Finding Harmony in Hardship: experiences of expatriates in subsidiaries of Chinese MNCs in the high technology sector’

Emma Reardon from the University of Wales Trinity Saint David has won the prize for her presentation – ‘“I feel like a square peg in a round hole”: How is autism perceived and does it matter?’.

The competition forms part of WISERD’s online Summer Series which took place last week, instead of their usual Annual Conference. The prizes have been kindly sponsored by the Learned Society of Wales and the ESRC Wales Doctoral Training Partnership.

PhD students from across Wales were invited to submit posters and video presentations. This year’s judging panel was made up of Professor John Harrington (Director of the ESRC Wales Doctoral Training Partnership); Martin Pollard (Chief Executive of the Learned Society of Wales); Professor Lydia Morris, University of Essex (member of the WISERD Advisory Board); Professor Sally Power (WISERD Director) and Professor Paul Chaney (WISERD Co-Director).

The aim of the poster was to publicise an area of research to a non-expert audience in a way that is visually impactful. The presentation provides a key opportunity for PhD students to develop their ability to explain their research succinctly to a broad audience, who may or may not, be familiar with their work. The competition demonstrates the commitment of WISERD and their partners in supporting those in the early stages of their research careers. 

This year’s winning poster ‘Finding Harmony in Hardship: experiences of expatriates in subsidiaries of Chinese MNCs in the high technology sector’ was produced by Muhao Du (Cardiff University). He will receive £200 in National Book Tokens from the Learned Society of Wales.

Muhao said: “I am very delighted to win the WISERD poster competition. In my poster, I tried to communicate my enthusiasm for my research and I am really glad that it connected so well with the audience.” 

Martin Pollard (Chief Executive, Learned Society for Wales) from the judging panel said: “We chose this poster because it managed to distil a complex and interesting piece of research into a visually attractive format which was clearly accessible to a non-specialist audience. It conveyed the key messages without overwhelming us with information.”

Claire Pescott (University of South Wales) was Highly Commended for her poster – ‘“Me, my selfie and I”: an exploration of 10 and 11 year olds’ identity portrayal on social media.’

This year’s winning presentation ‘“I feel like a square peg in a round hole”: How is autism perceived and does it matter?’ was given by Emma Reardon from University of Wales Trinity Saint David. She will receive £200 in National Book Tokens from the ESRC Doctoral Training Partnership.

Emma said: “I am delighted that my presentation has been selected as the winner. No one wants to be a square peg in a round hole – my research is part of a broader movement that seeks to improve outcomes by making those holes squarer for Autistic people.”

Professor Lydia Morris (University of Essex and member of WISERD Strategic Advisory Board) from the judging panel said: “This presentation not only explained the content of the research, but gave the listener a clear understanding of why the poster took the form it did.  The presentation opened a window into the world of experience of autism.”

Rhian Grace Lloyd (Bangor University) was Highly Commended for her poster – ‘”…t’in rhan ohonaf fi…” Esblygiad hunaniath gofalwyr’.

Unlike previous years, where delegates have been invited to view the poster exhibition during our Annual Conference, all of this year’s posters, with accompanying presentations, have been made available to view on WISERD’s website. They cover a diverse range of areas, from digital identity and perceptions of autism to the experiences of expatriates and anti-immigration vigilantism.