July 12, 2017, by Lisa Chin

Research Showcase Experience #3

This post is contributed by Lahari Murali, recipient of the Best Press Release Award.

Participating in the Research Showcase this year was a formative experience. Apart from giving an opportunity to communicate my work and its significance, this competition helped me realise the importance of science communication in the present world. Before the competition, I used to struggle with explaining my work to other people who do not have the same research interests or academic background as mine. In fact, writing the press release itself was challenging! I even thought that it would be nearly impossible to describe a scientific subject without the use of jargon in just 250 words. The least of all my worries was not winning the best press release! But after writing it, I felt rather confident in discussing the work I do with a varied demographic, this further helped me to prepare for the main event.

The day of the showcase came and I was quite excited as it was my very first poster presentation. It was fascinating to see how each person interpreted the topic of my research in their own way and what facet of it interested them the most; that gave me a ballpark idea of the public opinion of my work and on how I could pitch it to a diverse audience in the future. It was also great to see fellow postgraduates present their research and we learnt so much from exchanging our experiences that we have come across in our postgraduate life.

My wholehearted thanks to the Graduate School for organising this competition. And to future participants, have fun and enjoy the experience; you will thank yourself for participating!

Lahari Murali, with her poster entitled “The Curious Case of the Cannabinoid Receptors”.

Featured image: Lahari Murali receiving the Best Press Release Award from one of the judges, Ms Zuraida Zainal Abidin, Senior Manager of Communications at Crops For the Future (CFF). 

More information on the UNMC Research Showcase 2017 is available at: https://blogs.nottingham.edu.my/postgraduate/2017/05/02/unmc-research-showcase-2017/

More information on the winning press release by Lahari Murali is available at: https://blogs.nottingham.edu.my/postgraduate/2017/05/30/unmc-research-showcase-2017-best-press-release/

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