Showcasing the Future: Highlights from the 2026 Undergraduate Research Symposium
The Department of Creative Arts, Media and Music recently hosted the Annual Undergraduate Research Symposium. The event, which serves as a premier showcase for fourth-year research projects, brought together students and staff members across the Department.
The opening keynote, delivered by Dr. Tim Mc Cormac, Head of Research and Graduate Studies at DkIT, emphasised the importance of research dissemination as a stepping stone towards postgraduate studies. As he stated:
"Today we witnessed the importance of undergraduate students disseminating their research work which they conducted during their undergraduate primary degree. This not only shows the passion these students have of their research projects but also helps seed an interest in research across the student cohort so they can pursue future research degrees up to PhD level."
Following an incredibly impressive showcase of critical thought and research excellence at this year’s Undergraduate Research Symposium, the fourth-year students in the Department of Creative Arts Media and Music brought home important awards. The following students were awarded at the end of the event:
Natasha Mackin, winner of the prize “Outstanding Contribution to Film Research”
Alisia de Brún, winner of the prize “Outstanding Contribution to Drama Research”
Elizabeth Ibiyemi, co-winner of the prize “Best Presentation of a Research Project”
Ciara Wilde, co-winner of the prize “Best Presentation of a Research Project”
The winners expressed their high levels of satisfaction with their participation, highlighting the event as a great opportunity for knowledge sharing and confidence-building.
“It was very gratifying to show my months of research to my fellow classmates and colleagues. The symposium made me realise that there is opportunity for meaningful research no matter the topic!"
Natasha Mackin, BA (Hons) in Film and TV Production
“It was an uplifting experience being able to present at the Research Symposium.”
Elizabeth Ibiyemi, BA (Hons) in Film and TV Production
“It was so gratifying to get to present and help people understand the research I’ve been working on for the past nine months. I'm so glad I decided to participate."
Ciara Wilde, BA (Hons) in Creative Media
Concluding the event, Dr. Adèle Commins, Head of Department of Creative Arts, Media and Music, expressed her appreciation of the high research standards of our fourth-year students.
“I was deeply impressed by the range of ideas presented by our final-year undergraduate students at the Department’s annual undergraduate research symposium. Each project demonstrated originality and rigour, and the depth of engagement with their chosen topics was clearly evident throughout. I warmly congratulate all presenters; their work reflects not only academic excellence, but also their capacity to shape and inform the world around them. I also wish to acknowledge the guidance and support provided by supervisors of final-year dissertations in bringing the projects to fruition.”
Reflecting on the event, Dr. Ingrid Lewis, Lecturer in Film Studies and member of the organising committee added:
"The symposium is a confidence-builder that shows students they can produce meaningful research. It was wonderful to see such a strong turnout at the symposium and to witness the positive engagement showed by the students during the presentations and Q&A sessions. Huge congratulations to all presenters and winners at the Research Symposium, together with their supervisors and module lecturers who supported their year-long research journeys.”
