Alex Blyth, a 27-year-old Technical Trainee at Barratt Developments North East, recently represented New College Durham in Parliament, as part of the annual British Conference of Undergraduate Research (BCUR) Posters in Parliament event, after winning a competition.
The competition, which was hosted by New College Durham, invited all Higher Education faculties to prepare a summative poster that illustrated their research work in various fields ranging from Sports Science to Graphic Design. Alex, who has been a Technical Trainee with Barratt Developments North East since August 2017, won the competition with his detailed project focusing on the various housing crises in UK society. Pulling on his experience with the housebuilder, Alex’s project incorporated and addressed major issues such as the housing and carbon crises, fuel poverty and other societal issues including homelessness and austerity.
After winning the competition, Alex attended the BCUR’s annual Posters in Parliament event in Westminster, where he exhibited his research and represented his local college, alongside 50 other undergraduate students. Following a morning induction, the undergraduates learnt about how research plays an important role in policy-making with a series of talks led by members of Parliament. Alex received positive feedback on his research from a multitude of individuals, including other colleges and visiting MPs and Lords. At the end of the day, the top three submitted posters were selected by a judging panel to win a further award.
Alex Blyth, Technical Trainee at Barratt Developments North East, commented: “I was absolutely thrilled to represent New College Durham at the Posters in Parliament event in Westminster. It has been a fantastic experience to present my work in a field that I am really passionate about, as well as engaging with other like-minded students and professionals from across the country. I am thoroughly enjoying my time at Barratt Developments, and was able to draw on the experiences of the wider team that I work with in my research, helping me to put together a research piece that was not just based in academics, but on practical, real-life experiences too.”
Mark Davis, Technical Director at Barratt Developments North East, commented: “It’s wonderful to see an ambitious Barratt Developments trainee showcasing his research in Parliament and we’re truly delighted with Alex’s achievement to represent New Durham College. His hard work has paid off and he should be very proud of himself!”
The Posters in Parliament competition was won by UCL undergraduate, Alice Pistono, who presented her dissertation research on how changing temperatures affect the degradation of DNA.