Western students who earned top honours from the 2024 Global Undergraduate Awards, (L to R) Diana Urian, James Kenneth and Christy Xie. (Rob Potter/Western Communications)
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:
- James Kenneth, Global Winner in Classical Studies & Archaeology (second time Global Winner)
- Diana Urian, Global Winner in Psychology
- Christy Xie, Global Winner in Chemical & Pharmaceutical Sciences
- Hongshu Wang, Global Winner in Mass Communications
- Emma Cleland, Regional Winner in Literature
- Katrina Crone, Regional Winner in Art History & Theory
- Shan Malhi, Regional Winner in Law
- Gabriella Simonelli, Regional Winner in Life Sciences
"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."
