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Undergraduate Research Initiatives
Academic, Creative and Engaged Research Showcase

Academic, Creative and Engaged Research Showcase (ACERS)

Virtual Showcase

ACERS 2021 may be over but you can still view the fantastic submissions for the Undergraduate Research Academic Display Expo online!

Visit the Showcase

Academic, Creative and Engaged Research Showcase (ACERS)

ACERS is scheduled for March 7 - 11, 2022!

Take the time to submit your undergraduate research for a chance to win cash prizes totalling $5,000! Nominations are due by January 14, 2022.

The Academic, Creative and Engaged Research Showcase (ACERS) at Laurier Brantford recognizes student and faculty research, showcases creative projects by our students, and provides learning experiences for the general public and for the Laurier community.

The showcase provides a unique opportunity for undergraduate students to present their work to their peers and community – and potentially win some prizes for it! Students can be nominated by faculty members but they are also welcome to self-nominate.

ACERS Events

Creativity and Engagement Expo

The Creativity and Engagement Expo features presentations of students' creative and engaged projects, including posters, visual arts, multimedia and recorded performances.

Feature Conferences

Every year there is a mini-conference on a hot topic, which provides a wonderful opportunity for students to learn about and discuss current issues and trends in contemporary society.

Undergraduate Research and Project Showcase

The Undergraduate Research Academic Display Expo showcases some of the best research produced by our undergraduate students via academic posters. Every year we award the top three research projects of the competition.

Student Nomination Form for Faculty Student Self-Nomination Form Course Instructor Letter of Approval (For Self Nominations)

Showcase Events

ACERS features a variety of events to bring together our community in a discussion and appreciation of research.

Past events have included:

Interactive Research Displays
Research Apprentice Presentations
Faculty Research Rundowns
Criminology Student Conference
Human Rights and Human Diversity Student Conference
History Research Colloquium
Digital Media and Journalism Research Colloquium
Faculty of Liberal Arts Community Speaker Series

Project Competition Winners 2021

View the full showcase of projects online.

Posters:

First Place: Jennifer Kirshenbaum – Improving Adult Sex Offender Rehabilitation with Strength-Based Approaches
Second Place: Elaheh Sajadi – A Defence of Endocannibalism: Papua New Guinea
Third Place: Jordan Thielman – Ending Homelessness for Women and Children Affected by Intimate Partner Violence

Podcasts:

First Place: Gabriela Latta Suazo – Travelling Home
Second Place: Shona Kinzel – A Resource for Social Workers
Third Place: Merelle Tadros – Evaluating Moral Transgressions
Third Place: Sonja Moller – SoulSatisfied

Videos:

First Place: James Gautrey – Psychological Horror in Video Games
First Place: Maggie Van Der Sluis – How Joplin’s Treemonisha Challenged Societal and Operatic Norms for Black Culture
Second Place: Tess Kibzey – ShopSafe: Making Shopping during a Pandemic Easier
Third Place: Marina Black – A Critical Study on David Bowie’s Authenticity and Blackstar

People’s Choice:

Yara Khalaf – Effect of Sialic Acid on Cancer Cells

Poster Competition Winners 2020

The expo showcased 43 student presenters.

First Place: Calvin Silverthorne – The Battle of Antietam: An Examination of Three Perspectives
Second Place: Rodina Ghisyawan and Vanita Lad – “Johnny Gets a Vaccine”: A Children’s Comic Book
Third Place: Amy Rico – Is Western Opposition to Female Genital Cutting Unjustifiably Biased?

ACERS 2020 Winners

Watch the 2020 Showcase

Poster Competition Winners 2019

The expo showcased 44 student presenters.

First place: Erin McHarge, Legally Bound: Non-Normative Gender and Identification
Second place: Megan Blair, Indigenous Activism in Canada, 1969-1982
Third place: Anitra Nickel, 1990 Crime Culture and 2018 Foreign Fighter Recruitment in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago

Watch the 2019 Showcase

Poster Competition Winners 2018

The expo showcased 35 academic posters by 47 students.

First Place: Lindsay Walsh, Michelle Bisaillon and Makela Figueiredo, "Windshield Survey: Downtown Galt Ontario"
Second Place: Erin McHarge, "Transgenderism During the Rise of Nazi Germany"
Third Place: Cassandra Voets, Avril De Silva, Alexa Kovacs, O'Shai Jeffers-Penny and Jonathan Knowles, "Therapeutic Recreation at Landsdowne Children's Centre"

Academic, Creative and Engaged Research Showcase

E: acers@wlu.ca

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