Heriot-Watt researcher Philippa Parmiter has become the first recipient of a new award aimed at encouraging Masters students to submit their work for publication.
In an effort to encourage more students to go the extra mile and submit papers for publication on the back of their MSc dissertations, the Scottish Agricultural College (SAC) Masters Committee recently introduced a £600 cash prize award to the student who submitted the best manuscript for peer review. Philippa rose to the challenge and an account of her study is now due to be published in the international journal, Energy Policy.
Philippa's dissertation, written as part the Environmental Protection and Management MSc run by the University of Edinburgh's Geosciences Masters programme, involved a study into the sustainability of photovoltaic systems, which convert energy from light into electricity. Philippa is a researcher with the Scottish Institute of Sustainable Technology (SISTech).
Philippa said: 'Sometimes it's easy to get bogged down in theory when you're studying, but the creation of this award shows that postgraduate students can have an impact on peer reviewed journals too, even at Masters level. I'm delighted to receive this award and would recommend other students to get their research out there as soon as they can.'
Original image and words courtesy of www.sac.ac.uk/news