Pharmacy Daily | Monash pharmacy at ICUR

PHARMACY students from Victoria's Monash University took to a global stage last week, after being chosen to present their research at the 2020 International Conference for Undergraduate Research (ICUR).

The gathering was conducted online this year, as part of an ongoing collaboration between Monash University and the UK's University of Warwick which was established in 2013.

The 2020 ICUR included 13 institutions across the globe, with Monash and Warwick joined by participating universities in Barcelona, New York, Leeds, Brussels, Nanyang, British Columbia, South Africa, Paris, Slovenia and Nebraska.

This year's Monash participants are in their fourth year of the Bachelor of Pharmacy (Hons)/Master of Pharmacy course, and took part in video-linked sessions or digital poster sessions.

Each ICUR spoken presentation hosted four students, each delivering a presentation on their research, followed by a five minute question time for each presenter.

Participants joined the conference virtually through a specially developed ICUR app, with Monash's Associate Professor Kirstie Galbraith, Director of Experiential Development and Graduate Education, saying the gathering is a "fantastic opportunity for students - it provides a rigorous yet supportive forum for them to engage in global research, dialogue, discuss ideas and receive feedback from their peers.

"On behalf of the faculty I would like to congratulate the talented students who have been selected to present their work at this year's ICUR - despite the challenges 2020 has presented across the globe, these students have risen to the challenge," Galbraith said.

The Monash presentations included research on learning strategies in pharmacy, challenges relating to COVID-19 curriculum changes, a systematic review comparing yoga and physical exercise, and "unexpected reactions of N-benzimidazolyl-2-thiourea with orthoesters".