On 1 March, Westminster’s Centre for Nutraceuticals hosted the Student Health and Nutrition Conference 2024, bringing together students from across the School of Life Sciences to share perspectives, network with peers and external experts and learn more about the vast field of health and nutrition.
The conference was organised by Dr Sinead Roberts and Professor Mohammed Gulrez Zariwala, alongside an organising committee comprising of academics and students across all levels and was funded by the Quintin Hogg Trust, a long standing supporter of initiatives that benefit students at the University of Westminster.
Undergraduates, postgraduates and doctoral researchers all presented their research, discussed novel findings with their peers and participated in a research challenge with the aim of providing innovative solutions to tackle childhood obesity – a current health issue facing children in the UK. The students were joined by external guest speakers who shared their career experiences and insights to help students explore their own career goals and show them how they can be achieved.
After the presentations, Deputy Vice Chancellor for Employability and Global Engagement, Professor Dibyesh Anand, led a prize giving and congratulated the students and the Centre for the initiative. Doctoral candidates Katie Bonnar, Marta Gamez Fernandes and Ruchitha Venkatesh and Master’s student Emily Stokes were awarded prizes for both their spoken and poster presentations.
Vice Chancellor and President Professor Peter Bonfield closed the day by congratulating the students and speaking about wellbeing and nutrition, a topic in which he has a special interest, focusing on health challenges prevalent in the UK today.
Talking about the conference Dr Roberts said: “Conferences and networking can be daunting when you are still a student, but they are so vital for meeting new people, learning new things and gaining a fresh perspective. We wanted to provide our students with this experience, in an environment where they felt confident.”
Professor Gulrez Zariwala, Director of the Centre for Nutraceuticals, added: “One of the founding objectives of the Centre is to bring together industry and academia, with students being at the core of all our work. This was a unique opportunity for students across all levels to showcase their research and have stimulating conversations on topics of health and nutrition, while also having the opportunity to network and develop potential collaborations to support their employability prospects. We hope to continue this event on an even wider scale in the future!”
The conference was supported by external sponsors Gencor Pacific, The Physiological Society and Optimum Nutrition, providing students with the opportunity to learn more about and network with industry partners.
This conference directly contributes to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 2: Zero Hunger, 3: Good Health and Wellbeing and 4: Quality Education. Since 2019, the University of Westminster has used the SDGs holistically to frame strategic decisions to help students and colleagues fulfil their potential and contribute to a more sustainable, equitable and healthier society.
The University will also host the World Public Health Nutrition Congress 2024 between 10-13 June exploring the theme Questioning the Solutions: Has the Decade of Nutrition Delivered?
Find out more about the School of Life Sciences at the University of Westminster.
