The Beaumont Award

The University of Leeds Beaumont Award recognises research projects by undergraduate students from any discipline. This might be a final year project or related to an internship pursued at the University.

The award is inspired by the life and work of Michael Faraday, whose discoveries were crucial in the development of technological innovation. It is sponsored by Professor Adam Beaumont, CEO of aql and a visiting Professor in Cybersecurity at the University of Leeds.

The prize

Each winner will receive £500 cash and an engraved medal.

They will also be offered a free place at the Enterprise Boot Camp run by Spark at the University’s Careers Centre.

A celebration event will be held in June 2025 at the University of Leeds Undergraduate Research Conference to honour the winners of the award.

Eligibility

All final year undergraduate and integrated Masters students from any discipline who have completed research projects can apply for the award.

Criteria

• Ability to explain your research to non-specialists
• The potential application of the findings
• The level of innovation as demonstrated through, for example, the use of creative scientific methods
• Ethical awareness displayed within the research
• Ability and potential to benefit society
• Application of the research in terms of future research, etc.

How to apply

Applications for the 2025 Beaumont Award are now open. The application deadline is 30 April 2025.

You will need to write an abstract of 300 words providing a summary of your research including the purpose, method, results/conclusions and the ability/potential to benefit society.

You also need to submit a one-minute video clip as an elevator pitch about your application. The video clip does not have to be of professional quality (a video recorded on a hand held device is acceptable) but the audio needs to be clear and without any interference. Please make the video in a quiet place, free from any excessive background noise.

Your application will also need a statement from your research supervisor.

Please note: if you have completed research as part of a group project, your application should be submitted as an individual, noting that you carried out the research as a group. Your application should demonstrate your individual contributions to the research project. The awards are individual awards based solely on each student’s application, not the research alone.

More information

If you need more information or have any questions about the award, please email Rebecca Shaw at r.l.shaw@adm.leeds.ac.uk.