The Firebird Volume 2 (2016-17) | Page 10

Student Stories
Grey College Crowdfunding Platform 2016-17

Great Ideas

Grey ’ s Crowdfunding plaform , greatideas . hubbub . net has seen 3 successful projects this year .

Postgraduate Symposium

The MCR runs talks each month , but this project allowed them to run a full day of talks , with prizes . Marcus Lancashire gives a report of the project , which raised £ 295 .
One of the key skills required by postgraduate students is the ability to present their work to an audience of their peers . In order to help students develop these skills , Grey College run termly evening symposiums where three or four students present on their current or previous work , or a topic that interests them . In order to allow for a wider range of talks , and to give students the chance to present posters , we wanted to run a day long symposium . This was funded by a crowdfunding campaign run on the Great Ideas framework . The Grey College Postgraduate Symposium project was a great success . Presentations were given on a wide range of topics , from medieval literature to the science of cloaking devices , and all of them were enjoyed by the attendants . The ability to give both oral and poster presentations is a vital skill for anyone undertaking a research based degree , and I hope that this symposium provided an opportunity for people to practice their public speaking skills in a friendly environment . The funds raised through the Great Ideas crowdfunding campaign helped to make the event more enjoyable and professional for all those taking part , and I would like to once again thank our sponsors for their generous contributions to this campaign . The money raised allowed us to print the posters for the symposium , produce abstract booklets for all those who attended and covered the cost of lunch and tea and coffee for all participants . In addition , prizes were awarded for the best presentations :
• Hannah Piercy : prize for the best oral presentation .
• Maciej Matuszewski : prize for the best poster presentation .
• Helen Gienger : audience choice prize . This project was only made possible through the help of a large number of people , and I would like to thank all of those who helped to make the day as good as it was :
• Nathan Young for setting up the Great Ideas crowdfunding system and for his support throughout the project , in particular with making the video .
• Mathew Kirk and Craig Fisher for their support and advice , and for chairing two of the sessions at the symposium .
• Nicola Gittins and the Grey College catering staff for providing lunch and refreshments throughout the day .
• Peter Swift for his constant support throughout the project and for the production of the abstract booklets and printing of the posters .
• Everyone who presented , as without you there would have been no symposium . Also for the wide range of engaging and entertaining talks and posters that were presented .
• And lastly once again our sponsors for your generous donations that made the event possible . In conclusion , the Grey College Postgraduate Symposium was a thought-provoking and enjoyable event . It was only made possible through the donations of our sponsors and the hard work of everyone who helped to organise it , so thank you all for your support .

101km Row for Charity and GCBC

Another rowing entry and Genevieve and Georgia raised money for the boat club and for breast cancer awareness charity , Coppafeel .
Georgia and Genevieve spent a whole day rowing in the JCR , raising £ 1293 which will be split equally between fixing one of the boat club boats and going to a breast cancer awareness charity . In the end , they rowed for over 12 hours .
Grey College Boat Club have been particularly good at using the crowdfunding to support themselves . Last year , Tom Fox told us about his campaign and this year Georgia and Genevieve have carried on the tradition .
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