Sports and Exercise Science graduate wins Global Undergraduate Award

BSc Sports and Exercise Science graduate, Emily Dingley, has won the Global Undergraduate Award 2020.

Emily Dingley has received the Global Undergraduate Award 2020 in the category of “Nursing, Midwifery and Allied Healthcare” for her independent research project, that investigated whether regular dance exercise could reduce the risk of falling in older adults.

The Global Undergraduate Award is judged by an international panel and recognises undergraduate students’ passion and innovation early in their academic careers.

Emily was one of two Laidlaw Scholarship winners who worked on the ‘Dance On’ project lead by Dr Laura Britten and Dr Sarah Astill from the School of Biomedical Sciences. ‘Dance On’ was a 12-week community dance exercise programme for older adults in Yorkshire, where researchers examined the physical and mental health benefits dance exercise had on its participants.

From the results of ‘Dance On,’ Emily then developed her own research, investigating further risks of falling. She presented her findings at several conferences in the UK, including the Undergraduate Research Conference and then at the European College of Sport Science (ECSS) in Prague.  

She said: "I am delighted to have been awarded the Global Winner in the Nursing, Midwifery and Allied Health Care category of the 2020 Global Undergraduate Awards. It is a real honour to have my work recognised on a global scale.”

Since graduating, last year, with a first-class honours degree in BSc Sports and Exercise Science, Emily is now working in strength and conditioning coaching, and has co-founded a website called Sport Science insider where she publishes articles to help other students and sport science practitioners.