Nurgul Kinli, a second year BSc Urban Planning, Design and Management student at the Bartlett School of Planning, has been awarded a coveted vacation bursary by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) to conduct an eight week summer research project into urban farming in London.
Nurgul's research, which will be carried out under the supervision of Dr Yasminah Beebeejaun, relates to the EPSRC’s energy theme, specifically the socio-economic and policy sub-theme. Her project will explore urban farming in London as a holistic approach to a low carbon future, exploring “what influences habits and practices”.
Urban farming can help produce innovative solutions for the unique localities of London, reformulating industrial food production, offering pro-active grassroots engagement in addressing energy efficiency and cleaner energy consumption.
During the course of her research Nurgul will be in contact with London urban farming projects such as Cultivate London, investigating the potential energy savings of their food harvest. She will also look into London’s rooftop farming capacity, and discuss potential energy savings in relation to infrastructure temperatures.
Nurgul said: "With the supervision of Dr Yasminah Beebeejaun I will expand my research skills and learn new methods of collecting data. Using these skills to produce a report on an area of my interest will be a stimulating experience and an unrivalled opportunity for me."
EPSRC Vacation Bursaries
UCL participates in the EPSRC Vacation Bursary scheme for undergraduate students to undertake research projects in an area within the EPSRC remit to gain practical first-hand experience of research at UCL. These awards provide funding to enable undergraduate students to carry out a research project over the summer break in the Bartlett, UCL's Faculty of the Built Environment.
The EPSRC is one of the UK’s largest agencies supporting research in a variety of fields, including the built environment.