Alison's '˜excellent' research project wins UU award

The Lisburn-based Resurgam Community Development Trust has congratulated the organisation's Training Officer, Alison Holdsworth, on winning first prize in the Ulster University Science Shop Student Awards.
Professor Paul Bartholomew (Pro-Vice Chancellor of Education, Ulster University), Alison Holdsworth, Philip Dean (Resurgam Trust Chairman) and Professor Brian Murphy (Director of Access Digital and Distributed Learning).Professor Paul Bartholomew (Pro-Vice Chancellor of Education, Ulster University), Alison Holdsworth, Philip Dean (Resurgam Trust Chairman) and Professor Brian Murphy (Director of Access Digital and Distributed Learning).
Professor Paul Bartholomew (Pro-Vice Chancellor of Education, Ulster University), Alison Holdsworth, Philip Dean (Resurgam Trust Chairman) and Professor Brian Murphy (Director of Access Digital and Distributed Learning).

Alison received the award in recognition of her dissertation, which was based on a body of research she carried out for the Lisburn Safe Project.

Alison wanted to highlight the substantial amount of work the Lisburn Safe Project and more than 100 volunteers carry out on a regular basis. However, her work also sought to draw attention to the lack of funding for community safety projects, which desperately need financial support in order to develop and continue to provide support to local communities and volunteers.

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The annual Ulster Science Shop Student Awards recognise the achievements of students who have completed work for community and voluntary partners.

Alison’s project - ‘Handling volunteers, the gauntlet for community safety: exploring the support needs, structures and coping strategies of community safety volunteers’ - won her this year’s £650 first prize.

Congratulating Alison on her award, the co-ordinator of Lisburn Safe, Jonathan McMullan said: “Alison’s project was a brilliant piece of work that highlighted gaps within the service. As a direct result we now have regular meetings with team leaders and have supported new training for the volunteers. Crucially, Alison identified that the 10,000 hours that Lisburn Safe volunteers undertook freed up resources and manpower for the PSNI to devote to other issues.”