UHI student from Dornoch wins top geography prize
A student from Sutherland will be among those taking centre stage at the UHI Inverness graduation ceremony on Friday, October 31.
Kirsty Ross-Baker from Dornoch is being recognised as the top geography graduate across the entire University of the Highlands and Islands partnership.
She has been awarded the prestigious Royal Scottish Geographical Society (RSGS) University Medal, presented annually to the most outstanding graduating honours geography student.
Kirsty now joins a distinguished list of academics, explorers and cartographers who have received honours from the RSGS, one of Scotland’s oldest academic institutions.
Her dissertation explored how the presence of greenspace influences microclimates within Inverness – research that highlights the role of urban nature in adapting to climate change.
Kirsty said: “I was really taken back when I received the email saying that I had not only been nominated for an award but had won. It really added to the sense of accomplishment I felt from gaining my degree. More so, it made standing outside in the rain for hours collecting data for my dissertation feel worthwhile.”
Her lecturer, Jamie MacManaway, praised her academic ability and positive contribution to the learning community, describing her as “the type of geography graduate that grasps the complex relationships between living and non-living, human and other.”
Kirsty will receive her award at the UHI Inverness graduation ceremony oat Eden Court Theatre, Inverness.
Two other outstanding graduates will also be recognised at the event:
Zoe Nicoll of Keith is the winner of the Stewart Fraser Social Science Dissertation Prize and Thomas Inglis from Dingwall will receive theInstitution of Civil Engineers (ICE) Student Prize.