Picturing Research: A DRMC Competition 2025/26

The Durham Research Methods Centre (DRMC) invites research staff and postgraduate (PGT and PGR) researchers to submit a pictorial representation of their research to the Picturing Research competition.  

Picturing Research is a DRMC initiative showcasing research conducted by Durham University researchers. It is an opportunity to extend the reach of research to wider audiences and different means of communication. 

The competition aims to highlight the contributions and impact of Durham researchers to society, locally and globally.  

Inspired by the focus of the Durham Research Methods Centre (DRMC) on “designing novel methods to tackle complex, real-world challenges’, the competition focuses on: 

• Interdisciplinarity  

• Innovative research  

• Engaging community  

The idea is very straightforward: capture/represent your research in one image/photo with the support of a 100-word description. 

By submitting a picture to the competition, participants agree for it to be displayed online for the purpose of the competition. 

This year the competition will award the three most popular pictures. Award: £100 voucher per award.

VOTING has now closed! The winners were announced on Thursday 14^th May 2026 during DRMC Week at the DRMC Christine Merrell Annual Methods Lecture. You can see who won below.

Celebration Event

We will be holding a Celebration Event on Monday 8th June 2026, 10:30-11:30 in the DRMC/Nine DTP Hub. This will be an opportunity to celebrate all the entries to the 2025/26 Picturing Research Competition! An exhibition of all the pictures is currently taking place in the TLC entrance and will be on show at this event. If you would like to attend please register here!

Competition guidelines:

• The competition is open to researchers of all stages of career (including PGT and PGR researchers) working and studying at Durham University. 
• Only one submission per candidate will be accepted.  
• Submissions must be based on researchers’ current research, or recently concluded research project. 
• Submissions are to be made via the online form created for the competition.   
• Descriptions should be written in plain English, targeted at a non-specialist audience. 
• Submissions are applicants’ own creations. This should be stated when submitting your submission. AI generated images will not be accepted.
• By submitting a picture to the competition, applicants agree for it to be displayed online and in other exhibition formats for the purpose of the competition and the showcasing of the University’s research capacity.
• Submission after the deadline will not be considered.