Doctoral and postgraduate students supported and funded by CLAHRC West Midlands participated in an event to explore career opportunities and to think about how CLAHRC WM can enhance a shared learning experience. The event was led by Postgraduate Training Lead Prof Tom Marshall, who kicked off the afternoon with a presentation on the opportunities and support available through the CLAHRC WM.
 
The students, who came from the University of Birmingham, the University of Warwick and University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust (UHBFT), heard from former CLAHRC PhD student and Research Fellow at University of Birmingham Dr Manbinder Sidhu, who gave a presentation on the life of an early career researcher and provided invaluable advice on the skills needed to excel in a research career.
 
After a short coffee break, we heard from Ross Edgar, a respiratory research physiotherapist at UHBFT, on his experience of obtaining and undertaking an NIHR Clinical Doctoral Fellowship. Next, a presentation on patient and public involvement (PPI) and engagement in research was given by PPI Advisor Magdalena Skrybant and Head of Programme Delivery Nathalie Maillard, which led to a lively discussion about how active involvement might shape applied health research. Suggestions were made about how students could utilise the CLAHRC PPI structures to their advantage, including the idea of a 'PPI internship', buddying with a 'PPI advisor', and presenting work to the 'PPI Supervisory Committee', who could act as a critical friend.
 
Finally, Dr Brian Litchfield-Cant, Research Fellow at Warwick Business School, gave insights into his experience of finishing his PhD and conveyed the lessons he learnt from his own PhD process.
 
We have some very positive feedback and some clear training/learning objectives identified from the attending faculty. We will be following up a programme of support for 2016 including ethics, collaboration and engagement and PPI.

-- Hannah Dodd – CLAHRC WM Programme Officer