Editor: Erin Pallott

Welcome to the new blog series Shout Your Success. This is a space to brag. We want to know what you’re working on, what you’re proud of, or whatever you want to share in a shorter format. Societies, volunteering, prizes, events, side hustles, recommendations, ANYTHING you would like to make visible to the wider cohort of FBMH PGRs. Not only is it important to acknowledge your own achievements, it will share ideas and opportunities with your peers. Let’s not be humble, shout about it!

For this first version, we’ve collated examples from our own writers and editors. If you have anything you’d like to include in our next edition, please email anyone on the team!

Erin Pallott
Starting with your friendly editor-in-chief, this blog is my main side project, and I really want to recommend people find something on the side of their research to build extra skills, especially something they can really enjoy. By writing for the blog, and practicing editing articles, I’m starting to get recognised for my writing skills, and receiving invitations to be involved in other projects.
I am also extremely excited to be taking part in the new programme Join the Dots this year. I will be mentoring first-year undergraduate students through their transition from school to university.

Jack Sharpen
As well as proudly helping to edit Research Hive with Erin and the previous co-editor Oliva since 2021, having active committee roles in Run Wild, Manchester’s most friendly, welcoming and open student-run society for undergraduates and postgraduates alike, since I started the PhD has been a genuine pleasure. As Trip Abroad Planner for the last two years, I have planned and organised excursions to Denmark and Ibiza for 20+ students to participate in large races. Planning these opportunities for our runners to do some touristic sightseeing and run (quite literally!) around Europe has been a highlight. It’s also added the strong skill set of event management and adaptability for when things haven’t gone smoothly, which has been further supplemented by being on the organising board for Manchester 24hr Run for Homeless, which last year raised a whopping £10,000 for charity. With only four months left until submission, the theme for Shout Your success is to be in with a shout!

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Brendan Capey
Over the past 18 months, I’ve acted as one of the PGR Reps for the School of Biological Sciences. However, as of recently, I have stepped back to focus on my research for the final year of my PhD. Although I wasn’t alone in my role, the main challenge was trying to balance my rep roles with the commitments of my PhD. It certainly would have been much trickier to stay on top of things if I was by myself. That’s why I’d like to shout out the success of both myself & my super co-SBS Rep, Jessica Mackin. Together I believe we have made some great contributions and improvements to the PGR experience whilst also developing our skillset outside of the lab.

Jill Merlini
Driven by my passion for public engagement, I have been the city coordinator for Pint of Science (PoS) Manchester for the past three years. This opportunity, while challenging, has provided valuable lessons in project management, leadership, and communication among other transferable skills that are applicable to many roles. This year, I led the UK’s largest PoS team and we organised the highest number of events nationwide. As a result of our success, we received some great feedback from attendees and the founder of PoS praised us for raising the standard of the festival and pushing the boundaries of what can be done.

Ayobami Esther Olanrewaju
With a one-year-old baby, a doting husband, PhD research and leadership activities, the past 10 months have been filled with ups and downs like waves observed with an ECG. During this time, to improve my knowledge of my PhD field, I took two external courses, wrote two reports, read several journal articles, and did three presentations to both professional and lay audiences. Furthermore, as an international student officer for the University of Manchester PGR Association (UMPA), I have assisted international students, led fascinating discussions at the Center for Epidemiology Journal Club, and discovered my writing abilities by serving as a Research Hive student experience subeditor. Taking part in all these activities has allowed me to realise that we all possess significant potential, which can only be realised by pushing beyond the norm.

Chloe Ting-Chen Hsu
I’m about to cross the  2/3 mark of my PhD journey, and while there have been moments of stagnation and slower progress, I have come to appreciate the subtle growth and accumulation of knowledge behind the scenes. Acknowledging that stagnation can be a chance to pause, reflect, consolidate or reassess has been instrumental in navigating my expectations. I have learned that sitting in moments of stillness to search for clarity is far better than persisting in chaos that merely produces an illusion of productivity.