14 of ARC NWC’s PhD students (from cohorts 2 & 4) took part in the Annual Research Update and Showcase, held online, on 23rd March.

Cohort 2 students commenced their studies with ARC NWC in Feb/June 2021 while Cohort 4 started in Feb 2022. Doctoral Fellows, who are members of other cohorts, were invited to attend and support their colleagues at the event. It also presented an opportunity for ARC NWC Theme Leads, Primary Supervisors and colleagues from across the collaboration to listen and provide constructive feedback regarding the content and progress of the projects.

A total of 30 PhD students are funded by ARC NWC and based at Universities across the region including Edge Hill, University of Central Lancashire (UCLan), Lancaster University, Liverpool John Moores University and University of Liverpool.

In a mix of pre-recorded and live presentations, featured topics being put under the research spotlight by the students included understanding and defining people’s body image experiences after a stroke, a toolkit to improve working conditions and lifestyle factors of call centre agents, stair fall risks in older adults, artificial intelligence in primary care and e-cigarette use for expectant mothers, amongst many others.

A dedicated web page containing information about each student and their studies is available at https://arc-nwc.nihr.ac.uk/impact/our-phd-students-research/

Professor Mark Gabbay, Director of ARC NWC, said: “It is wonderful to be here today and listen to the applied researchers of the future. We are investing in them and can clearly see the ARC NWC methods being integrated into their work. This includes the importance of co-production, the application of our dedicated health inequalities toolkit, incorporating public involvement at all stages, and identifying pathways to impact. This event is one example of the real world support the ARC NWC PhD students benefit from.”

Several students have already scooped awards, presented at conferences and had articles/editorials/publications successfully published and utilised the opportunities to disseminate their research activity. As NIHR Academy Members, many have also made successful applications to prestigious national competitions and secured additional funding to collaborate across the wider NIHR Infrastructure and further strengthen their research.

Colette Miller, Research Capacity Delivery Manager at ARC NWC, based at UCLan, said “It’s fantastic to see the progress the students are making. Even by bringing everyone together online, people in the chat are sharing their experience and tips for making contacts, improving dissemination, and how to overcome shared challenges like recruitment. These showcases are key supporting events for the doctoral fellow network and are designed to encourage and enthuse the students as they continue on their research journeys.”

A thread of tweets about the presentations at the event is available via the ARC NWC twitter account @arc_nwc
The next Annual Review and Showcase Event (Cohorts 1 & 3) will take place 2nd November 2023: 13:00 – 16:00: Venue TBC