Liam Bennett

I was attracted to The Brilliant Club, by the ideals it stands for. I moved from a non-selective state secondary school, to a selective sixth-form grammar school. At the grammar school, the preparation and push for university was far beyond anything I experienced at my secondary school. I have always wanted to address this discrepancy, and I felt The Brilliant Club was an excellent pathway for me to do that. The staff at the assessment centre were very friendly and convinced me that their programme was a way to help with my goal. 

During my placements, I have been teaching the pupils about low-carbon energy, including the social implications of energy usage. The pupils have been very engaged and I have been impressed with how easily they debate new topics. I think the tutorials have been of particular use to some of the quieter students as, in a class of six, they can have more of a say. In addition to the tutorials in school, I arranged a visit for the pupils at Winterhill School, to go to Drax power station. This was a great experience for the pupils, as they were able to have a hands-on experience of the content we had been covering. I have designed a handbook to teach the pupils from, with lots of information about university skills, as well as my research. 

This has been a fantastic experience for me, both personally and professionally. I have developed better interpersonal skills as well as organisational skills, demonstrated by the very successful Drax trip. More directly related to my PhD, I have been able to adapt and explain my research in layman’s terms. This has enabled me to expand the reach and impact of my research. It has been important to me to develop my presentation skills, moving beyond simple PowerPoints, into interactive sessions with hands on aspects. This experience has opened my mind up to the concept of becoming a secondary/sixth form teacher when I graduate from my PhD. Most importantly, I have been able to encourage some very talented young people to consider university education. Having a positive role in the pupil’s lives is very rewarding, and getting to see them graduate at the University of Manchester was a definite highlight. 

In summary, working with The Brilliant Club has been a wonderful experience (that I hope to continue), and I would recommend it to any other PhD researcher who wants to do some outreach or improve their presentation skills. By being able to commit to only a single term at a time, there is plenty of flexibility to scale back your commitment if workload becomes an issue.