Dean's Prize Winner

What did you most enjoy about your course?

I learned a lot from other colleagues on the MSc. As a group, we were from a range of different backgrounds, both professionally and personally. This led to some interesting debates. In terms of the content, I found the lectures on frugal innovation fascinating. Doing more with less – and for the benefit of the many, not the few – are concepts that I’ve always been interested in. So it was great to hear about the frugal movement, and its focus on high-quality, low-cost solutions.

What did you most appreciate about the Faculty/College?

Being based at St Mary’s meant we were able to shadow staff working in the NHS, and to see some of the services being delivered by a busy acute hospital in real-time. This provided useful context to the policies we were studying, and highlighted the importance of thinking through issues of implementation early-on.

How did it feel to receive the Dean's Prize?

I was the first in my family to get a degree – let alone an MSc – so it was a real honour to receive the Prize. I’ve donated the £200 prize money to the Leeds charity, Zest: Health for Life. They help children eat well and stay active, support adults into decent employment, and help older people stay connected to their communities. Basically, they help put the policies we studied into practice. To find out more, visit: www.zesthealthforlife.org

What are you doing now/What do you plan on doing after graduation?

I’m continuing my work at the Department of Health, where I lead on housing and health policy as part of the Integration, Local Devolution & Policy Improvement Team. I’m also working with my supervisor to try to publish a version of my dissertation. It was focused on pet ownership and health in later life, and generated some interesting findings.