Student Representatives

Lois Wignall, Economic and Social History, University of Liverpool (2022 Cohort)

“Hi, I’m Lois! I’m a mid-stage doctoral researcher at the University of Liverpool. I hold a 1+3 CASE studentship, working with the Liverpool Athenaeum, a still-operational private members’ club founded in the late-eighteenth century.

My research looks at the Georgian subscription library and its connections to industrialisation. Focusing on England’s North-West and Midlands, I explore how these institutions reflected immense socio-economic change, their role within existing knowledge access infrastructures, and whether they stimulated industrialisation. In so doing, I have developed a novel regional geography that highlights the interdependence of an increasingly specialised “integrated industrial system”, underpinned by colonial violence. My project draws on literary theory and prosopographical analyses, focusing on the ideas that characterised library shelves and the complex commercial-industrial networks integral to cultural development. I’m also interested in the legacies of the subscription library with regard to paternalism, working-class education, and the palatability of the machine, with my project additionally probing connections to Mechanics’ Institutes and ‘factory colonies’.

I am also a member of the project team for the AHRC-funded project Eighteenth-Century Libraries Online: www.c18librariesonline.org.

I’m happy to discuss any student queries and have in-depth knowledge of the academic experiences of neurodivergent students and those with care-giving responsibilities. I’m also eager to network with individuals whose research interests align with my own.”

Responsible for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) and Wellbeing

Contact: hslwigna@liverpool.ac.uk

Hamid Khalafallah Development and Humanitarianism in an Unequal World, University of Manchester (2023 Cohort)

I am a first-year PhD student at the Global Development Institution of the University of Manchester. My research looks at democratic transitions in Africa and the role of grassroots movements. Building on the experience of grassroots movements in Sudan, I want to investigate what roles such movements can play in advancing the democratisation agenda. 

Responsible for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) and Wellbeing

Contact: hamid.khalafallah@postgrad.manchester.ac.uk

Emma Tarasenko, Language Based Area Studies, University of Manchester (2023 Cohort)

Hi everyone! I’m on a Language based studies PhD pathway at the University of Manchester. My research focuses on LGBTQ+ representations in contemporary Russophone grassroots media (since the 2010s). Inspired by strong independent blogs and zines in the face of rising official homophobic rhetoric in Russia, I look at the discourses created by the queer Russophone community, specifically touching on self-representation, exploration of sexual and gender identity, safe spaces, education, and civil rights movements. I value a sense of community in my research, scholarship, and personal life, so don’t hesitate to ask me anything!

Responsible for Events & Training

Contact: emma.tarasenko@manchester.ac.uk

Chloe Fox-Robertson, Geography and Environment, University of Manchester (2022 Cohort)

Hi everyone, I’m a second-year PhD student in Geography at the University of Manchester, funded by a 1+3 studentship. My research explores the rapidly evolving FinTech (financial technology) sector, which centres on the application of digital technologies to financial services. I’m particularly interested in how FinTech is reshaping the financial landscape, as well as the experiences of professionals in UK FinTech. While often positioned as a financial panacea, the sector is marked by persistent gender inequalities.

Responsible for Events & Training

Contact: chloe.fox-robertson@manchester.ac.uk

Renata Albuquerque, Language Based Area Studies, Lancaster University (2024 Cohort)

Hi! I have just started my PhD, researching the design and impact of XR in language learning.  I have been interested in XR since observing young people’s engagement with Pokémon Go and realising its potential applications in education. I have spent the last 17+ years working in higher education, 15 of which in widening participation. As part of my research, I will be working with people form backgrounds underrepresented in language studies with a view to co-develop technological artifacts that positively impact learners’ self-perception as linguists. I am looking forward to meeting you guys at NWSSDTP events.

Responsible for Events & Training

Contact: r.cavalcantidealbuquerque@lancaster.ac.uk

Rhiannon Erika Mackie, Psychology, University of Lancashire (2024 Cohort)

Hi everyone! I am currently in the first year of my PhD in Psychology at the University of Lancashire. I am interested in eye movements during reading, and my PhD focuses on conducting eye tracking experiments to help us understand more about how we process words while we read. I am interested in whether we process words serially and sequentially (one at a time), or in parallel, where multiple words are processed simultaneously. I look forward to meeting people from different institutions and different pathways to share our experiences and build a sense of community. 

Responsible for Events & Training

Contact: REMackie@uclan.ac.uk

Sam Browning, Geography and Environment, University of Liverpool (2024 Cohort)

“I am a doctoral researcher in the Department of Geography and Planning at the University of Liverpool. My NWSSDTP-funded PhD is a mixed-methods qualitative-based project exploring neurodivergent students’ experiences across different English Universities and places. Throughout my PhD, I aim to highlight the most pressing yet often evasive academic, social, and structural barriers that face neurodivergent folk daily in ableist-built institutions. I am looking to equally promote the hidden strengths of neurodivergent people in academia to empower the significance of HEIs fostering equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) for ‘all’ in on-campus spaces. My further research interests lie around crip theory and crip-time, everyday student geographies, pedagogy and Universal Design for Learning (UDL). I strongly welcome any networking or other forms of interaction across the NWSSDTP network.”

Responsible for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) and Wellbeing

Contact: sgsbrow4@liverpool.ac.uk

El Fern Smith, Psychology, Lancaster University (2024 Cohort)

Hi all, I am a first-year PhD student withing the Psychology Department at Lancaster University. Project title: how does classroom background noise affect inner speech development in children?

My research is focusing on whether classroom background noise impacts children’s inner speech, within both children with and without hearing loss. Building on prior research showing the extensive effects of loud classrooms, I am interested in how these effects may present in children’s inner speech. I value supporting fellow students and encouraging support when pursuing research.

Responsible for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) and Wellbeing

Contact: e.l.smith@lancaster.ac.uk 

Bello Muhammad Abdullahi, Economics, Lancaster University (2025 Cohort)

Hello everyone! I am a first-year PhD student in the Economics Department at Lancaster University. My research focuses on market, firms and the macroeconomy. I am passionate about EDI, and committed to fostering inclusive spaces where students from underrepresented backgrounds are supported and their voices are heard and valued.

I look forward to connecting with fellow students across the NWSSDTP and working together to make our doctoral experience as collaborative and supportive as possible.

Responsible for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) and Wellbeing

Contact: b.abdullahi@lancaster.ac.uk

Erin Molyneux, Geography & Environment, Keele University (2025 Cohort)

Hiya! I’m a first-year doctoral researcher in Human Geography at Keele University. My PhD research explores the everyday geographies of Intentional Communities and ecovillages with a specific focus on the dwelling processes that emerge within these communities. This will build upon previous research in which I applied autoethnographic methodologies to uncover affective atmospheres and alternative ways of ‘knowing’ wellbeing in Intentional Communities. I am interested in the use of creative methods and non-representational theory to illustrate and document the materialisation of ecovillages and the experiences of ‘dwelling’ that arise through alternative ways of living. In doing so the liveability and social sustainability of contemporary housing developments may be enhanced.

I look forward to meeting fellow researchers and building a sense of community so please reach out if you need anything!

Responsible for Events & Training

Contact : e.l.molyneux@keele.ac.uk

Testimonials from Former Representatives

Hannah Charles, Geography and Environment, (2021 Cohort)

Being a student rep with NWSSDTP colleagues was an interesting and fulfilling activity to do whilst undertaking my PhD. Being able to meet colleagues from across institutions was a fantastic way to break out of the office monotony, and helped me to feel grounded within the bigger picture of the researching body I am situated within. Meeting people from a variety of social science backgrounds and helping to organise events and socials enabled me to learn more about our field, and make friends with people I would never have met otherwise. I am grateful to have got the experience working with the NWSSDTP, and glad for all the lessons I learnt over my time as a rep.

Leah Molyneux, Criminology, Social Policy and Social Work, (2020 Cohort)

My role as a student representative was one of my proudest achievements. The role allowed me to advocate for my colleagues, championing their interests and organising useful events. An important part of being a student rep is having the ability to empathise with a broad range of PhD experiences and to help foster a sense of community within the NWSSDTP. It was wonderful to be a part of a team of supportive student reps, who care deeply about students’ well-being and EDI initiatives. We also received thoughtful and encouraging guidance from Sarah, Julie and the wider DTP team. I will miss being part of this community!

Matt Hanley, Development and Humanitarianism in an Unequal World, (2019 Cohort)

I volunteered to become an NWSSDTP rep in Autumn 2019 to meet, network and help other PGR students, not just outside of my department at Lancaster but also outside of my university. Despite COVID landing just a few months later, the reps team managed to meet monthly online and have staged several online and in-person events for PGRs across the north west. I met some wonderful people through being a rep, organised some great events, and although our operational ability was badly affected by COVID I hope that we managed to help PGRs escape their study silos and engage with the greater NWSSDTP family, to all our benefit. I would absolutely recommend being a rep to everyone, at whatever stage of your studies you are at.