A valuable material experience

I am Bayode Ero-Phillips and I am a materials engineer from Nigeria. As I had worked in Nigeria for about 18 months prior to starting my PhD at the University of Birmingham in 2008, I was eager to continue to keep improving my employability whilst studying for it. At the time, I was not sure how I would achieve this, but I guess that desire has sent countless opportunities my way.

In 2008, I got a part-time job as a Student Associate Scheme Teacher with Newman University College, in Birmingham. I worked as a Mathematics Teacher Assistant in an inner city school within Birmingham. It was quite challenging teaching pupils aged between 12 and 16, but it helped me develop both confidence and communication skills. I think the most rewarding part of doing that job was getting a recommendation for helping an underachieving pupil improve his behaviour and grades.

One of my most fantastic moments was getting a Universitas 21 scholarship to visit the National University of Singapore for 5 weeks in 2010. It was a fantastic chance to develop my profile as a doctoral researcher because I believe I was able to develop international networks that will be beneficial when I am done with my PhD. Of course, it was also a great addition to my CV!

As the end of my PhD started to draw nearer, I wanted a job where I could develop my communication skills and project management skills further. To this end, I was fortunate to get a part-time job with Careers Network, where I work as an International Student Support Worker. It has been a great opportunity for me to advise other international students on how to improve their employability, where I have been able to stress the importance of work experience.

I have loved writing since I was a teenager and I have since completed two full length novels, but the demanding schedule of my PhD made it virtually impossible for me to commit any time to this hobby. However, in 2011, an opportunity came along for me to do some creative writing for the Graduate School e-newsletter. I volunteered to write a piece monthly for the magazine and I have been doing so since March 2011. I see this opportunity as a chance to further develop my writing skills while at the same time it is a golden opportunity to explain my research in non-specialist terms to an audience I may never speak to in person.

Additionally, I have always had entrepreneurial flair and I had the chance to compete in Enterprising Birmingham, where partly based on my PhD research, I developed a system to fabricate water filters to be used in sub-Saharan Africa.

Finally, I will be forever grateful for these opportunities I have had to develop at the University of Birmingham, and I am confident that the skills I have gained will prove to be of immense value upon finishing my PhD.