Hello everyone!
I’m Dr Abhishikha (Abby), your new Postgraduate Officer at the Guild, and I’m really excited to be starting the year and getting to know more of Birmingham’s Postgraduate community.
I’m an international student myself, and I came to Birmingham to study a Master of Public Health. When I first arrived, I never imagined that I would end up standing for election and becoming a Guild Officer. But somewhere along the way, my interest in Public Health grew into something broader – a real interest in advocacy, representation and asking difficult questions about how we can make things better.
That’s probably why I’m so excited about this role.
Postgraduate life is such a unique mix. We’re here to learn, research and develop professionally, but we’re also trying to build friendships, find opportunities, manage finances, navigate university systems and, for many of us, adjust to a completely new city or even a new country at the same time.
And Postgraduate students aren’t one group.
A Taught Masters student can have a very different experience from a PhD student. An international student may have very different challenges from someone who has lived in Birmingham all their life. Some of us commute, work alongside our studies, or balance family responsibilities too.
I want my year as Postgraduate Officer to reflect that diversity.
I’m really interested in bringing PGT and PGR students closer together and creating more of a Postgraduate community across the University. I also want to celebrate the incredible research happening at Birmingham and create more opportunities for Postgraduate students to connect what they’re doing academically with what comes next — whether that’s research, a career, industry, entrepreneurship, or something completely unexpected. I’d also like to explore how we can make it easier for Postgraduate students to find the right opportunities and build the networks they need for whatever comes after their degree.
And because I’m an international Postgraduate myself, I want to keep thinking about what it means to genuinely belong here, particularly when global events affect our students and the communities we come from.
But honestly, I don’t want this to be a list of promises. I want to know what Postgraduate life actually feels like for you.
What do you love about being at Birmingham? What frustrates you? What do you wish someone had told you before starting your postgraduate journey? And what is one thing you think the Guild or the University could do better? You can contact me via email or keep updated with my work on Instagram.
I’ll be around campus, at events, in meetings and hopefully over quite a few coffees, so please come and say hello!
I’m looking forward to getting started, listening, learning and hopefully making a few things better along the way.
See you around!
Dr Abhishikha, Postgraduate Officer