In this blog series we will be featuring our award winners and highly commended recipients from the Faculty’s ‘Outstanding Contribution to PPIE’ awards. Showcasing the inspirational and outstanding commitment to PPIE that has made a positive difference to our community and highlighting the amazing events, activities, people and groups from across the Faculty. 

Our next blog in this series will feature Manoj – a dedicated Public Contributor and valued member of the Faculty’s PPIE Forum, Manchester Academy for Healthcare Scientist Education (MAHSE), Doubleday Centre, and Primary Care Research in Manchester Engagement Resource (PRIMER) patient groups. Manoj won the Individual: Public Contributor category at the 2022 awards. 

Manoj has been a Public Contributor (PC) for many years, providing a unique insight and service user expertise to both research and teaching activities at the University and beyond. As a PC Manoj has achieved an incredible amount through his involvement in a range of research and teaching projects. 

Manoj has worked with the MAHSE programmes since September 2014, supporting students with their queries and ensuring teaching and delivery of the programmes are fit for purpose. He was part of the MAHSE team who won the Collaborative Award for Teaching Excellence from the Higher Education Academy – 1 of only 15 teams nationally to receive an award. Manoj has also been a MAHSE Lead Lay Representative since 2015, representing the MAHSE Patient Forum. As one of the founding MAHSE Lay Representatives he also worked with his fellow lay representatives to develop the MAHSE Patient Forum from an admin/academic led Forum to the Public Contributor led Forum it is today. Manoj’s second term as Lead Lay Representative will finish in July 2023 and everyone at MAHSE is extremely grateful for his essential contribution. 

As a member of the PPIE Forum since 2016, Manoj has helped drive the Faculty’s PPIE agenda, including co-producing an Induction guide for PC and co-producing a PPIE Toolkit to support staff, students and PC with PPIE work. Through his Forum membership, he has also supported several Faculty and University events; including co-creating the Faculty’s annual PPIE celebration event and supporting the engagement stand at the University’s Community Festival. He has also been a judge for the Faculty’s Outstanding Contribution to PPIE awards and the annual Talking Science student competition.  

Through the Doubleday Centre, he is involved in all aspects of the delivery, teaching, and governance of the medical education programme, including curriculum design, admissions and fitness to practice. The Centre has trained over three thousand graduates and is recognised for leading best practice nationally and internationally. Additionally, the Centre was recently acknowledged by the British Medical Association and General Medical Council (GMC) as leading best practice and is a trailblazer for a collaboration of 31 UK medical schools on patient partnership in medical education.  

As a Primary Care Research in Manchester Engagement Resource (PRIMER) member for over 11 years, Manoj has assisted a number of early career researchers in successfully securing competitive Fellowship funding, and at school level, he has supported several established academics in successfully obtaining competitive national funding. Manoj has also assisted with the redesign and refresh of the MPhar (Masters in Pharmacy) degree, along with sharing ‘lived experiences’ with pharmacy students within The School of Pharmacy. 

Offering advice, guidance and support by being a critical friend and using his experiences and knowledge to support a wide range of people and projects, Manoj is invaluable in his contribution to PPIE.  

To find out more about PPIE: watch our short film, sign up to the monthly Public Engagement Digest, visit the PPIE blog, or contact srbmh@manchester.ac.uk. 

To read more about other PPIE Award winners visit here 

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