GCU student wants to inspire other students after being awarded Carnegie Scholarship

A GCU student is encouraging other mature students to make the most of their time at university, after being awarded a research scholarship from the Carnegie Trust.

Third year Social Sciences & Criminology student Mandy McConville was delighted to have been awarded with the Carnegie Vocational Scholarship, which will allow her to pursue research on the socio-economic impact of vitamin D deficiency in the elderly community of Glasgow.

The Carnegie Vocational Scholarship, a scheme offered to undergraduate students in Scotland, aims to encourage students to develop their independent research skills. The scholarship enables them to learn how to manage a research project and prepare for postgraduate study; with the results often being published in academic journals.

Mandy, who was ecstatic to learn that she had been awarded the scholarship, told us about the process behind the application and why she wants to encourage other students to apply:

How did you first hear about the Carnegie Trust scholarship? 

“Professor John McKendrick first mentioned the scholarship during a class, and I told him that I was interested in applying. After a while, I didn’t hear much about it so I decided to start doing the research proposal and before I knew it, it was finished! It was quite an easy process to write the proposal, beforehand I wasn’t that interested in research but working with John in classes and during SPIRU made me learn how much I enjoyed it. It taught you different skills and research techniques and that helped me put together my proposal.

It all happened really quickly and before I knew it, the proposal was submitted. After the process of doing it all, I had persuaded myself that I hadn’t got it but I gave it my best shot. After a while, me and John both got an email from Carnegie asking if I was happy to go ahead with the proposal and if so, they would be happy to award me the scholarship! I still can’t believe it when I look back at the emails.

Being a mature student going into a predominantly young environment is quite challenging, so if this can help encourage other mature students to take advantage of opportunities like this then they should go for it.”

What will your research be focused on? 

“Vitamin D has been proven to show many health benefits, but the government didn’t view it as being essential in helping improve the health of the elderly – especially during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. They initially offered it for 3 months to the elderly which got an uptake of 700,000 people but it was stopped after that.

Given the benefits that vitamin D has on elderly people; it protects their bones, their cognitive development, stops them from getting infections etc, it still didn’t prove to be enough to roll out to elderly patients. The research will hopefully highlight that we really do need to protect people and issuing something as simple as vitamin D could help save so much money.

The fact that so many elderly people could have benefited from something as simple as vitamin D is what made me decide to look into the subject more as part of my research. I trained years ago as a nurse, so having that background helped me in terms of knowing the different areas to use for the research. Having that medical knowledge made it easy for me to understand the information and medical language, so I wasn’t going into the area without not knowing anything. I’m hoping I can uncover something in my research that will make people take notice of the subject.

Having a scholarship from the Carnegie Trust means that I can get the information out there a lot quicker, so it’s really beneficial having that platform. I’m hoping this will encourage other people to have a think and develop their own research.”

How do you feel about being awarded the Carnegie Vocational Scholarship?

“I’m honestly over the moon that I was awarded the scholarship. The fact that I have this chance to do something that will not only benefit myself but also society and future areas of research is just amazing.”

For those who may be interested in applying, what would you say to them? 

“Go for it! Don’t doubt yourself and try it. Even if you aren’t interested in applying yourself, make sure to spread the word so others can hear about the opportunity. It’s also great to have on your CV, so I would encourage anyone to give it a chance if they want to try it.”

Find out more about scholarships with the Carnegie Trust on their website

By Rachael McAlonan

Got a SCEBE or GSBS story? Email me at Rachael.McAlonan@gcu.ac.uk or connect with me on social media