Zenan ⋅ Impact Team ⋅ Research, Partnerships and Innovation ⋅ The University of Sheffield

Researcher Details

Name
Zenan

Nationality
China

University
Sheffield

Research Pathway
Digital Technologies, Communication and Artificial Intelligence (DCA)

Thesis Project
Detecting the change of mental health status on social media

Mode of Study
Full-time

About the Placement 

Role Title

Impact Team Intern

Mode of Placement

Part-time

Placement Location

In-person

How did you find your placement?

It was advertised on the WRDTP website / by email announcement

What were your main responsibilities during your placement?

My main responsibilities centred on generating and documenting impact evidence to support REF 2029 Impact Case Studies and the team’s wider research partnership work. This involved conducting systematic policy mentions searches across databases such as Overton, Hansard, and Dimensions, and gathering testimonial evidence from international participants, including drafting testimonial letters, coordinating consent and permissions, and managing end-to-end participant engagement.

Alongside this REF-focused work, I also stepped in to support a separate Sheffield City Council partnership project when additional capacity was needed mid-project. There, I performed qualitative data analysis, including thematic analysis of 110 open-ended survey responses and contributed to policy recommendations for the Council.

Across all three projects, I developed reusable methods artefacts (such as an anonymisation protocol and a progress-tracking system) and contributed to documentation and archiving practices supporting the team’s ongoing work.

Why did you choose this role with this particular host?

I chose this role because the Faculty Impact Team works at the intersection of research, policy, and practice, which is an area I had not previously experienced from the inside, but one that is becoming increasingly central to academic careers. I was particularly drawn to the opportunity to engage with REF 2029 impact work directly, to work alongside external partners on policy briefs and reports, and to develop practical skills that complement my PhD research.

What was your greatest achievement during your placement?

My greatest achievement was securing a 92.3% response rate (12 of 13 participants) in gathering testimonial evidence for the LIBSENSE Impact Case Study. Working with busy participants across multiple African countries, voluntary evidence-gathering can be difficult, and this level of engagement was the result of a deliberately participant-centred approach: clear testimonial drafts that reduced their effort, concise communications respecting their time, and systematic follow-up coordinated with the academic lead. Beyond the immediate output, this experience showed me how communication design materially shapes research outcomes, which is a lesson I will carry into my own research engagement work.

Were there any challenging aspects during your placement?

Two aspects of the placement were particularly challenging.

The first was managing the participant engagement workload for the LIBSENSE Impact Case Study. With 13 participants based across multiple international locations, each at a different stage of the testimonial process, tracking progress and coordinating timely follow-up required careful organisation. I addressed this by designing an Excel-based tracking system to monitor each participant’s status, scheduling regular updates with the academic lead, and iteratively refining the testimonial letter drafts to reduce the time participants needed to spend reviewing and returning them.

The second challenge was the time pressure on the Sheffield City Council study. I joined the project mid-way, with the online delivery deadline to Sheffield City Council fixed and a volume of work outstanding, including data entry, data analysis, and authoring a final policy slide deck. Working closely with the project lead, I prioritised tasks against the delivery timeline and adapted my working pace to ensure all elements were completed on time without compromising the quality of the analysis.

How did your placement help you to develop your current skills and knowledge?

The placement substantially developed my skills and knowledge in three main areas.

First, I gained a practical understanding of how research impact is generated and evidenced. Working across three REF 2029 Impact Case Studies and an external partnership project gave me direct experience of the methods, sources, and standards involved in building credible impact narratives. This is a form of professional literacy that is rarely accessible during doctoral training, and one that has already shaped how I think about my own research trajectory.

Second, I strengthened my applied qualitative research skills. Conducting thematic analysis on 110 open-ended responses, designing an anonymisation protocol, and drafting policy recommendations required me to translate methodological training from my PhD into time-bounded, stakeholder-facing work. The experience showed me how qualitative methods operate differently in applied settings, where timelines are shorter and audiences are more diverse.

Third, I developed practical professional skills that complement academic training, including managing complex projects across multiple stakeholders, calibrating communication for different audiences (academics, external partners, and international participants), and designing systems and documentation practices that support team continuity. These skills will remain valuable as I continue to develop as a researcher whose work I hope will engage audiences beyond academia.

How has your placement experience influenced your future career goals and aspirations?

The placement has significantly clarified how I think about my future career. Before it began, I understood research impact in fairly abstract terms; working alongside the Impact Team gave me a concrete sense of how research generates real-world value and how much careful work goes into evidencing it. This experience has reinforced my interest in pursuing a research career that engages meaningfully with audiences beyond academia, and has shaped how I am approaching my own PhD research, prompting me to think more deliberately about who my work might reach and how I can build those considerations into my research design.

What tips or advice would you give to current or future WRDTP postgraduate researchers interested in undertaking a placement?

Communicate openly and frequently with everyone involved. Stay in regular contact with your PhD supervisor about how the placement is progressing alongside your doctoral work, update your line manager consistently on your tasks and outputs, and make sure you understand what is expected of you while also being clear about what you need from others. Do not waste time guessing what people want or worrying about whether you are doing things right; ask. The time saved on uncertainty can be invested in what actually matters: thinking carefully about how to produce high-quality deliverables that are genuinely useful to your host organisation.