May 27, 2020, by abrierley

Research Project Manager – Chloé Havez – Mojatu Foundation & Pathway Housing Solutions.

by Chloé Havez –  student studying within the School of Politics and International Relations

What drew me to this role was the opportunity to contribute to the Mojatu Foundation and Pathway Housing Solution’s ‘Hidden’ project, which focused on increasing awareness of BME hidden homelessness in Nottingham, which is a markedly under researched area as academics and the media tend to focus on the more visible and statistically quantifiable forms of homelessness.

The application process consisted of filling out a form outlining why I believed that I was suitable for the role of Researcher, and describing how I believed my skill set would be applicable to the tasks of the project. Next, I was invited to a group interview where the head of the organisation described what the project would entail. The following application task was to answer some follow up questions. The head of the organisation phoned me to say that he was impressed with these answers, and offered me a promotion to Research Project Manager – which I happily accepted.

This internship has given me an invaluable experience of a position of responsibility. I was tasked with designing how to carry out the research report and made decisions on how to delegate each tasks dependent on the strengths of the individuals in my team. This position enabled me to develop my leadership abilities and to maintain a high level of organisation during the role, which was the key to ensuring that the project was ran smoothly.

I believed that I developed key transferable skills with this internship and allowed me to apply the research skills I have acquired through completing a Politics and International Relations degree. Our tasks included writing a literature review, designing a questionnaire, and designing and analysing a survey. These tasks greatly improved my research skills, ability to cooperate and collaborate within a team, and increased my proficiency when using Microsoft Excel for survey data analysis.

Additionally, the nature of this role was highly dynamic, and I enjoyed the freedom which the organisations gave us researchers to explore different avenues of how to carry out the research. I would highly recommend undertaking this placement and I hope that our research into people’s perceptions of hidden homelessness in Nottingham will contribute to the wider aim of alleviating the crisis.

Both organisations are Nottingham based yet their work has broad reaching impacts:

• The Mojatu Foundation seek to provide an accessible platform to educate and give a voice to the community. They play a pivotal role in the global campaign to end female genital mutilation(FGM) in a generation.

https://mojatufoundation.org/

• Pathway Housing Solutions works across the East Midlands and seeks to provide affordable and sustainable housing options for those in need.

https://pathwayhousingsolutions.org.uk/

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