YPAG at the NIHR Manchester BRC Children’s Health Research Discovery Day
Members of the YPAG (TRUST) spoke at the NIHR Manchester BRC Children’s Health Research Discovery Day. They spoke about their experiences with youth work and why young people being involved in research is a MUST!
Watch the video below, and read Sameer’s reflections about the day, to find out more !
My Experience at the Biomedical Research Centre’s Children’s Discovery Day
When I first decided to go to the Discovery Day (DD), my main goal was simple: I wanted my voice to be heard. I wanted the chance to share what young people like me with long term conditions really feel, what we struggle with, and what we need from the clinicians and professionals who work with us.
I was excited to be able to speak with clinicians and other professionals at the event too and hoped to answer any questions they had about our presentation. Plus, I was excited to get out of the house, see how these kinds of events run, and get a behind-the-scenes look at what consultants do outside their clinical hours.
In a way, it felt like work experience because I got to see how clinicians think about young people, what kind of research they are doing, what they want to improve in our care, and how they view our needs.
Getting Ready for the Day
To prepare, I met with Rosie G and Rosie N to go over our presentation plan, rehearse my part of the presentation, and get familiar with the timetable for the day. The easiest part was organising what I wanted to say!
The hardest part for me was waking up early! A close second was trying to explain to the taxi driver where exactly we were going in Manchester – I don’t even drive. That took some energy before the day had even started!
I also want to say a huge thank you to Emily from (need to add her work association/organisation, who made all my travel and reimbursement super simple, which was such a big help.
The Message I Wanted to Share
My biggest goal in the presentation was to make one thing absolutely clear:
Young people with long term conditions are human beings and we deserve to be listened to. Especially when people are doing research about us, without us !
We shouldn’t feel overlooked or spoken down to by clinicians just because we’re young. Young people have voices, opinions, experiences, and ideas that matter. We want to be treated with respect—not with assumptions.
What I Enjoyed About the Event
It was nice to see my consultant and chat outside of appointments. I enjoyed listening to some of the talks, especially the ones explaining how research on things like Japanese hamsters and flies can help humans. It showed me how even tiny things can make a huge difference…just like young people can!
The presentations I enjoyed the best were those who had speakers who were good communicators. They used clear language everyone could understand. It was refreshing to feel included in talks about complex research ideas!
And because I got to speak in front of so many people, including clinicians, researchers, academics and other young people…Everyone knows who I am now! That felt kind of cool.
I also loved the room setup. The panel table at the front looked so professional. Sitting there for my presentation felt important, like my perspective actually mattered. The organisation was good overall and the event felt secure, with proper registration so only the right people were there.
What Could Be Improved
Of course, there were things that really need fixing for next time:
- The food – too many croissants dusted in sugar!
- Timekeeping across presentations needed improvement. Some presentations went over their allotted time which meant when it came to us, there was no time for questions after our talk. Our stories matter just as much as anyone else’s, and we wanted to get the chance to talk with people about them.
- More sensitivity from some clinicians when speaking about young people.
- More comfort breaks.
- More discussion and interaction. It’s called Discovery Day—let us discover, talk, connect, and engage!
- Better ways to give feedback. Not everyone wants to—or can—do digital feedback after an event. A simple in-person conversation or quick QR code during a break would work much better.
My Final Thoughts
I’m really proud that I got the chance to speak in front of so many people. Young people hardly ever get that platform, and it’s unusual for clinicians to see us in a professional setting, acting professionally. In a way, I hope it was a wake-up call: don’t stereotype us. Take us seriously. Age is just a number. What matters is how we use our experiences, our ideas, and our voices.
We have brains. We can use them.
And we will!
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