Reflections from the NIHR Doctoral Research Training Camp 2025

The NIHR (National Institute for Health and Care Research) Doctoral Training Camp is an annual event for PhD students and early postdocs within NIHR Infrastructure, Schools, and Incubators. The three-day intensive training camp  focused on providing guidance and practical experience to learn how to put together a successful application for funding. 

Representing the NIHR Maudsley BRC  at the event in July 2025 were two PhD Students, Danielle April Dunnett and Pooja Schmill. They were joined by our Academic Career Development Lead, Professor Rina Dutta, who was an Academic Mentor over the course of the event; read on to find out their reflections on the experience. 

Student perspective: Danielle April Dunnett 

"Although our proposal was fictional, the learning, collaboration, and sense of achievement were anything but." 

As a PhD student researching point-of-care testing for clozapine monitoring in treatment-resistant schizophrenia, I didn’t expect to spend a day designing a public health intervention for muscle loss in older adults. But that’s exactly what happened at the NIHR Doctoral Research Training Camp, and it turned out to be an enjoyable and enriching part of my PhD journey. 

On the first day, I joined seven fellow researchers from a range of disciplines. We became Team Innov8, tasked with developing a full grant application in just seven hours including a research proposal, methodology, timeline, budget, and public involvement plan all on a topic none of us had worked on before. 

While initially daunting, the experience quickly became energising. I contributed to study design, planning, and public health impact, and realised how transferable my skills really are. 

The camp gave me practical insight into writing a compelling funding application, the importance of collaboration and adaptability, and how to align research ideas with real-world public health priorities. Although our proposal was fictional, the teamwork, learning, and sense of achievement were very real. I left feeling inspired, more confident, and ready for future challenges. 

Student perspective: Pooja Schmill 

“Training Camp? More Like Research Bootcamp.”

They gave us 24 hours. 
To create a brand-new research project. 
To cost it, critique it, and pitch it. 
To convince a panel of funders, public contributors, and senior academics why it deserved funding. 

No time for hesitation. No hiding behind “early career” labels. 

At the 2025 NIHR Doctoral Research Training Camp , I met  a group of diverse researchers , working on a topic I’d never touched before. We built fast, thought big, and collaborated hard. 

As someone committed to improving mental health in long-term conditions, this was more than a simulation. It was a sharp, energizing reminder that real lives sit behind every proposal. 

This camp didn’t just teach me how to write a grant: 
It showed me how to lead research that connects, adapts, and earns its place in the real world. 

Huge thanks to the NIHR Maudsley BRC, Professor Rina Dutta, and my supervisors for backing my development beyond the lab towards meaningful, lasting impact. 

If you get the chance to apply, take it. You’ll leave the training camp sharper, braver, and more ready to lead. 

Mentor perspective: Professor Rina Dutta 

“I was so impressed by the calibre of all the teams and their ability to work hard under time pressure...including a curve ball of briefing a civil servant within an hour about the intended impact of the research and why it should be funded!” 

Each group was tasked to create a research proposal with all NIHR form sections completed.  Each team was interviewed by a panel after their presentation and both Danielle and Pooja shone when called on to answer questions.  I witnessed their professional development over the course of the three days and was glad to see them networking with so many other PhD students and early career researchers across the national NIHR infrastructure.   

Although owing to conflict of interests, I was not placed in a group with either of them, I mentored Team EMPOWER who formulated a research application entitled ‘Improving the wellbeing of unpaid carers supporting frail patients transferred to Hospital at Home services',  which was declared overall winner on the final day. The team included another King’s researcher - Melanie Diggle, a postdoctoral academic Occupational Therapist working in the Cicely Saunders Institute.   

My perspective as a mentor is that everyone was a winner from the experiences they gained and transformed into tangible outcomes during this intense camp. I would encourage all our future NIHR Maudsley BRC PhD students to apply for this event and would like to thank NIHR for making this experiential learning possible.