As soon as I looked at the course, I could see the variety of modules that were on offer

A transcript of the video:

Hi, I'm Myles Hanlon and I am a Policy Researcher at Universities UK and I currently work on the knowledge exchange concordat I studied history at the University of Sheffield and I graduated in July 2018. I actually found out about the history course at Sheffield through, my history teacher at six-form. I had a really broad interest in history and I was quite unsure about what period I wanted to study at university. But as soon as I looked at the course, I could see the variety of modules that were on offer. And which to me was really appealing. After I looked at the course, I went to an open day and I was able to speak to some staff and current students and it basically just confirmed my decision that I would be able to be academically free to study what I was interested in, but also choose some modules outside of the discipline if I wanted to. 

I, I'm a firm believer that a degree in history gives you an array of skills that are all transferable. For me, I think the most valuable skills were being able to work independently and manage my time. And also the research and analytical skills. When you're working with historical sources, particularly for a research project like a dissertation. And I think you develop an ability to look at things with a critical perspective. I also think that studying in a classroom environment for as little as five to ten hours a week. It allowed me to really improve my time management skills. It was up to me to work through the weekly reading list of research for my exams and my essays. And having that level of independence really set me up to work well independently and prioritise my time. I think in my current role, I still use my critical perspective. Working to plan and deliver a project definitely encourages me to think about the wider picture. And how certain tasks will impact on others. I think working on a large scope project like the knowledge exchange concordat definitely requires good time management. 

My role mainly consists of planning and delivering the knowledge exchange concordat in collaboration with a number of sector organisations My day never seems to be the same as the last. At the moment, I'm working on the evaluation process for the UK concordat. And we're preparing some papers to go out to the sector. I've been required to provide some guidance papers for the higher education sector. And I often prepare briefings for meetings with partner organisations. There are also lots of opportunities in my role to engage with external stakeholders and funding bodies. And so it's really interesting to liaise and interact with so many people from across the higher education sector. I've always been keen to work on issues relating to education. I think unequal access to education has always been an issue that I care deeply about. So I hope to continue working in education, definitely focusing on policy. I suppose the dream would be to work for the United Nations one day, but I'm not quite sure how I'd get there yet. But I'm keen to experience many different areas of HE, of policy, of political affairs and to try to have a more well-rounded perspective on some of the issues relating to education. 

The main piece of advice I'd give to prospective history students is to be open-minded about the course that you choose. I think the university provides such great opportunity to study things you might not have heard of before. But the freedom to study and to dive into so many different areas of history is what makes the course so interesting. For current students I'd just advise to take advantage of every opportunity available. If you want to study a new Module or one from outside the discipline, if you need resources that aren't necessarily at the university, or if you need help finding materials, there's always an opportunity at the University of Sheffield.