Reflecting on our journey!
- SPRINT project
- Mar 28
- 3 min read
It’s hard to believe that six months have passed since we first introduced ourselves to the SPRINT Project. From day one, this experience has been a huge learning curve, filled with exciting opportunities, challenges, and growth both personally and professionally. As Bruna prepares to return to her research in Brazil and Tasha looks ahead to her final year at Loughborough, we’re reflecting this journey.
Tasha’s reflections
Looking back, I couldn’t have anticipated just how much I would learn and grow during my time with the SPRINT Project. This placement has given me hands-on experience in research, developing skills in systematic and scoping reviews, co-writing papers, and conducting fieldwork including co-facilitating workshops. I’ve also strengthened my ability to critically engage with research through journal club discussions something that I know will hugely benefit me next year.
Beyond research, I’ve gained valuable tech skills, creating presentations, infographics, and using Canvas for engagement. Being part of the SPRINT blog team and assisting with these weekly alongside Georgia has been a fantastic creative outlet, allowing me to contribute to knowledge-sharing within the project. Adjusting to a new environment in Birmingham has also been an experience, and I’ve loved becoming familiar with both the academic and social aspects of working in a new city.
I’m incredibly grateful for the support from the team, who have encouraged and challenged me every step of the way. This experience has reinforced my passion for sport psychology and has given me a hugely strong foundation to take forward into my final year and dissertation.
Bruna’s reflections
Traveling to a different country to join the SPRINT Project for the last six months was certainly the most challenging experience of my life… and it was worth every second! I came to Birmingham to develop my study and get to know researchers in sports psychology. However, the SPRINT Project and the University of Birmingham also showed me different perspectives on how an academic environment can embrace diversity, be supportive, and still produce high-quality research.
During these last six months, I have learned a lot about data analysis while working on my PhD first study under Jennifer’s supervision and it allowed me to grow as a researcher and build statistics knowledge. I also exercised my academic writing skills in English by preparing the manuscript of what we have been working on these last months as well as co-writing another manuscript with the SPRINT Project. I also had the opportunity to understand other research conducted by other members of the team. It was great to hear about different aspects of mental health, neurodiversity, and mental skills in sports.
After this experience, it is very clear to me how meeting a different culture can broaden our vision of the world and make us reconsider what our priorities are and what we aim to achieve. As a researcher and professional, it was amazing to meet a different and very well-structured model of an academic environment and I will definitely return to Brazil with new ideas of how I might include a few of these behaviours into my routine.
It is clear the past six months have been an unforgettable journey for us both. We’ve grown as researchers, expanded our knowledge, and connected with an inspiring team. Though this chapter is coming to an end, the skills, experiences, and friendships we’ve gained will continue to shape our futures.
A huge thank you to the SPRINT team for their guidance and support- this experience has been truly invaluable. Stay tuned for more updates!
Written by Bruna Feitosa de Oliveira & Natasha Jordan-Dewhurst
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