Amani Al-Oraibi, the latest MI POST fellow to have completed her fellowship, was a Doctoral Researcher in the Division of Epidemiology and Public Health at the University of Leicester when applying for the scheme. Here Amani blogs about what she’s learnt and experienced, and her tips for those applying for the MI POST Fellowship scheme.
When I applied for the MI POST Fellowship, I had one question in mind: how can research actually make a difference beyond academia? Impact has always mattered to me. I think that research outputs such as peer reviewed articles in high impact journals and presentations at national and international conferences is quite important to communicate your research but there is always that element to me of ‘what else?’. How can I make the work and recommendations I have produced visible to those who make the decisions. This is why I applied to this fellowship, yet I learned so much more beyond that.
A different style of writing
One of the first things that hit me was how differently I needed to write. In academia, detail and technical precision are the point. At The Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (POST), I had to produce clear, concise and impartial briefings for parliamentarians, within a strict 13-week timeline and the two styles are quite different.
I had access to writing training sessions offered by Parliament’s research team, open to all parliamentary staff including fellows, which I found genuinely useful. They helped me think about how to structure and communicate evidence for a non-academic audience in a way I had not had to before. You get to also learn how to write different types of briefing in parliament (e.g., a Commons Library briefing which is also different from a POST briefing). My supervisor, and the wider POST team were also supportive in answering any questions in relation to how Parliament works, acronyms, and how evidence feeds into the briefings.
Being inside Parliament
I do not think I fully appreciated what it would feel like to actually work inside Parliament until I was there. I attended committee meetings and evidence sessions, including with the Health and Social Care Committee. I also had the chance to present aspects of my own research and the POSTnote I was developing to staff from some of those teams. Watching evidence being discussed – how it gets interrogated, contextualised, and sometimes challenged – gives you a very different perspective on what it means for research to inform policy.
I also attended POST board meetings, which were a window into how decisions get made about what topics POST focuses on and why. And whenever I had the chance, I went to watch debates in both chambers. I attended Prime Minister’s Questions twice, which was an experience in itself. On one of those visits, I also had the opportunity to have coffee with an MP to talk more about the POSTnote I was working on.
The work itself
My main project was a POSTnote briefing on rare genetic diseases, and I also worked on updating a House of Commons Library briefing on long COVID. The POSTnote process was more rigorous than I had expected going in. You start by scoping a topic – which you may have no prior background in – then identify and interview stakeholders from government, industry, charities and NGOs, and academia, before writing the briefing itself, which then goes through peer review by experts with a range of knowledge and roles to ensure it is accurate, accessible and impartial.
The stakeholder interviews were one of the best parts as I got to speak with people who work directly in a relevant field. It captured perspectives and insights that do not always make it into published literature, and that is how the briefing ends up reflecting the real landscape, not just the formal record. Those conversations were some of the most interesting I had throughout the entire fellowship.
It is also worth knowing that the topic is assigned before you begin, so you do not get to choose it, and it will often sit outside your usual area of expertise. That is part of the experience. You have to approach it fresh, do a proper literature review, and build up a picture from scratch. It feels daunting at first, but you pick it up faster than you would expect.
And the impact is real. POSTnotes are printed and disseminated in both the House of Commons and House of Lords Libraries, shared with MPs and Peers, and can feed directly into parliamentary debates. That kind of direct line from your work to a parliamentary discussion is not something that comes along often in research.
The people
The fellowship gave me a lot of opportunities to meet senior parliamentary staff, subject experts, researchers and practitioners, working in areas of health I had never previously engaged with. Some of those conversations connected directly to my project; others did not but were interesting and useful regardless. For anyone thinking about a career outside academia, that kind of access to people and networks is hard to replicate elsewhere.
Being part of a cohort also mattered more than I had expected. Starting the Fellowship alongside other POST Fellows from different disciplines meant we could share experiences, support each other when things were busy, and learn from how others were approaching their projects. As I completed my fellowship part-time, I ended up crossing over with two different cohorts, which, if anything, made that experience even richer.
The fun “outside of work” parts
Beyond the formal work, the fellowship had moments that I will remember for a long time. I attended the Speaker’s reception and got to see his residence, which was something else entirely. I did my fellowship around Christmas time, so I had the opportunity to attend special parliamentary Christmas celebrations such as the lighting of the Tree and Christmas Carols at Mr Speaker’s House, where I got to chat with Mr Speaker and see his famous cat, Attlee (as pictured below).
I also went to All Party Parliamentary Group meetings on topics that interested me, attended external events on translating research into policy, and did a Big Ben tour.
I cannot not mention the food – the restaurants and cafés around the parliamentary estate have amazing interiors and delicious desserts too. Even finding your way around them became its own small pleasure.
If you are thinking about applying
Go in open. Your project will sit outside your comfort zone, and you will get to grips with it faster than you think. Look at existing POST briefings on the POST website before you start to get a feel for the style and scope. The fellowship moves quickly, but it is well set up to support you throughout.
Final thoughts
The POST Fellowship gave me more than I expected across the board including new skills, work with real parliamentary reach, a much deeper understanding of how policy and evidence interact, and a professional network I would not have built any other way. If you are interested in how research can shape real-world decisions, I would encourage you to apply.
The deadline for the current MI Parliamentary POST Fellowships Scheme is 31st May 2026 (23:55 BST). For more information about the scheme, the eligibility criteria, and the MI universities participating in the scheme, click here.
Amani Al-Oraibi completed her MI POST Fellowship in March 2026, and as part of her Fellowship has published a POSTnote briefing on rare genetic diseases. Amani also worked on updating a House of Commons Library briefing on long COVID.
