Following a nomination from the Faculty of Humanities, MSc Management student Haripriya Shanmugam has been announced as the recipient of a prestigious postgraduate taught student Distinguished Achievement Award.

To be considered for the award, the nominee must be an outstanding postgraduate student on a taught programme who has either excelled in a significant manner, coupled excellent academic achievement with a major external activity, or be inspirational through having overcome major issues.

As well as excelling in her studies, Haripriya has made significant contributions to her course and the wider University, demonstrating a passion and commitment towards both sustainability and entrepreneurship.

She founded the Wealth out of Waste student society, which focuses on the idea of upcycling – transforming waste materials into creative, useful and valuable products. To support the society’s sustainability initiatives, Haripriya secured £1,250 of funding from the University. She has also been a s Sustainability Champion, leading two events around the reduce, reuse and recycle campaign on campus.

Haripriya’s other passion is entrepreneurship and over the past year she has been the Entrepreneurship Champion Lead for the Masood Entrepreneurship Centre (MEC). Her work has involved promoting the MEC’s activities, encouraging students to get involved in entrepreneurship, and supporting at events. As a result of this, she was awarded the Students’ Union’s MEC Award in recognition of her entrepreneurial approach to leading on activities and events that benefit the student body, colleagues and the wider community.

Haripriya said: "Every challenge strengthened me, every achievement encouraged me, and every experience shaped who I am becoming.

“Receiving the Distinguished Achievement Award is a moment that feels deeply personal to me. Coming to Manchester as an international student was both exciting and overwhelming, and I had to rebuild my confidence from the ground up. The University became a place where I gradually learned to trust my abilities and step into new responsibilities.

“From navigating a new culture to taking on multiple leadership roles, starting my own society on campus, and promoting sustainability within the student community, every experience pushed me to understand who I could become. The Faculty, staff and peers who supported me played a significant role in shaping my resilience and helping me grow beyond what I imagined. There were challenges, uncertainties and moments of self-doubt, but each one taught me something meaningful.”

“Looking back now, I can see how Manchester helped me build myself, not just academically, but as a person.”