This year, Manchester Outreach Dentists (MODs) won our Making a Difference Award, for their outstanding contribution to widening participation.

The recently formed, student-run, widening participation project is aimed at helping disadvantaged sixth form students from across the country with their application to Dental School. The team strive to break down potential barriers that some students might face when applying for Dentistry, helping provide a course that is open to all. MODs have carefully considered widening participation pupils’ needs throughout all aspects of the project, including liaising with the pupils and parents who do not have access to Wi-Fi or a laptop. They give valuable advice and guidance to prospective students, including application preparation and mock interviews.

In just a couple of months, the MODs team managed to set up the project, recruiting 31 volunteers and delivering 10 workshops. The first MODs event enabled sixth form pupils to go through a carousel of activities including mock interviews, personal statement help, UCAS top tips, mock MMI and UCAT & BMAT prep.

Manal Hamad, project lead, was delighted to receive the award: ‘‘We’re absolutely thrilled to have won a Making a Difference award during our first year of running. MODs has had such a huge success this year and all credit is down to our lovely volunteers who spent hours creating and presenting high quality workshops for prospective dental students. We’re so excited to see the impact MODs can continue to have in the coming years and hope be part of the driving force creating equal opportunities ensuring that dentistry is a career open to all.’’

• Watch our short film to find out more about the award-winning Manchester Outreach Dentists.
• See our full list of 2021 Making a Difference winners and highly commended.