Manchester Met’s online and print arts and culture student magazine is set to launch #TheENERGYIssue on Friday 10th March at the Manchester Poetry Library.

aAh! Magazine is set to launch its latest print issue this week with a special launch party and student media awards ceremony held at the Manchester Poetry Library.

The event will celebrate the achievements of the student editorial and design teams who have worked on the latest “ENERGY” themed issue over the past few months, and invite new students to join the team and get involved with their student magazine.

The new print magazine features a range of long-form articles, reviews, opinion, profiles and Q&As across a wealth of topics such as how the cost-of-living crisis is affecting creative students and spotlights on artists and musicians raising awareness of climate change.

It also shines a spotlight on innovative university projects including experiential learning opportunity Matchday Live – Manchester Met’s sports livestream show, as well as recommending the best books to reignite your love for reading, and rounding up the best coffee shops for work or play.

Editorial Assistant Elena John said: “Working on the print magazine has been loads of fun, everyone’s been amazing. It’s been really insightful learning about what really goes into making a print magazine come to life not only on the writing side but also getting that glimpse of the graphic design processes and stuff like that – things I wouldn’t have encountered before.

“It’s going to be so rewarding seeing the physical copy after everyone’s been working towards it for such a long time. I can’t wait for everyone to grab a copy and see all of our work in print. I’m grateful to have been a part of something so special.”

The Energy Issue was created by a cross-disciplinary team of 39 students from Multimedia Journalism, Publishing, English and Creative Writing, Photography, Graphic Design, Illustration, Animation, Fashion, History, Law, and the Wildlife, Ecology and Conservation course taught in Tanzania.

Led by Journalism lecturer and student media coordinator Natalie Carragher, the team have taken part in a programme of journalism and magazine production workshops and “live crit” sessions.

Natalie said: “The team have produced a stunning new issue which tackles important topics such as the cost of living crisis and the climate crisis. The levels of creativity – and commitment – shown by our students has been outstanding.

“The team have not only juggled university assessments and part-time employment, alongside other commitments, but they’ve still managed to find the time to come together each week (and sometimes weekends too!) to collaborate and support each other to produce impressive articles, beautiful artwork, and innovative designs.”

Zac Mcmenemy engaged with the project remotely via email and MS Teams while studying African Wildlife in Tanzania. He describes his course as “an incredible and eye-opening experience”.

Zac said: “Not only was I able to immerse myself into a completely different culture and come face to face with the natural world, but was also made aware of the true extent of the issues that threaten both people and wildlife, that we so often overlook.

Zac explored these themes in his feature article for the print issue: “Working on The ENERGY Issue has been a great process that has allowed me to draw on these new experiences. This permitted me to develop my skills as an interviewer and writer in Tanzania, while being able to share ideas and feedback remotely with the rest of the team in Manchester.

“I’m very excited to see the product of this collaboration and to get my hands on the print issue.”

The aAh! team have also devised an impressive print and digital promotional campaign featuring posters, flyers and social media campaign. Natalie added: It’s been a pleasure to collaborate with our student editors, graphic designers, photographers and illustrators under the direction of Graphic Design Assistant Lisa Silva.

“Led by Lisa, the promotional campaign has really elevated reach of our print publication and it’s great to see so many new students involved in producing spreads, posters as well as working on engaging video content for social media.”

Student illustrator Georgia Harmey said: “Working with aAh! magazine has been such an enjoyable and transformative experience for me. I’ve honed my skills in illustrating, responding to criticism and communicating within a team. It’s added to my portfolio and has been great for my CV.”

For subeditor and English and Creative Writing student Daniel S. Martin, working on the magazine was a “great experience”. He said: “This opportunity has been a chance to develop collaborative skills and learn about the details of magazine production.”

Other student editorial team members expressed how valuable working on the magazine has been, giving them experience which they can use for their future career prospects.

Student journalist Keja Isaac Sofekun said: “Working on aAh! magazine has been a great opportunity to put to practise the skills I’ve gained from the last two and a half years as a Multimedia Journalism student. Working on aAh! Magazine was a wonderful experience. It’s given me a real insight into magazine journalism and has made me excited for the future!”

aAh! is Manchester Metropolitans official arts and culture student magazine. It gives students an opportunity to share their creative and voice, while also developing skills in journalism, editing, publishing, magazine production and graphic design.

Get involved and be part of your student magazine today.

Join aAh! Magazine’s The ENERGY Issue launch party on Friday 10th March, 6pm at the Manchester Poetry Library to celebrate the latest print issue and find out how you can get involved in your student magazine.