The Welsh Graduate School for the Social Sciences (WGSSS) is one of 15 new doctoral training partnerships announced by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) following a successful bid for funding.

The investment in doctoral training partnerships (DTPs) demonstrate ESRC’s commitment to its revised vision for doctoral training, that reflects the findings of the Review of PhD in the Social Sciences in 2021. They will provide a breadth of professional development training opportunities to enhance the capabilities of doctoral candidates and further develop a world-class, highly skilled workforce for the UK.

“WGSSS is a watershed for the social sciences in Wales. Building on the success of the ESRC Wales DTP, we are strengthened by new university members, a powerful group of strategic partners, and a deep commitment from stakeholders. WGSSS will nurture social science researchers from all backgrounds, delivering outstanding training and practical preparation for a wide range of careers, within impact to communities in Wales and around the world.“

Professor John Harrington, WGSSS Director

WGSSS is a collaboration between Cardiff University, and Aberystwyth University, Bangor University, Cardiff Metropolitan University, the University of South Wales, the University of Gloucestershire, and Swansea University. The University of Wales, Trinity St David is an associate member and contributes to shared training and researcher development.   

A total of £40 million investment in postgraduate social science research and training, WGSSS will deliver up to 360 studentships across 5 annual cohorts from 2024. It will create an integrated cross-Wales community of researchers through a common Training Platform supported by ESRC, Higher Education Funding Council for Wales (HEFCW) and partner universities.

Working closely with the Learned Society of Wales, it will deliver support for social sciences students and supervisors on career development, wellbeing, and inclusion. WGSSS is supported by an £18.5 million award from ESRC, which is matched by contributions from partner universities and by £1.5 million-plus investment from strategic partners including Welsh Government, Office for National Statistics, Natural Resources Wales, Welsh Council for Voluntary Action, Cardiff Capital Region City Deal and the Office of the Commissioner for the Well-Being of Future Generations.

This is fantastic news and a ringing endorsement of the collective strength of the universities in the partnership. Together we have a strong track record of delivering social science research with environmental, economic, and societal impact to our communities and more widely across the UK and beyond.

As one of the biggest and most significant investments in postgraduate social science research and training, this partnership will ensure that we continue to develop social scientists who are equipped to deliver impactful research for future generations, providing solutions to constantly evolving complex societal challenges. Importantly, it will offer a boost for postgraduates’ career development, support their wellbeing as well as leading to greater inclusion.

I’d like to thank Professor Harrington and his team across the partnership who worked so hard on this successful bid and look forward to  following the progress of the partnership over the coming years.

Professor Wendy Larner, Vice-Chancellor, Cardiff University

The University of South Wales (USW) is proud to be part of the Welsh Graduate School for the Social Sciences (WGSSS). USW has a long and distinguished history of impactful research in social sciences/policy, evidenced by the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021 outcomes that placed our submission as 1st in Wales for impact. We pride ourselves on not only the strength of our research but also the opportunities and experiences made available to our students, which is reflected in USW being voted the top university in the UK in the recent postgraduate research experience survey. Being part of the WGSSS, will further enhance the research and training opportunities open to social sciences students and we look forward to working in collaboration and partnership with colleagues across Wales and beyond

Professor Martin Steggall, Pro Vice Chancellor Research and Innovation, University of South Wales.

Our vision for postgraduate training is that it will develop globally competitive social science researchers who can operate in interdisciplinary, collaborative, and challenge-led environments across a range of sectors and who have a diversity of backgrounds and experiences.  This redesigned and expanded doctoral training opportunity will enhance the experience for PhD students and boost the UK’s capability.

Stian Westlake, ESRC Executive Chair

Rated as ‘outstanding’ the WGSSS bid was praised by ESRC for its visionary approach to equality, diversity and inclusion, and plans for internships and career development.

Information on how to apply for studentships via the WGSSS Competition for entry in 2024/2025 is available on the Studentships page.

Deadline: Monday 3 July 2023

The Wales DTP is pleased to offer an internship opportunity with Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales, working on a project to develop a “Heritage Craft Skills Action Plan”. There is currently no comprehensive policy for heritage craft skills being retained or re-established at Amgueddfa Cymru. There is a risk of skills soon being lost due to staff retirement, and a need to develop an innovative offering to ensure that these valuable skills are passed on.

This is an opportunity for a social sciences PhD researcher with experience in conducting literature reviews, interviews and/or workshops and a professional or personal interest in the heritage sector.

In this research project, a student will have the opportunity to apply their skillset to:

1. analyse leading sector initiatives
2. work in collaboration with Amgueddfa Cymru staff and craftspersons to develop and better understand the current training provision to develop policy and a “Heritage Craft Skills Action Plan”.

Internally, this Action Plan will build on existing policies, practice and succession plans to enhance the work of Amgueddfa Cymru, and create a difference, across a variety of Welsh heritage crafts.  Externally, this work will be disseminated through networks such as the Heritage Crafts Association and inform heritage practice within Wales, the UK and Europe.
The internship is open to any ESRC Wales DTP funded student (except those within 3 months of the start or end of their studentship).  It is anticipated that the internship will commence no later than 1st October 2023 for a period of 3 months full-time or the part-time equivalent.

A full project description is provided in the document

Please submit your completed application form to enquiries@walesdtp.ac.uk by 4pm on the day of the deadline.

The Global Language Based Area Studies Conference 2022 was held on 6-7 June in Cardiff. Hosted by the School of Modern Languages, with support from the Department of Politics and International Relations, the event brought together doctoral students from the Wales DTP, South Coast DTP and Midlands Graduate School.  The conference included academics with internationally recognised expertise on different research methodologies across a vast interdisciplinary field including African, European, Eurasian, Indian Ocean, North American, Russian and Chinese studies.

As well as showcasing area studies, the event provided a space for doctoral researchers to network with one another, to develop lasting connections and build the area studies cohort as a whole.  Participants presented content- and methods-led papers, offered peer review, received constructive feedback, and heard from postdoctoral students.  A research surgery and methods café enabled discussion on the methodological and other challenges faced by researchers.

Hello! I’m Catrin, and I’ll be taking over as Methods blog Editor.

I’m a first year PhD student at Cardiff in the School of Social Sciences. I’m a museum and heritage geek with an academic background in Social Anthropology. My research looks at how heritage buildings can contribute to active citizenship in Wales.

As per the Welsh stereotype, I’m a choral singer in my spare time. I also enjoy writing poetry, and I’ve written poetry based on research data to communicate findings to participants.  I have worked as a tour guide and art gallery workshop facilitator, so while I might love creative methods, I’m looking forward to learning more about your research, which may be very different from mine. 

I have some interesting ideas that I’d love to try out for the blog, and please feel free to contact me should you have any questions or ideas of your own. Dwi hefyd yn siarad Gymraeg ( I also speak Welsh). Diolch!

Link to ESRC DTP profile: https://walesdtp.ac.uk/profile/greaves-catrin/

Link to Twitter: https://twitter.com/catrin_mari91/status/1529380393450864640

Link to LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/catrin-greaves-401265240/

Katharine Young recently completed an internship with the Welsh Government, during which she produced a report ‘Welsh-medium education through late immersion: mapping the provision in Wales‘ (click the blue title to see the report) that is now available on the Government’s website.

Katharine’s summary of the report:

“Late immersion education is a provision that allows latecomers to access Welsh medium education at stages later than the Foundation Phase. Such provision has existed in Wales for a number of decades, and in a number of different ways (through designated centres, language units, and within schools). The Welsh Government’s aim in its Cymraeg 2050 strategy is to reach a million speakers by the middle of the century. Late immersion provision is a key part of achieving this aim, as it increases the number of entry points to the Welsh-medium and bilingual sector throughout a learner’s education career.

The aim of this report was to form a picture of the late immersion education provision that exists in some local education authorities, and to understand some of the challenges and opportunities that arise as provision is planned and implemented.”

How to follow Katharine’s research:

If you would like to read more of Katharine’s work you can see her ESRC DTP Wales Profile by clicking here, and you can follow Katharine on Twitter using: @KatharineSYoung

Welcome to the first of three blog posts which are informally split into: “all the things I wish I knew before I applied for my PhD internship”. These short memo’s are intended for those of you who may have never heard about doing an internship during your PhD, to those who may have even started applying!

Structure of the series:

1. Tips to make your internship application a success!
2. How a PhD internship could benefit you!
3. Concluding thoughts: i.e. = “would I recommend doing an internship during your PhD?” 

Hi, I’m Jodie; a third year PhD researcher (eeek!) in the School of Social Sciences (SOCSI) at Cardiff University. My thesis is investigating the impact and harm(s) of online anti-LGBTI+ hate speech.

My internship was a 3-month ESRC Wales DTP funded post at The Welsh Government (January – April 2021), and my project was titled: ‘Using the Understanding Society Study to explore societal changes during the COVID-19 pandemic’.

Now, you may have noticed that this project does not appear to be related to my PhD topic – and you would be exactly right – it didn’t. This may be more common than you think and sets up my first tip to think about how to ensure your application is a success…  

1. Think about what YOUR motivations are for applying

Your motivations are going to be personal – I get that, but when you apply for an internship, you are going to have to convince others that these are relevant reasons to pause your PhD. The most important are likely be your supervisors, as they need to ‘sign-off’ your leave when your application is successful!

Therefore, I would highly recommend talking through the opportunity with them.

When I first heard about my project from a lecturer, I had recently transitioned into the second year of my PhD. At the time, I was finding it a challenge to study isolated in the midst of the pandemic and I found discussing the reasons why I wanted to pause my PhD project really beneficial. My supervisors really helped me to articulate my motivations (so important for my application form), as well as raising some really crucial things I had not even thought of!

For example, are you just about to start up your methods write up, after months of data collection – is this really the time you should be thinking about pausing your PhD? Is the internship related to your topic? What do you think you would gain from putting your PhD on hold?

What I’m trying to ultimately get at here is… what value do you expect the internship to add?

For me, the value was not related directly to my PhD topic… but more that I would gain valuable experience in social research in another sector; I was keen to learn how research was conducted in an industry setting rather than an academic one. I also wanted to develop my communication skills outside of academia; learning policy appropriate language and report writing skills. Lastly, given my love for data, I was eager to advance my analytical skills and acquire appropriate presentation skills for a business setting.

Point being – assess the benefits of pausing a significant amount of time out your PhD. 

• Allow sufficient time for the application process 

It is not quick!

To give you an idea I have noted some key points in my application process:

Also – side note – in most cases, you cannot apply for an internship in the first 3-months of your programme or the last 3-months. If you are keen to do an internship, make sure you have thought about the right time to apply and checked any guidance you may have to adhere to!

1. Plan, draft and re-draft your application form!

These were my go-to steps during my application process:

1. Prepare for your interview

After the usual discussions of the placement, your skills/experience etc., there is a section for you to ask questions! This is your opportunity to ask as many relevant questions as you can, so that you can try and find out whether the prospective placement is the right choice for you.

My top questions were whether I would be able to connect with other staff outside of my ‘team’ in the Welsh Government; what the expected outcomes of my project were; what my working day would look like (flexi-time may be good if you often utilise the flexibility the PhD offers), and most importantly I asked how working online would work. As I was unable to enter the Welsh Government building due to the pandemic, I discussed with them how I would be supported, whether they would provide me with training/equipment.  

• Research the internship host!

Research never ends! I used the Welsh Government website, social media platforms and asked other students about their internship experiences (the good and bad), to gather information about what my internship may entail and the ethos of the workplace – LinkedIn was really helpful for me actually! Anything you can learn before you start will be beneficial!

I hope this post has started making you think whether a PhD internship is the best fit for you and how to ensure your application is a success!

For now, keep an eye out for the next post which will cover ‘Why a PhD internship will benefit you!’

Jodie

If you would like to contact me to ask anything about my internship experience or even to chat about PhD life/research – you can find my contacts below.

Email – lukerjr@cardiff.ac.uk

Academic Twitter – @jodie­_luker

Academic Instagram – @phd_hate_harms

In this blog post, Aimee Morse discusses undertaking an internship during your PhD.

Finding an internship

There are numerous internships on offer with various organisations. The DTP works specifically in partnership with several organisations across Wales who have developed internship opportunities and the UKRI run internship programmes in partnership with organisations across the UK.

Internships are advertised in the monthly DTP newsletter, so keep an eye on the section if you’re keen to apply for one. This is how I found out about my internship with the Wales Centre for Public Policy, so it’s definitely worth reading!;You can also speak to your supervisors regarding internships in your research area. My supervisors mentioned colleagues in other organisations running internships, though they always encouraged me to choose the right one for me, at a time which worked for me.

How I knew the internship was for me

First and foremost, I talked it through with my supervisors. We discussed how I would make the internship work best for me. I chose to conduct a project in a similar field to my PhD research topic; however, it may be possible to choose something in a different field that may still complement your PhD theories and/or methodologies.

I had to make sure the internship would not clash with my PhD fieldwork commitments, and felt that three months would be the best length. My internship fell right within the 2021 lockdown; however, this did not affect my experience and I was surrounded (virtually) by a team of supportive colleagues who were always on hand to answer questions and share their thoughts on my work. Having a short, interesting project to focus on throughout that time really helped my overall approach to my PhD; submitting a completed report allowed me to return to my PhD work confident that I could overcome the stops and starts of the last 18-months to complete my thesis too!

Compiling a successful application

I have now completed two internship applications, and in both setting aside ample time to complete the application process was crucial. Some, such as the UKRI Globalink Exchange Scheme (which I was unfortunately unable to complete given international travel restrictions), may require you to access application portals through a supervisor or institutional account (Je-S in this case). If this is the case, schedule in a meeting with your supervisor to ensure you can get the application uploaded on time!

I would recommend speaking to potential supervisors from the organisation offering the internship. Discussing project ideas with them allows you to understand what they expect of their interns, and whether your work will be a good fit with theirs. This also provides you with an opportunity to talk through their application process and the documents you will be required to submit. Getting to know a potential supervisor in an initial call can also help during the interview process and as you settle into your work with a new organisation, as you won’t be faced with a screen or office full of completely unfamiliar faces.

My experience at the Wales Centre for Public Policy

It was really interesting to learn more about the work of the Centre and how they support policy-making and public service delivery across Wales. Though it was strange not to set foot in their offices, I was made to feel welcome by the team and their support made the virtual experience well worthwhile. Working with the Research Team allowed me to develop my current competencies and consider how I can best apply them in a new team context.

During my time at the Centre I researched agricultural policy in Wales and explored how collaborative working can help farmers achieve their sustainability goals. This involved telephone interviews with farmers and partners of a Sustainable Management Scheme funded group in north Wales. Conducting this research, and producing several outputs, boosted my confidence in delivering on short-term projects. I’d recommend exploring the different dissemination options available for your work – before my internship I had never considered producing a podcast, but thanks to the team and my podcast participants I now have a podcast episode to complement my written outputs!

Your internship experience will vary depending on the organisation with which you are working. However, overall, you can expect to:

• Develop your competencies, particularly in relation to working in a team.
• Develop networks with policymakers, practitioners and other researchers.
• Gain an understanding of how your research might be used in ‘real-world’ situations.
• Finish your project with at least one output, such as a report, which may contribute to your PhD or be used and referenced by your internship host organisation in their work.

I would strongly encourage you to consider completing an internship as part of your PhD. If you have any questions about my own internship experience, you are welcome to get in touch with me (aimeemorse@connect.glos.ac.uk / @06aims on Twitter)

Aimee has also written a report detailing the specifics of her time with the Wales Centre for Public Policy, which you can read by clicking here.

Join us for talks from businesses that have worked closely with social science doctoral researchers to increase productivity, realize strategic goals, and build support the development of talent and skill in Wales.  The ESRC Wales Doctoral Training Partnership trains social scientists, as one of 14 prestigious research networks across the UK. Collaboration with partners in the private, public and third sectors is central to our mission.  Non-academic organisations, no matter how big or small, can have a genuine stake in a social science research project and a role in producing the next generation of leading social scientists.

In this session you will hear from Dr Charlotte Beale, Head of Economics for Dŵr Cymru, Dr Michael Evans, Rail Projects Officer for Transport for Wales, and Professor David Egan, Welsh Government, on how their organisations have worked closely with social science researchers.  You will hear how supporting a collaborative studentship or hosting a work placement can add value, whilst giving a PhD student the opportunity to gain critical knowledge and skills for work in industry.  Professor John Harrington, Director of the ESRC Wales Doctoral Training Partnership, will advise on how to set up an arrangement which directly benefits your organisation.  The session includes the opportunity for you to put forward any questions you might have on collaboration to a panel of supervisors, doctoral students and businesses.

Join us on Wednesday 20^th October 2021 for what promises to be an enlightening and informative session.  To register for this briefing, which will be held on Zoom, follow this link Breakfast Briefing – Putting PhD Power into your Business Tickets, Wed 20 Oct 2021 at 08:30 | Eventbrite

We have five internships available with the Welsh Government. Continue reading →

The ESRC has launched an open consultation to inform its review of the PhD in the Social Sciences. They seek views on current doctoral study from within and outside of the social sciences from all members of the research community, learned societies, government, business, third-sector organisations and others who have an interest in the future skills needed by social science PhD students. The findings of this review will directly inform the ESRC’s strategy for doctoral training and for recommissioning its Doctoral Training Partnerships in 2022/23. The consultation is open until 16 September 2020.

SMaRteN, the UK Research and Innovation funded student mental health research network, in partnership with Vitae, is conducting research into the impact of COVID-19 on the working lives of doctoral researchers and research staff. They aim to provide insights to enable the sector to better support early career researchers. Continue reading →

Wales DTP postdoctoral fellow Joey Soehardjojo has won the Thomas A. Kochran and Stephen R. Selight ‘Best Dissertation’ Award from the Labor and Employment Relations Association (LERA). Continue reading →

Parliament needs quick access to researchers who can provide expert insights relating to both Coronavirus and its impacts. Continue reading →

You can now find the latest information for our students and stakeholders on our COVID19 response page. As things are changing rapidly, we will be updating this page frequently as new information becomes available.

We have an internship available with the Welsh Government.
Continue reading →

We have two internships available with the Welsh Government. Continue reading →

We have an internship available with the Welsh Government.
Continue reading →

Research from Wales DTP researcher, Emily Marchant (Human Geography, Swansea University), on the benefits of outdoor learning has been published by media outlets around the world.  The study found that an hour or two of outdoor learning every week engages children, improves their wellbeing and increases teachers’ job satisfaction.  News outlets including The Conversation, Metro, CBS Boston, the Mother Nature Network and others shared findings from the study.

Congratulations to Wales DTP student Darren Scott (Digital Economy and Society, Swansea University), winner of Swansea University’s Three Minute Thesis (3MT) at the annual Postgraduate Research Showcase.  Darren had just three minutes to summarise his research in an engaging way, and talked about how inactivity could be tackled through the use of fitness apps and wearables.  Darren will go on to compete in the regional heats of the competition, with the hope of being crowned overall UK champion.

The DTP offers its congratulations to the seven fellows recently appointed as part of the 2019 ESRC Postdoctoral Fellowships Scheme.  Each of the fellows will be associated with a DTP pathway: Human Geography for Diana Beljaars (based at Swansea University) and Jen Owen (based at Cardiff University); Politics and International Relations for Katarina Kusic (based at Aberystwyth University); Environmental Planning for Carla De Laurentis (based at Cardiff University); Linguistics for Lauren O’Hagan (based at Cardiff University); Management and Business for Joey Soehardjojo (based at Cardiff University), and Psychology for Hikaru Tsujimura (based at Cardiff University).

The ESRC Student Experience 2019 survey will be open from Monday 17 June 2019 for 5 weeks. This survey will help to inform both the ESRC and the Doctoral Training Partnerships (DTPs) about the experience of postgraduate researchers.  Complete the survey now!

The NCRM has just launched an online survey looking at the methods training needs of doctoral students. This survey is part of a wider training needs consultation which will help to guide future ESRC-funded methods training in the UK. Continue reading →

The Wales DTP is delighted to announce the appointment of Professor John Harrington as its new Director.  Continue reading →

Wales DTP student, Rebecca Windemer (Environmental Planning, Cardiff University) recently had a piece published in The Conversation, ‘Repowering the UK’s oldest wind farms could boost energy generation by 171%’ Continue reading →

Our induction event for new students took place last month, and recordings of many of the talks and presentations are now available. Continue reading →

We have an internship available with the Welsh Government.

Mae Interniaeth ar gael gyda Llywodraeth Cymru. Continue reading →

Wales DTP Post-Doctoral Fellow Anna Piggott has just had a piece published in The Conversation. Continue reading →

Former Wales DTP student Dr Siôn Aled Owen has published a collection of poetry which includes poems inspired by his doctoral research into the factors influencing school pupils’ social use of Welsh. Siôn is presently giving readings from Meirioli and recently appeared at the Eisteddfod in Cardiff last month. Continue reading →

Congratulations to Amy Sanders who won this year’s three minute engagement and impact competition (3MEI) at last month’s WISERD Conference. Continue reading →

The policy internship scheme offers a wide range of placements to ESRC funded students: you get a paid extension to your PhD (so it won’t take time away) and it doesn’t need to be directly related to your research. Continue reading →

As part of a new scheme for ESRC Post-Doctoral Fellowships, we are delighted to offer fellowships to seven outstanding applicants who will take up the posts from October.  Continue reading →

Wales DTP student Michael Scott Evans is director of the Nuffield Research Placement programme for the School of Psychology at Cardiff University, which aims to engage with the local community by inspiring and supporting sixth form students aged 16-17 from relatively disadvantaged communities with hands-on experience of a professional research environment. Continue reading →

This has been a busy year for the Wales Doctoral Training Partnership – Director David James provides a roundup of the latest developments Continue reading →

There were four contestants in his year’s ‘3MEI’ (Three-minute engagement and impact) competition, which took place at the WISERD annual conference in Bangor. Continue reading →

A new internship opportunity is available to Wales Doctoral Training Partnership (DTP) students.

Mae cyfle am interniaeth newydd i fyfyrwyr Partneriaeth Hyfforddiant Doethurol Cymru. Continue reading →

As part of his visit to Cardiff University, Gary Alan Fine (Professor of Sociology, Northwestern University, Illinois) led a lively session for a small group of DTP Doctoral students.  Continue reading →

The Wales Doctoral Training Partnership is pleased to announce that it has been allocated a further three* fully-funded studentships for doctoral projects aligned with the Westminster government’s Industrial Strategy. Continue reading →

We will be carrying out some updates to our website on Wednesday 26 April. These will primarily affect logging in (for example to make a booking for one of our events, or to update a profile) although the whole website may be down briefly between 9am – 11am. We apologise for any inconvenience this causes. We will have things back to normal as soon as possible.

Wales DTP student Siobhan Maderson (Human Geography, Aberystwyth) is one of 12 students nationally to have been shortlisted for the ESRC’s writing competition ‘Making Sense of Society’. Continue reading →

‘Making the Case for the Social Sciences: Education’ was launched at an event at Portcullis House, Westminster. Wales DTP director Professor David James chaired the advisory group, and attended the launch event. Continue reading →

In 2017 will take in our first students as the ESRC Wales Doctoral Training Partnership (DTP). As many of you will know, this partnership has been accredited by the ESRC for six years and will build on the work of the ESRC Wales Doctoral Training Centre (DTC) over the last six years. Continue reading →

Swansea University’s annual Research and Innovation Awards celebrate the range of excellent research at the University. Almost 90 applications from the University’s seven colleges were received for the ten award categories, and the winner of the Rising Star (Postgraduate Research) was Wales DTC student David Mair. Continue reading →

Wales’ largest social science conference took place at the new Bay Campus at Swansea University last week.

The seventh annual WISERD conference brought together practitioners, policy makers and social scientists with over 70 papers being presented this year. The Wales DTC sponsored two competitions. Continue reading →

The RCUK internship scheme offers a wide range of placements to ESRC funded students. Benefits include the opportunity to network and develop a range of transferable skills and knowledge. Continue reading →

Two Wales DTC Cardiff Business School students, Hushneara Begum and Karen Wontner, have recently been shortlisted for prestigious Welsh National Procurement Awards and attended a ceremony on Thursday 10 June in Bangor. Continue reading →

Wales DTC Student Michael Scott Evans (Cardiff School of Psychology) was shortlisted for the Most Effective Teacher 2016 at the Enriching Student Life Awards hosted by Cardiff University Students Union.  Continue reading →

The referendum on whether the UK should remain in the EU takes place on Thursday 23 June 2016. Continue reading →

We are always keen to hear news from Wales DTC students, and to share it with others on our website, in our newsletter, and via our social media accounts. If you have something to tell us – maybe you have been on an overseas visit, published a book, been awarded a prize or completed an internship, for example, or just had a turning-point in your PhD – then please get in touch and let us know. Continue reading →

The ESRC and North West Doctoral Training Centre invite ESRC funded students to attend the all-years ESRC Postgraduate Research Conference for current ESRC-funded PhD students. Continue reading →

On Thursday 5 May 2016, elections will be taking place to the National Assembly for Wales as well as the Scottish Parliament; the Northern Ireland Assembly; some local authorities in England, including for the directly elected Mayors of London, Bristol, Liverpool and Salford; and for Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) in England and Wales (excluding London and Greater Manchester – subject to legislation). Continue reading →

The Wales DTC is seeking enthusiastic students to take up the role of DTC Student Representative for each of Aberystwyth, Bangor, Cardiff (2 Student Rep positions available) and Swansea Universities.  As a Student Representative you will be a conduit for comments/ideas from your fellow ESRC funded students across the academic schools and pathways in your institution (talking to people in coffee breaks, at events or communicating via electronic media are ideal). You will relay feedback to the DTC, both positive and negative, about the PhD student experience and help us identify training needs, areas where we could develop better information and guidance, and other potential future DTC support. It is important to us that we are able to hear your comments and proposals in order to help enhance your research training and overall PhD student experience. Continue reading →

Jessie Abrahams, a third year ESRC DTC student at Cardiff University has just published a book entitled Bourdieu: The Next Generation. Continue reading →

The ESRC have announced details of the 2016 Celebrating Impact Prize. This is an exciting opportunity to celebrate the outstanding economic and social impacts achieved by ESRC-funded researchers. Continue reading →

The next WISERD Conference will take place in Swansea 13-14 July and we will be be sponsoring two competitions. Continue reading →

We are pleased to offer two new internships in the second cycle of our scheme with the Welsh Government, open to ESRC-funded Wales DTC and South West DTC students.

Continue reading →

Wales DTC student Anna Scedrova (Cardiff Business School) was offered a place on the Study China Programme, following an ESRC-funded overseas institutional visit to the USA. This prestigious programme is managed by the University of Manchester and funded by the Government Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. Continue reading →

The Children’s Commissioner for Wales and her team promote and safeguard the rights and welfare of children and young people in Wales. There is an opportunity available for a three-month internship at the Commissioner’s offices in Swansea, with some travel for fieldwork, and the possibility of an element of home-based working. Continue reading →

The ESRC Student Internship scheme has been incorporated into a new scheme involving all the research councils. This scheme is very similar to the ESRC scheme, offering a wide range of placements to ESRC funded students. Continue reading →

Wales DTC student Amy Jones was awarded the prize for best student presentation at the ESRC Constructing and Deconstructing Selfhood conference last month. She gave a presentation on how identity is negotiated on the Wales Coast Path. Continue reading →

We are pleased to announce the launch of a new internship scheme with the Welsh Government, open to ESRC-funded Wales DTC students. We are now inviting applications for internships in this first cycle. Continue reading →

Swansea University hosted our third annual training Language Based Area Studies pathway workshop on July 6. This was focussed on ‘The Use of Foreign Language Skills in Social Science Research’ Continue reading →

The Wales DTC supported two competitions at last week’s WISERD Conference. The Learned Society for Wales sponsored a cash prize of £200 for the winner of our student poster competition, and we awarded a selection of recent books from two leading social science publishers (up to the value of £150) in our new “3MEI” three-minute engagement/impact session. Continue reading →

What will social science have achieved over the next 50 years? Write up to 800 interesting, engaging, thought provoking words on “The World in 2065” to enter this enter this writing competition aimed at the next generation of creative social scientists.

Continue reading →

We are inviting applications for a 1-month internship this summer/autumn, based in Cardiff.
Continue reading →

The House of Commons Library has produced a very useful document on sources of statistics for 27 subject areas covered by the Economic Policy & Statistics and Social & General Statistics sections of the House of Commons Library.

You can download the document as a PDF.

The Academy of Social Sciences announced on Friday that it has conferred the award of Fellow on Wales DTC director David James and other leading social scientists. David James, who is also a Professor in the School of Social Sciences at Cardiff University, is recognised in the Academy’s announcement as “an exceptional educational theorist with particular interests in learning cultures and school choice, identity and social class.” Continue reading →

On 7 May 2015, the General Election will take place across the UK.

As a non-departmental public body the ESRC is bound by purdah during a pre-election period. This period commences when parliament is dissolved and ends when a new government is formed (not when the polls close). During this time the ESRC is unable to engage in any activities that might in any way influence the outcome of the election and must avoid competition with parliamentary candidates for the attention of the public. Continue reading →

Wales DTC student David Mair together with his supervisor at Swansea University, Dr Stuart Macdonald, recently travelled to Ohrid, Macedonia, to contribute lectures to a NATO Advanced Training Course on terrorist use of cyberspace.

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The call for papers for the WISERD 2015 Annual Conference is now open.

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We are inviting applications for a 3 month internship running from March/April 2015, based in Cardiff. This is a re-advertisement, but please note the internship has been substantially revised, with shorter duration.

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The ESRC have announced details of the next Celebrating Impact Prize. This is an exciting new opportunity to celebrate the outstanding economic and social impacts achieved by ESRC-funded researchers. Continue reading →

We are inviting applications for a 6-month internship running from February 2015, based in Cardiff.
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Wales DTC student Hannah Iqbal represented the United Kingdom at the Future Leaders Summit last month. In conjunction with the NATO summit, this event was hosted by the Atlantic Council. Continue reading →

The latest addition to the Wales DTC’s growing bank of resources comes from Julie Latchem, who is just beginning her second year of her Cardiff-based PhD on the sociology pathway.  Continue reading →

During this week’s Wales DTC Multimodal Qualitative Research workshop, participants worked in groups on ‘Mapping the Park’ – an exploration of Cardiff’s Gorsedd Gardens as a research setting, thinking about the ideas of time and place.

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Jessie Abrahams’ (Education pathway, Cardiff) paper at the British Sociological Association Conference caught the eye of Laurie Taylor and his producer on Radio 4’s Thinking Allowed, and the resulting interview was broadcast on the programme on 4th August. Continue reading →

The ONS Public Policy Analysis Division in Newport has three Internship opportunities, and is working directly with DTCs to offer the Internships to ESRC funded students. The internships are for 6 months each, commence between Autumn 2014 to January 2015.

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Doctoral students attending the recent WISERD conference in Aberystwyth were invited to enter two competitions, both with cash prizes of £200. Continue reading →

Heather Norris is a full-time PhD student at the University of Aberystwyth, in the Law and Criminology Department. Heather was awarded a departmental scholarship in September 2012. Her PhD study has the working title The Impact of Restorative Approaches on Happiness, School Engagement and Self Esteem. This essay was awarded the Wales DTC prize at the Wiserd Conference 2014. Continue reading →

Wales DTC student Lucy Baker has won the RT Wynne Medallion Prize for the Best Student Paper – Transport. Continue reading →

Nicholas Griffin began a Wales DTC scholarship in 2012. Over the past few months, the topic of his PhD has become inextricably linked with the international news story that has been dominating the headlines. Here, he gives us an insight into the regional differences in Ukraine and looks beyond the media coverage. Continue reading →

The Wales DTC is seeking enthusiastic students to take up the role of DTC Student Representative for each of Aberystwyth, Cardiff and Swansea Universities (a rep for Bangor has recently been appointed).  As a Student Representative you will be a conduit for comments/ideas from your fellow ESRC funded students across the academic schools and pathways in your institution (talking to people in coffee breaks, at events or communicating via electronic media are ideal). You will relay feedback to the DTC, both positive and negative, about the PhD student experience and help us identify training needs, areas where we could develop better information and guidance, and other potential future DTC support. It is important to us that we are able to hear your comments and proposals in order to help enhance your research training and overall PhD student experience. Continue reading →

On 22 May 2014, elections will be taking place for the European Parliament, and in many local authorities in England and Northern Ireland. There will also be elections for the directly elected Mayors of four London boroughs: Hackney, Lewisham, Newham and Tower Hamlets; and for the directly elected Mayor of Watford. Continue reading →

The Academy of Social Sciences has published a statement towards the major evaluation of the UK DTC Network that is currently underway. The statement can be accessed [PDF] on the Campaign for Social Science website.

The Centre for Language and Communication Research at Cardiff, together with ESRC PhD International Partnering Scheme partners at the University of Delhi, are inviting abstracts for an interdisciplinary conference with the theme “Downscaling Culture: Revisiting Intercultural Communication” to be held in Cardiff in September. Continue reading →

Following an ESRC training event held in November 2013 on international comparative methods, a Linkedin group has been initiated to encourage the sharing of information, contacts and opportunities. Continue reading →

New dates for the popular media training offered by the ESRC have been announced. These events are specifically aimed at PhD students and postdoctoral researchers to equip them with the skills to disseminate to the public, understand how the press works, and how to survive radio and TV interviews. Continue reading →

Eighteen postgraduate research students from across Swansea University, on Wednesday 19 February, competed in a ‘3MT’ (‘three-minute thesis’) event, which entails doing just this. Each had 180 seconds and one slide to convey the essence of their Doctoral research to a mixed audience/ Continue reading →

The annual student-led Spotlight on Social Science conference for 2014 is approaching, and the call for abstracts has gone out: Continue reading →

The call for papers for the 2014 International Women’s Day Conference is now open. Continue reading →

The ESRC funded first year student conference is a one day event held annually. It aims to inform and engage new PhD researchers with opportunities available to them as a part of the ESRC community.  The most recent of these events was held on Wednesday 27^th November 2013 at the University of Nottingham Continue reading →

​The AHRC have announced International Placement Scheme fellowships for 2014 and ESRC funded students are eligible for a fellowship of up to six months at the Library of Congress, the largest library in the world. Continue reading →

The Wales DTC will again be participating in the WISERD Conference in 2014. This year there will be two PhD student competitions running which we are supporting: a poster and a ‘collaboration’ short essay competition. Continue reading →

The Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (POST) is hosting a new fellowship scheme in collaboration with the ESRC. Fellows may work on a policy topic grounded in the natural sciences or technology, where social science research evidence has a key role to play, or on a more substantive social science topic of relevance to public policy. The scheme is designed to give students first-hand experience of working in science policy and a wide understanding of the work of Parliament. Continue reading →

WISERD are hosting an Office of National Statistics networking lunch and workshop in Cardiff. Continue reading →

The Japan Society for Promotion of Science Summer Programme provides the opportunity for current MPhil or PhD students to visit Japan and take part in collaborative research.  Continue reading →

The call for papers for the Wales and South West England Social Work Doctoral Conference 2014, which will be held in Swansea in February, is open. Full information is available on the conference website, and you can follow the conference Twitter account @DTCSwan2014. Continue reading →

The British Library runs a series of Doctoral Open Days aimed at first year PhD students who are new to the Library. These have a discipline focus, and there are two Social Science open days on 2 and 13 December. Continue reading →

The ESRC have announced details of the next Celebrating Impact Prize. This is an exciting new opportunity to celebrate the outstanding economic and social impacts achieved by ESRC-funded researchers. Continue reading →

The Judicalis Group (judicalis.org) is a volunteer-run, not-for-profit, international consortium of academics and professionals founded in May of 2013 by several UK based PhD candidates in order to provide a platform for new academics to present expert views through blogging.  The blogs cover, inter alia, the topics of law, society, politics, security, international relations, diplomacy, and crime. The Judicalis Group also archives open-access publications on these topics and is working towards developing a working paper series and a strong social media presence. Continue reading →

The ESRC have announced internship opportunities for 2013/14, including internships with Ceredigion County Council, the Welsh Government and the Welsh Health Specialist Services Committee.

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The College of Policing is the professional body for the police with the aim of using knowledge of ‘what works’ to support evidence-based policing. It has recently announced a partnership with the ESRC to work with a consortium of universities on a ‘What Works Centre’ for crime reduction. The College is also running an ‘Evidence Base Camp’ to which it is keen to invite social science students. Continue reading →

A one-hour workshop for doctoral students and early career researchers on publishing in leading journals will take place during the ERU Conference 2013 in Cardiff. Continue reading →

DECIPHer are currently recruiting a full time Research Associate to work on a research project funded by the Welsh Government to investigate childhood exposure to second hand smoke in cars. The successful applicant will prepare, set up, conduct and record the outcomes of fieldwork with children in schools, for a cross sectional survey examining smoking in cars carrying children in Wales. They will be responsible for preparing questionnaire packs for students, liaising with schools regarding data collections, collecting smoking questionnaire data and saliva samples in primary schools across Wales. Continue reading →

The Social and Cultural Geography Research Group have announced the “Reading & Writing Social and Cultural Geography” Weekend Away, supported by the Wales DTC, which takes place at Gregynog Hall in early November. Continue reading →

The Wales DTC was pleased to host a PhD student poster competition at the WISERD Conference… and the winner was Amy Jones with her poster on Walking Wales. Continue reading →

The British Sociological Association and the BBC Radio 4 programme Thinking Allowed have announced the creation of a new Award for Ethnography, to recognise the most influential study by a UK researcher. Continue reading →

The prosecution of ‘terrorists’ in the United Kingdom lies with the police supported by the Security Service (MI5) and other agencies. To do so successfully the UK has seen the formation of an integrated Counter Terrorism network since the events of 11th September 2001. This network seeks to investigate terrorism in all its forms including the threat from ‘cyber’ attack and the contemporary terrorist’s use of the internet both as a radicalization tool and a communication method. This seminar with Wynne Jones, on Tuesday 9 July 10.30-12.30 at Swansea University, aims to inform researchers of the composition of the UK’s investigative network and to highlight the issues around modern day terrorist and counter terrorism policing. The venue is the Richard Price Building, Room G38. Continue reading →

The Feminist Research Conference at the Docklands Campus, University of East London is a one day conference taking place on Tuesday 23 July. It is designed for researchers, academics and PhD students with an interest in feminist theory for research, and will include academics whose research work has covered various perspectives on feminist theory. In addition, there will be breakout groups where participants can choose to take part in discussions on women and the economy, intersectionality and reflexivity. Continue reading →

The Society for Research into Higher Education ‘Newer Researchers Conference’ takes place on 10 December at Celtic Manor, Newport. Abstracts are invited that engage in Higher Education research associated with a number of themes detailed within the call for papers, echoing the theme of the SRHE Annual Research Conference ‘Experiencing Higher Education: Global Trends and Transformations’. The call also describes the types of submission sought. Abstracts of 400 words must be submitted by Monday 15 July, online, via the SRHE website. Continue reading →

The Understanding Society Research Conference is an international conference presenting new research based on longitudinal data (including Understanding Society which is primarily funded by the ESRC and based at the University of Essex). It will bring together people from different disciplines, presenting papers on aspects of sociology, economics, politics, social psychology, research and survey methods, and other studies. Continue reading →

The Vitae-funded SHARE (Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts Researcher Education) network will present a one-day session on Friday 12 July, exploring both why and how we should and can encourage, support, and maximize the development of inter-disciplinary, cross-disciplinary and multi-disciplinary research. The event will be hosted by University College London and will include presentations given by academic staff at various stages of their careers, research developers, and representatives of the Research Councils. Continue reading →

The Voluntary Sector Studies Network (VSSN) New Researchers Network is for those working, studying or researching in the third or voluntary sector. There is a New Researchers’ Session taking place at the NCVO/VSSN Researching the Voluntary Sector Conference, which takes place at Sheffield Hallam University 10-11 September. Continue reading →

The British International Studies Association Postgraduate Network is inviting  abstracts for its conference which is to be held in Warwick on October. Continue reading →

This seminar, hosted by the Society for Research into Higher Education, Collier Street, London, will explore public engagement, the challenges and opportunities, from the postgraduate and the HEI perspective, and provide useful insights into both with presentations and group discussion. Continue reading →

The ESRC Centre for Corpus Approaches to Social Science (CASS) has issued a call for participation for the first ESRC Summer School in Corpus Approaches to Social Sciences which is taking place at Lancaster University from 16 – 19 July 2013. The event is aimed at junior social scientists, especially PhD students and postdoctoral researchers, in any of the social science disciplines. The summer school will be of interest to those with an interest in the analysis of social issues via text and discourse, especially on a large scale. Continue reading →

The School of Education, Communication & Language Sciences at Newcastle and Durham University’s School of Education are holding a two-day workshop for doctoral students on the development and use of visual methodologies. The workshop will take place on Monday, 01 July and Tuesday, 02 July 2013 at Durham University. Continue reading →

Translations: Exchange of Ideas is an interdisciplinary postgraduate conference in Cardiff June 27 – 28. Doctoral researchers from the humanities and social sciences are invited to attend. Organised by and for doctoral students, this conference will encourage participants to consider how the theme of translation relates to their own research and how their work relates to other researchers both within their subject area and in different disciplines within the humanities and social sciences. There will be a number of panels with presentations on topics such as literature, space, art, translation practice, and colonialism. Continue reading →

This roundtable will feature eminent social scientists and practitioners discussing the ‘usefulness’ and ‘practical relevance’ of social science research, beyond its intellectual and theoretical contributions, addressing themselves to questions: How useful is social science? Could it be more useful? Are there costs in pursuing usefulness? Continue reading →

The Manchester Metropolitan University Summer Institute in Qualitative Research takes place 22-26 July and is subtitled ‘Putting Theory to Work’. The directory of the Wales DTC, Professor David James, will be one of the keynote speakers. Continue reading →

The Manchester Methods Summer School will be held at the University of Manchester 17-21 June. Participants will select a single course for the duration of the school. Each course will deliver four days of content to a five-day timetable (Monday afternoon to Friday lunch-time). The fee for external students is £500. Continue reading →

The Sustainable Places Research Institute is launching a new Sustainability Science Summer School 24-28 June this year. The Summer School will provide a unique and high quality research training forum for interdisciplinary doctoral and postdoctoral researchers in the field of sustainability science and place-making. Continue reading →

The British Sociological Association Medical Sociology (Wales) will be hosting an informal seminar on Monday 10 June, 2-4pm at Swansea University on ‘Use of sedatives in end-of-life care: legislation and practice’ and everyone is welcome to attend. Continue reading →

This two-day workshop illustrates a quantitative social science approach to texts developed by the author, Quantitative Narrative Analysis (QNA). The speaker is Roberto Franzosi, Professor of Sociology and Linguistics, Emory University. It takes place 5-6 June, and is hosted by the Cardiff School of Social Sciences in the Glamorgan Building, Cardiff; there are 15 places available for attendees from outside Cardiff. Continue reading →

The call to hold an event as part of the 2013 Festival is now live. The Festival will be running from 2-9 November 2013.

Event organisers can apply for up to £2,000 of sponsorship from the ESRC, or to list events without ESRC sponsorship. Continue reading →

The Security Research Group (SRG) at the Department of International Politics, Aberystwyth University, invites PhD students, and Masters students interested in further research, to present a paper at the postgraduate workshop ‘Strategy in the 21st Century’ on 6 August 2013. The event’s keynote address will be given by Professor Mark Webber, Birmingham University. Continue reading →

‘Spotlight on Social Sciences’ is an annual conference organised and run by and for postgraduate researchers from all subjects within the social and economic sciences. It took place on Thursday the 14^th of March, 2013 at Cardiff University. In total, 50 PhD students attended the conference with delegates and presenters from Cardiff University, University of Bath, Bangor University and Cardiff Met. Dr. Katie Featherstone from the School of Nursing & Midwifery Studies opened the conference with an interesting keynote on ‘Risky relations: what is family in the context of genetic risk?’ Continue reading →

Two Wales DTC students Sam Hubble and Erin Roberts (along with fellow PhD student Catherine Cherry) helped to organise the very successful Tyndall Centre PhD conference ‘Climate Transitions: Connecting People, Planet and Place’. 80 delegates from institutions across the UK and further afield attended the conference – held at Cardiff University 3rd-5th April. Continue reading →

Applications are being invited for 10 week internships this summer at the dot.rural Digital Economy Hub, based at the University of Aberdeen, and applications are particularly welcomed from PhD students. The deadline for applications is 26 April 2013 and decisions will be announced on 17 May. Internships will start between 18 June and 30 September. Continue reading →

The School of Psychology at Bangor University is celebrating its 50th Anniversary and in celebration are organising a Summer School on the investigation of the human mind with event-related potentials.

Attendees will learn how to conduct, analyse and interpret event-related potential studies in psychological domains like memory, development, mindfulness, language, and perception and cognition. The emphasis will be on practical sessions and hands-on experiences with the analysis of event-related potentials like the treatment of artefacts and eye movements, filtering, segmentation, averaging, baseline correction and data measurements. Continue reading →

The British Sociological Association Medical Sociology (Wales) will be hosting an informal seminar on Thursday 25th April, 12.30-2.00pm at Cardiff University on ‘The implications of the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust Public Inquiry’ and everyone is welcome to attend. Continue reading →

The aim of the Cardiff policy café is to bring together researchers, policy-makers and practitioners to encourage reflection and debate about research, policy and practice in diverse fields of social and public policy activity. The events are monthly, and the next one will take place on Tuesday 23rd April, 5.30 – 7.00, on ‘What and who needs funding in Wales?’. The venue is the Committee Rooms in the Glamorgan Building at Cardiff University. Cheese and wine will be provided. Continue reading →

As part of the British Sociological Association‘s annual conference there is a pre-conference postgraduate workshop on Tuesday 2nd April (the conference takes place from Wednesday 3rd April to Friday 5th April) at the Grand Connaught Rooms in London. Professor David James, directors of the ESRC Wales DTC is one of the keynote speakers; the others are Dr Matthew Waites and Professor John Solomos. Continue reading →

The Tyndall Centre’s Annual PhD Conference “Climate Transitions Connecting People, Planet and Place” is now less than a couple of weeks away. The hashtag for discussion on Twitter is #TyndallPhDConf and the conference takes place from 3rd-5th April 2013 at Cardiff University. Continue reading →

The next round of ESRC media training days has been announced. These courses are run by the ESRC’s Senior Communications Manager, and they are free of charge to ESRC funded students. Continue reading →

The ESRC Final Year Student Conference takes place on 24 April 2013 at Sheffield, and it is a great opportunity for early career researchers to gain an insight into the grants application process. There will be advice and discussion on future careers with a broad panel of experts. Continue reading →

Human Geography students from across Wales came together this week for the annual Wales Human Geography Postgraduate Conference at Gregynog. This is an opportunity for all first and final year PhD students from Aberystwyth, Cardiff and Swansea to present their research as well as meeting and networking with peers from across Wales in the beautiful rural setting of Gregynog Hall. Continue reading →

The Sixth Doctoral Student Research Conference hosted by the School of Education and Social Work at the University of Sussex will take place on Thursday 27th June 2013, from 8.30am-5pm in the University’s Fulton Building. Continue reading →

Join Jorge Cham, the man behind the hugely popular PhD Comics, for a fun and informal talk about his experiences in bringing humour into the lives of stressed out PhDs! The talk, which takes place at Cardiff University on Wednesday 17 April at 4:30pm in the Julian Hodge Building, will also examine the source of PhD anxieties and explore the guilt, the myth, and the power of procrastination. Continue reading →

The ESRC is increasing its engagement with the retail sector, and one element of this is the opportunity for academics and Masters’ students to work on retail research Master dissertation projects with major companies such as Boots, British Gas, Camelot Co-operative, E.ON Energy Solutions, and Experian on projects which are important to the retail industry.

Retailers will be proposing projects, and students’ applications will be welcomed, throughout February and March 2013. Continue reading →

The Wales DTC is seeking enthusiastic students to take up the role of DTC Student Representative for each of Aberystwyth, Bangor, Cardiff and Swansea Universities.  As a Student Representative you would be a conduit for comments/ideas from your fellow ESRC funded students across the academic schools and pathways in your institution (talking to people in coffee breaks, at events or communicating via electronic media are ideal). Continue reading →

The National Accounts Division within the National Statistics Office is holding a Roadshow event at its premises in Newport on the afternoon of Friday 15th of March between 1 and 4.30pm (times to be confirmed).  The aim is to offer students studying in surrounding universities the chance to find out more about National Accounts, and indeed more about the National Statistics Office as a whole. Continue reading →

There are seven internship opportunities available with the Welsh Government as part of the ESRC Student Internship opportunities announced last week. Continue reading →

The ESRC have announced internship opportunities to spend up to six months in a non-academic organisation within the public, civil society (voluntary) or private sector where ESRC-funded PhD students can work as part of a team involved with policy/practice development. Students may apply to a maximum of two host organisations, and a maximum of two projects per host (up to four projects in total).  Continue reading →

The NCRM Network for Methodological Innovation on Web surveys for the general population aims to exchange knowledge, generate new thinking and work towards resolving a shared challenge in survey research: How – and to what extent – can the web be used to survey the general population? The Network is holding an opening conference on 25th & 26th February, and, keen to involve PhD students and early-career researchers, is offering them eight funded places. Continue reading →

The ESRC Wales DTC has been awarded around £35k in response to its bid to enhance the research training environment through international PhD partnering. Three partnerships have been set up, based on the Language Based Area Studies, Linguistics and Psychology pathways. In each case, the money supports a collaborative arrangement that is designed to be a fundamental part of the Doctoral programme.  In LBAS, a Cardiff student and supervisor will work closely with people in the Central European University based in Budapest on issues of European integration; in Linguistics, the link is with Delhi University and the research focuses on linguistic variation in English in an Indian context. In Psychology, the link is three-cornered, bringing together Doctoral students and supervisors in Cardiff, Karnatak (India) and Paraiba (Brazil) so that their research on values, emotion and action has an important dimension of cross-cultural comparison. Continue reading →

PopFest is an annual multidisciplinary population studies conference for postgraduate students, organised by fellow postgraduates. The 21st conference ‘Coming of Age’ will be hosted at the University of Southampton from the 8th to the 10th July 2013. An informal yet informative event, PopFest aims to bring together research students from a variety of disciplines with a common interest in population. This conference provides the ideal environment for postgraduates to present their work, further their knowledge and network with others in the field. Continue reading →

“Climate Transitions Connecting People, Planet and Place”, the Tyndall Centre’s Annual PhD Conference, which will be held 3rd-5th April 2013 at Cardiff University, is being organised by two ESRC Wales DTC students Sam Hubble and Erin Roberts, along with Catherine Cherry.

Doctoral researchers working in the field of climate change research are invited to participate in this conference that provides the opportunity for delegates to present their work and stimulate discussion, forge new research networks and gain insights from a variety of different perspectives from researchers working within the wider climate change arena. Continue reading →

Abstracts for oral or poster presentations should be submitted by 20th January for this two-day BSA-Sponsored regional postgraduate event will be hosted at the University of Nottingham on Monday and Tuesday 25th and 26th March 2013. Continue reading →

Registration for the ESRC First Year Student Conference closes on 31st January, in just two weeks time. The conference will take place on 8 February 2013 at Central Hall Westminster.

The conference is designed for all first-year DTC fellowship recipients, it is hosted by The London School of Economics and Political Science, and will focus on themes and networking designed to help DTC-funded students enhance their postgraduate training and research. Continue reading →

One persistent orthodoxy in debates about skills, poverty, low paid work and social mobility has been a belief that through offering poorly qualified adults access to particular types of state-funded education and training, they can be enabled to better their lot, progress in the labour market, and bargain successfully with employers for better wages and more interesting work. This belief found its purest form in New Labour’s Train to Gain (T2G) programme in England. Continue reading →

Politicians, academics and the public generally regard education as providing the path to individual success in market economies. Yet most evidence highlights that socio-economic (dis)advantage persists across generations, regardless of an individual’s pursuit of education. Continue reading →

The Spotlight on Social Sciences Conference 2013 is a student-led, interdisciplinary conference at Cardiff University which provides an opportunity for postgraduate research students to showcase current research in the social and economic sciences, and it is open to neighbouring institutions. The conference is aimed at researchers across all the social sciences and is free for all postgraduate students to attend. Continue reading →

For our last news item of 2012, we’d like to wish all our students, colleagues, partners and other friends a very merry Christmas and a happy new year! Nadolig llawen a blwyddyn newydd dda!

We will be back in 2013 with more updates, news and information from 7th January. Until then, enjoy the festive season!

Research Councils UK (RCUK) and the four UK Higher Education Funding Bodies have commissioned CFE and partners from the Higher Education Careers Services Unit (HECSU)and Sheffield University to carry out research into the value and impact of doctoral training. Continue reading →

We are pleased to report that the ESRC have launched a new Celebrating Impact Prize. This is an exciting new opportunity to celebrate the outstanding economic and social impacts achieved by ESRC-funded researchers. Continue reading →

There are a limited number of places remaining on the ESRC early career researcher media training course being held in Leeds on 30th January 2013.

The training, for PhD and Postdoctoral students, is run by by the ESRC’s Senior Communications Manager, generally for between 30-50 attendees. Continue reading →

International Placement Scheme opportunities for current AHRC/ESRC-funded PhD students have now been launched. These are opportunities to undertake short-term placements at the Library of Congress as part of the AHRC/ESRC.  Continue reading →

The Wales DTC ran an event, on 28th November 2012, looking at Welsh Government internships and the commissioning of research which can involve postgraduate researchers. This event examined how postgraduate research students can engage with policy, with speakers from the Welsh Government: Dr Steven Marshall, Chief Social Researcher; Dr Jamie Smith, Head of Local Government research; and Kimberley Horton, PhD intern. Continue reading →

This half-day event on 12th December aims to: (1) Identify the key issues affecting intra-EU mobility; (2) compare and contrast the latest evidence and policy perspectives on intra-EU mobility in the UK; and, (3) inform ongoing and future EMN studies in these important areas of migration policy. The event will include key speakers from the Home Office and academics from leading research centres. Continue reading →

Cardiff’s University Graduate College (UGC) are looking for 30 Cardiff postgraduate research students to take part in the pilot of the new Vitae online Professional Development Planner for a period of four months.

Vitae developed the Professional Development Planner to enable researchers to reflect record and plan their development against the Vitae Researcher Development Framework (RDF). Originally in the form of an interactive excel spreadsheet, it has been improved and refined as an online tool. Continue reading →

The Labour Force Survey/Annual Population Survey user meeting will take place on Monday 10th December. The Crime Survey user meeting will take place on Thursday 13th December. The venue for both meetings will be The Royal Statistical Society, London.

Each meeting will provide a forum for data users and producers to meet and discuss new developments and exchange information about the surveys. Continue reading →

The workshop “Introduction to UK Survey Data for studying Attitudes” takes place on Thursday 6 December 2012, Basement Lab, Humanities Bridgeford Street building, University of Manchester. It is a one-day workshop that introduces the UK survey data available for re-analysis and teaching via the Economic and Social Data Service website.

The focus of the workshop will be on data related to attitudes but many of the issues covered are applicable to other areas. The day is appropriate for those with little or no experience of the data. Continue reading →

The WISERD 2013 Conference will be held on 25-26 June 2013 in the University of Glamorgan Conference Centre [now the University of South Wales]. Keynotes include: Professor David Martin (Southampton); Professor Lindsay Patterson (Edinburgh); and Professor Laura McAllister (Chair of Sport Wales).

The 2013 conference is the fourth annual WISERD conference, and follows on from three successful conferences, held in Cardiff, Swansea and Bangor Universities. WISERD conferences attract colleagues from across the academic, policy, public, private, and third sectors in Wales; and have become established as one of the most important events in the social science calendar. Continue reading →

We are please to announce that 49 Wales DTC Studentships are available in a range of pathways commencing October 2013. We have published a list detailing how many studentships are available for each pathway on this site. Full details of the studentships will be provided by the institutions within the Wales DTC consortium: as these are published on school and department webpages, we will be updating our list to provide links through to those details. We will be updating regularly as those announcements are made, so keep an eye on the page or follow our Twitter feed.

The the tenth annual ESRC Festival of Social Science takes place next week, beginning on Saturday. Over 185 free events are being held from 3-10 November 2012 around the UK and a full programme of events is available. Continue reading →

A free seminar, on choosing the right software for qualitative and mixed-methods analysis, will take place on 9th November at the University of Birmingham. Continue reading →

The Cabinet Office (CO) is looking for two quantitative analysts with experience of handling large datasets (such as Understanding Society or the Labour Force Survey) to inform policy delivery.  This may provide an opportunity for research staff, post-docs or PhD students. An ESRC funded student would have to suspend their studentship if they were successful in obtaining this post. Continue reading →

An opportunity is available for a Research Council funded student to travel to Cape Town in the week of 5 November 2012 to participate in a “Young Scientist Workshop”. This aims to bring together young South African and European scientists to prepare recommendations on how South Africa-EU research and innovation partnerships can be enhanced. Continue reading →

The Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) is holding three events to showcase opportunities for current AHRC/ESRC-funded PhD students, research assistants and early career researchers (ECR) to undertake short-term placements at the Library of Congress, the USA’s oldest federal cultural institution, during the 2013/14 academic year, as part of the AHRC International Placement Scheme (IPS).
Continue reading →

Video extracts of the ESRC Wales DTC formal launch proceedings which took place on 10th July 2012 at the Senedd, Cardiff Bay, are now available.  The programme of  speakers included Professor David James, ESRC Wales DTC Director, Mr Phil Sooben, Director of Policy and Administration, ESRC, Professor Noel Thompson, Pro Vice-Chancellor, Swansea University, Dr David Grant CBE, (now former) Vice-Chancellor, Cardiff University and Leighton Andrews AM. Continue reading →