LISS DTP Monthly Newsletters

January 2022

Contents:

  1. Science Engagement PhD internship opportunity
  2. LISS DTP Open Competition Studentships for 2022-23
  3. PhD awards for LISS DTP students
  4. UK Collaborative Centre for Housing Evidence project
  5. LISS DTP Students’ Forum – 25th January
  6. LISS DTP Training – Spring 2022
  7. Entrepreneurial Mindset Training Programme
  8. Impact training: Translating your research to a non-academic world
  9. LISS DTP Postdoctoral Fellowships, 2022-23
  10. PGR Wellbeing Hub at KCL

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1. Science Engagement PhD internship opportunity – application deadline: 12th January

The Royal Institution is world-renowned as the home of science and they are curerntly looking for a PhD student to take on an internship as Science Engagement Intern to join their Schools Programme for a 3-month placement to gain experience of education outreach and science communication. The internship is from end of February to end of June 2022.  The Science Engagement Intern will lead on the launch of the new ‘Faraday Box’ pilot scheme to develop partnerships with our local school communities.

Full information about this internship programme and details on individual placements, timeframes and how to apply are available at: https://www.rigb.org/about/work-with-us/programme-placements/phd-internships

The closing date for receipt of applications is 9.00am on Wednesday, 12th January.

The role is based in Central London, with a mix of home and office working; successful candidates will be expected to base themselves within or near to London for the period of the placement.

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2. REMINDER – LISS DTP Open Competition Studentships for 2022-23

There are now just under 3 weeks for candidates to apply for ESRC Open Competition Studentships through the LISS DTP.  Four year (1+3) studentships, involving a Masters’ degree leading to a PhD, are available, as well as three year (+3) doctoral studentships (PhD only) at one of three institutions. Current 1st year full-time PGR students or 1st/2nd year part-time PGR students are eligible to apply for the remainder of their PhD study.

If you know of anybody who may be interested in applying, the online application form, along with further guidance, can be found on the LISS DTP website at https://liss-dtp.ac.uk/studentships/studentship-competition-the-application-process/.

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3. PhD awards for LISS DTP students

Two LISS DTP students have recently been awarded their PhD – namely, Gavin Stewart  (graduating from King’s College London) and Matthew Barnfield (graduating from Queen Mary University London).  Both already have their first postdoctoral roles, at UCL and The University of Exeter respectively, and we wish Gavin and Matthew the very best in all their future endeavours.

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4.  UK Collaborative Centre for Housing Evidence – Equality, Diversion & Inclusion

Over 2020 a number of events (both publicly and through research projects conducted) highlighted the current lack of focus on equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) in UK Housing Studies, and particularly in the UK Collaborative Centre for Housing Evidence (CaCHE) research agenda. We want to change this.

LISS DTP PhD student, Nadia Ayed, as part of her internship has been involved in a CaCHE project that aims to support and encourage people to talk about their experiences of housing and home. Housing is central to all of our lives, but our experiences – whether that be access to safe and secure accommodation, ensuring our housing remains fit-for-purpose through our life course, how it affects our mental and physical health, how people feel within their home and the surrounding communities, discrimination people might be facing – vary considerably. Through meaningful and engaging conversations about housing and diversity, CaCHE wants to highlight where there are gaps in understanding, data and research, to highlight and promote evidence where it does exist and raise the profile of best practice across the sector.

The project is looking for further contributors.  If you would like to discuss this work and find out more about how you can contribute, please contact Dr. Gareth Young at gareth.young@sheffield.ac.uk.

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5. REMINDER: LISS DTP Students’ Forum – 25th January 2022, 3.00-4.00pm

The LISS DTP Directors will be holding a forum for all current LISS students on the afternoon of Tuesday, 25th January.  The meeting will be held online, via Teams at the following meeting link.  It is your chance to tell us how everything is going for you so far as a LISS DTP student – good and bad.  We hope to see you then.  We will send a separate reminder email in the coming weeks, which will include the meeting link again.

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6. LISS DTP  Training, spring 2022

Registration for our advanced methods training courses will be announced later this week. Please await a separate email announcement this week with full details including updated outlines and registration links.

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7. Entrepreneurial Mindset Training Programme – APPLICATION DEADLINE: Friday, 11th February 2022

The King’s College Entrepreneurship Institute will be delivering their annual Entrepreneurial Mindset Training Programme in spring 2022, available for LISS DTP students to apply to.

This is a great additional training opportunity for you to develop a new skill set and mindset, enhance your employability, improve your CV, test your ideas by pitching to a panel of experts and get inputs and validation. It is also a great chance to interact and work together with PhD students from different disciplines, academic departments, expanding your network and horizon.

The course will be delivered over a 4-stage programme between the months of March and July 2022, and will focus on providing you with an entrepreneurial skill-set: innovation, ideation, applications, commercialisation, team-working, collaboration, risk taking, effective communication, critical thinking and impact.  It is mandatory that students attend all 4 training sessions, coaching sessions and the final Live Pitch event.

Applicants must be in the advanced stages of their PhD, or close to submission. If you are interested, please discuss with your supervisor to obtain their support prior to submitting an application.

The application deadline is Friday, 11th February 2022.  Full information on how to apply will be sent separately later this week.

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8. Impact training: Translating your research to a non-academic world

Wednesday 19th January 2022 (9:30am to 4.30pm – full day)

Thursday , 27th January 2022 (9:30am – 12.30pm – half day)

If you are very interested in attending but have conflicting commitments, please let Lucy Thomas (lucy.thomas@kcl.ac.uk) know.

With the competitiveness of the current academic job market and scarcity of post-doctoral opportunities, it is crucial to be able to communicate your research and skills gained from your PhD to non-academic audiences. This online workshop has been designed to help you develop the skills to be able to translate your research in a non-academic and non-research context.

In this workshop, you will learn how to:

  • explore your own enterprising skills and how they relate to translating academic research to a non-academic audience;
  • identify ideas for creating value from your research;
  • develop ideas that create value and make a difference to others;
  • identify and communicate with stakeholders; and
  • pitch yourself and your research effectively to a chosen audience.

You will learn how to translate your research to a non-academic world in the first full-day workshop (Wednesday, 19th January 2022), and present a 2-minute video communicating your research in a non-research context in the second half-day (Thursday , 27th January 2022). Both sessions will be held online.

To apply for the workshop, please fill out the form here.

Please contact Lucy Thomas (lucy.thomas@kcl.ac.uk) with any queries or for further information.  Further information is also available in the attachment to this newsletter.

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9. LISS DTP Postdoctoral Fellowships, 2022-23 – NOW AVAILABLE TO APPLY FOR

2022 ESRC Postdoctoral Fellowships, through the LISS DTP, are now available to apply for.  Full details are available on the LISS DTP website at https://liss-dtp.ac.uk/esrc-pdf/.

The application deadline is 4.00pm on 23rd March 2022.

An online briefing session is taking place on Wednesday 19th January 2022, 15.30-16.30. If you would like to attend this session, please register via the link here: Post Doc Briefing session – 19th January 2022, 15.30-16.30

Postdoctoral Fellowships provide an opportunity for those in the immediate postdoctoral stage of their career to consolidate their PhD through developing publications, networks, as well as research and professional skills.

The Fellowships provide funding for up to one year full-time, or up to two years part-time to cover an annual salary plus up to £10,000 of additional costs (e.g., travel, conference attendance, training, fieldwork, mentoring time, etc.).

Proposals are welcome from both single disciplines and combinations of disciplines but the fellowship activities must be based at least 50% within the social sciences and must fall under one of LISS DTP’s Thematic Pathways: https://liss-dtp.ac.uk/thematic-pathways/.

The call is open to applicants who:

  1. completed their PhD at a research organisation that is part of a current ESRC-funded Doctoral Training Partnership (DTP) or Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT).
  2. by the application deadline (23rd March 2022), either have been awarded a PhD or submitted their thesis and passed their viva voce (or passed with minor corrections), with the expectation that their PhD will be awarded by the Fellowship start date (1st October 2022); AND,
  3. have no more than 12 months of active post-doctoral experience. This 12 month period is calculated from the date of the viva being passed to the closing date of the competition, 23rd March 2022.

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10.  PGR Wellbeing Hub at KCL

The Centre for Doctoral Studies at King’s College London provides a range of resources to maintain your health and wellbeing during the challenging process of studying towards a PhD. These resources, available to all LISS DTP students, exist to provide advice for everyday issues, to empower you to maximise your wellbeing, as well as to help in times of more serious difficulty.

The PGR Wellbeing Hub offers information on who is available to help, self care, research culture, diversity and inclusion, PGR communities, financial support, and more

Take a look at the PGR Wellbeing Hub.

Items for next newsletter: The LISS DTP team want to do more to help students disseminate information about events/activities they want to share with the rest of the cohort. If you have any items – Information and/or good news – to be included in our monthly newsletter, please send them to this email address for the attention of Stephen Wadsworth by 31st January, for the next newsletter, with all the details and we’ll include it in our next monthly circular! Newsletters will be sent in the first full working week of every month!