North West Social Science Doctoral Training Partnership
The Power of Overseas Institutional Visits
Miriam Tenquist, Sociology, University of Manchester (2019 Cohort)
Embarking on an Overseas Institutional Visit (OIV) isn’t just a journey; it’s a transformation. This blog takes you through the benefits of my recent OIV to the Hong Kong Sau Po Centre for Ageing, shedding light on the immense advantages such visits can offer. As a second-year PhD student exploring the experiences of the older Chinese diaspora in the UK, the OIV aimed to extend knowledge on non-western age-friendly initiatives, disseminate research findings globally, explore alternative research outputs, and build a more robust international network. As soon as I landed, I knew my trip would be much more than this.
Read MoreAgeing and Cognitive Frailty: Highlights from the Centre for Ageing Research Conference
Seren Parkman, Linguistics, Lancaster University (2021 Cohort)
How do we change as we age? From worms to brain waves the Centre for Ageing Research Conference at Lancaster University had a bit of everything. Hosted in the Lancaster Medical School by Dr Trevor Crawford and Dr Carol Holland, the conference brought together academics from every discipline including: linguistics, psychology, physics and medicine, around the theme of cognitive frailty. The day explored how age can affect us all across the lifespan focusing on what happens to our bodies as they age, but also how we may better improve the life experiences of individuals over time. The day was a mixture of brilliant talks, interesting posters, and in the spirit of Christmas, excellent mince pies.
Read MoreOIV to the University of Pennsylvania
James Breckwoldt, Politics, University of Manchester (2021 Cohort)
I was fortunate to spend ten wonderful weeks from September to November 2023 at the University of Pennsylvania (Penn) in Philadelphia for an overseas institutional visit.
I worked closely with my host supervisor, Professor Dan Hopkins, who provided invaluable guidance and feedback on a research paper I am developing on whether voters prioritise ‘culture war’ issue in an election. Professor Hopkins also connected me with a Penn PhD student, and we are now working on a project analysing the ideological sorting of American voters.
Read MoreCare, commitment and collaboration: sharing research findings throughout and at the end of PhD research projects
Liz Ackerley, Geography and Environment, University of Manchester (2017 Cohort)
From 2018-2022 I carried out a PhD project entitled ‘Young People’s Activism in Times of Austerity’. My project was a CASE studentship, meaning it was designed in collaboration with an organisation, in my case RECLAIM, a Manchester-based youth-informed equalities organisation, with the aim of undertaking research to support and inform their work. At the time of applying for the PhD I was working as a research assistant at the University of Bedfordshire at what is now called the Safer Young Lives Research Centre. There my role involved undertaking applied social research primarily related to young people’s participation in service design and delivery. Having seen the value of research and practice working together, as well as having a longstanding interest in and experience of working with young people across a range a contexts including education and campaigning, a collaborative research project with a brilliant youth organisation really appealed to me.
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North West Social Science Doctoral Training Partnership 