North West Social Science Doctoral Training Partnership
Attending The Middle East and Central Asia Music Forum 2019
Fiona Potter, Social Anthropology, University of Manchester, 2019 Cohort
At the end of November, I took myself down to London to attend the Middle East and Central Asia Music Forum hosted at Birkbeck College. One of my supervisors, Caroline Bithell, had told me about it earlier on in the semester but what with it being just a few months into the extremely hectic first semester of PhD life, and what with me having nothing to present, and what with my inability to afford the train tickets, I’d written it off and put it on the hallowed “Maybe After Fieldwork” list. When I found out that the NWSSDTP would be able to cover the costs of my attendance, however, my excuses dissolved and I began looking forward to it.
Pause with Purpose with Will Medd
Oliver Kennedy, Business and Management, University of Liverpool, 2019 Cohort
‘Working with Will taught me how not just to pause, but to pause effectively to refill the tank and orientate for the next task’.
This one day workshop was designed to enable participants to ‘Take stock, let go and imagine what’s possible’. Through a wonderful range of activities the day invited participants to step back, take stock, experience alternative perspectives, explore common challenges and identify a clearer sense of the way ahead.
CASE Studentship with the Psychological Therapies Unit
Chloe Spence, Business and Management, University of Liverpool, 2018 Cohort
Telling people that you’re doing a PhD can provoke a wide variety of reactions, ranging from the flattering to the mildly offensive. While people are often impressed by the idea of (eventually, hopefully!) ‘becoming a doctor’, others are sceptical about just how much ‘real-world’ experience you can really get within the cushy, ivory-tower world of academia. Many of my friends – themselves having graduated years ago, or skipped university altogether and gone straight into the ‘real world’ – are certainly, understandably bemused by my still clinging onto the identity of studenthood, semi-jokingly questioning if I am ever actually going to leave university and get a (so called) real job.
Internship at the Australian Council for Educational Research
Sofia Eleftheriadou, Educational Research, University of Manchester, 2017 Cohort
Thanks to the NWSSDTP Internship scheme, I had the opportunity to undertake a placement at the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) in Melbourne, Australia. ACER is an educational research organisation with a long history in addressing learning across the life span and research expertise in national and international surveys, assessment and reporting, and research to inform educational policy and practice. ACER has also long been one of the contributors responsible for the implementation of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) in Australia and internationally. The PISA survey is of particular interest to me since I am using data from this assessment to investigate the measurement of the collaborative problem solving construct, and therefore, when searching for potential places to undertake a placement, I felt that ACER would be a great fit for me.
North West Social Science Doctoral Training Partnership 