North West Social Science Doctoral Training Partnership
Five Tips on Navigating the NWSSDTP Scholarship Application: Reflections from a First-Generation Scholar
Ellie Campbell, Educational Research, University of Manchester (2024 Cohort)
As the first in my family to attend university, the idea of doing a PhD once felt out of reach. I always associated it with something that “never happens for people like me”. Obtaining the NWSSDTP scholarship wasn’t just an option, my PhD journey depended on it. No scholarship meant no PhD. Because of that, I felt enormous pressure.
Applying for the NWSSDTP scholarship was one of the most rigorous and challenging processes I’ve undertaken. Yet, as a successful applicant, it has become one of the most rewarding. Here are my five tips for navigating the process, including what I wish I’d known when I began.
Read MoreConferencing Through my PhD: Spaces of Collaboration, Intellectualism and Growth
Cara Mattu, Development and Humanitarianism in an Unequal World, University of Liverpool (2021 Cohort)
As I enter my last month as a funded PhD researcher with the NWSSDTP, I have been reflecting on the opportunities I have been privileged to take advantage of over the last three years. One of the huge perks of being a DTP funded researcher is that each person is allocated a pot of money to attend conferences (and other things, see the guidance here).
Read MoreAttending The 2025 Annual RGS-IBG International Conference (Birmingham)*
*(Please read/listen to the narrated version or do both based on whatever you prefer)!
Sam Browning, Geography & Environment, University of Liverpool (2024 cohort)
I attended the 2025 Royal Geographical Society (RGS-IBG) Annual International Conference at the University of Birmingham (UOB) between the 26th and 29th of August. The symposium attracted over 2000 delegates across the four days to explore the overarching theme of ‘Geographies of Creativity / Creative Geographies’, organised and introduced by Conference Chair Prof. Patricia Noxolo (UOB). Here are some of my reflections and recommendations on how to get the most out of attending a future RGS or equivalent annual international conference as a first-time delegate1.
Read MoreEmotions and Feedback
Helena Kitto, Socio-legal Studies, Keele University (2019 cohort)
If you’re reading this, and you’re anything like me, then you’re familiar with some version of the phrase “I hate feedback”. Not in so many words maybe, my version of this expression is four letters long and is uttered a bit like a prayer when I see the email notification in my inbox that my supervisor has finally finished reading a piece of writing I’d already forgotten about. Depending on their feedback, the next few sentences might also be expressed in a similar fashion.
Read More
North West Social Science Doctoral Training Partnership 