Collaborative
C
ll b ti Doctoral
D t l Studentships
St d t hi
With Non-Academic Organsiations
Dr Robin
bi Humphrey
h
Director of Research Postgraduate Training
Faculty
y of Humanities and Social Sciences
Newcastle University, UK
What are they?
• Individual PhD projects developed by
academics and non-academic bodies
• Sponsored by all UK Research Councils,
through competitive tendering
• F
Focus hhere on the
h social
i l science
i
researchh
council, the ESRC
• For more information:
http://www.esrc.ac.uk/ESRCInfoCentre/opportunities/postgraduate/pgtrainingpolicy/index4.
aspx?ComponentId 4667&SourcePageId 5323
aspx?ComponentId=4667&SourcePageId=5323
Recent Examples
•
Fair
F
i T
Trade
d andd C
Community
i Empowerment:
E
in
i
collaboration with Tradecraft (local business)
•
Community
C
it supported
t d Agriculture,
A i lt
in
i collaboration
ll b ti with
ith
Defra (Govt. Dept)
•
Young P
Y
People’s
l ’ P
Participation
ti i ti in
i Community
C
it Music
M i
Activities, in collaboration with the SageGateshead
Music Centre
•
Teenage pregnancy and intergenerational cultural
influences, in collaboration with Northumberland
Health Authority.
Distinctive features for
doctoral candidate
• Experience of academic and non-academic
environments
• Experience of negotiating between two bodies
• Opens up two career paths
• Develop non-academic report writing and
communication skills on their PhD topics
Potential Difficulties
• Doctoral student caught between competing
agendas
d
• Three (or four) year doctoral project outside of
non-academic body’s experience
• Change in non-academic supervisor likely
• Doctoral student NOT a research assistant to
non academic partner!
non-academic