This will vary depending on the final project scope. Expect to attend a small number of meetings at UWE’s Frenchay Campus. You will need your own IT equipment but there is plenty of communal workspace available on campus.
Contact:
Georgina.Gough@uwe.ac.uk
We would welcome students who wish to explore competence development in higher education, particularly in relation to education for sustainable development (ESD). We have ongoing work in education for sustainable development across the institution and there is potential for a student to co-design a placement project with us relating to their discipline or issues of interest.
Areas of focus include evaluating and reporting outcomes of ESD; building staff capacity for delivering ESD; development and assessment of ESD competences; ESD and PSRBs (professional statutory and regulatory bodies); business/ employer engagement; ESD and the civic university; and, ESD and ESD pedagogy. Please get in touch if you have an interest in any of these, or related, topics.
This is an ongoing opportunity with no set application deadline.
This webinar is jointly organised by the UK Data Service and CeLSIUS as part of the ESRC-funded data resources’ collaborative webinar series, ESRC data resources: discovering data and how to use it.
The webinar is for those who would like to know more about sources of data available for investigating education. It will focus particularly on longitudinal data but also touch on available cross-sectional sources.
The session will explore:
The range of longitudinal data on education available from the UK Data Service, including harmonised data, such as ‘Understanding Society: Waves 1-8, 2009-2017′ and ‘Harmonised BHPS: Waves 1-18, 1991-2009‘
The ONS Longitudinal Study, including the data structure, available research topics (with a focus on education) and procedures for access. Some results will be presented on how education relates to economic activity status through the life-course in a historical sample of young men and women
The value of using of longitudinal data for educational research purposes: case studies
The first 45 minutes of the webinar will be devoted to presentations from Beate Lichtwardt (UK Data Service) and Wei Xun (CeLSIUS), followed by 15 minutes of Q&A.
If you have any queries or require further information about this event, please contact the CLOSER Communications and Events Assistant, Jennie Blows (j.blows@ucl.ac.uk).
SWDTP students have access to ESRC training and workshops, and advanced training, as well as training through the Doctoral Colleges at partner institutions. Please see below for relevant external providers.
Essential Component: Development Needs Analysis (DNA)
Students commencing studies from October 2024 onwards, must engage with the Development Needs Analysis (DNA) process to identify and support ongoing training and development needs. This involves completing a DNA log provided to you by the SWDTP hub. Studentship funding is conditional on engagement with this important process. Further information will be provided at the commencement of your studentship, and can also be found on the Training and Development page of our website.
Essential Component: Placements
To find out more about placements and what we offer, please refer to the Placements section of the website.
Advanced Training/National Centre for Research Methods (NCRM)
NCRM training ranges from master classes in advanced quantitative and qualitative research skills, special lectures, seminars, and master classes involving keynote guest speakers from institutions worldwide.
All ESRC DTPs advertise advanced training offerings on the NCRM website. SWDTP PGR students are encouraged to participate in activities run by the wider social science community and should regularly visit the NCRM website to see what offerings are available. More information can be found at ESRC National Centre for Research Methods (ncrm.ac.uk)
Through MyDoctoralDevelopment doctoral researchers can access a wide range of training opportunities, online learning resources and get access to a variety of development opportunities throughout the year. We hope that these will help you to get the most out of your doctoral study and to enhance your future career prospects. Many of these skills are transferable and will enhance your employability both within and outside academia. We align our activities to the Researcher Development Framework (RDF) supporting your learning in the following key areas:
Every doctoral researcher has a six-monthly review to check that they are progressing with their research and training. This enables you and your supervisor to identify any potential problems at the earliest opportunity and to help ensure that work is completed to an agreed timescale. Once you are fully registered on the PhD you can find out more on the Doctoral Resource Hub.
University of Bristol
The Bristol Doctoral College (BDC) is dedicated to supporting the personal and professional development of all postgraduate research students, providing a hub of information and resources to help you get the most out of your time at Bristol.
The BDC organises university-wide events such as the Festival of Postgraduate Research and the Three Minute Thesis Competition specifically designed for researchers to develop communication skills, raise awareness of their work, and meet other researchers from across the University.
Alongside the specialist training you will receive in your own faculty, the BDC oversees the University’s central Personal and Professional Development (PPD) programme for postgraduate research students. This includes over 160 interactive workshops, seminars and resources covering everything from ‘Planning and Managing your PhD’ and ‘Writing quality papers’ to ‘Mindfulness workshops’ and ‘Developing a social media strategy’.
Every postgraduate research student has at least one annual progress monitoring (APM) review a year. This gives you the chance to reflect on your progress and confirm your plans for your next year of postgraduate study. You can find out more here: Annual progress monitoring | Current students | University of Bristol
University of Exeter
The Researcher Development Programme at the University of Exeter is for Doctoral and Early Career researchers, to enhance the professional skills associated with undertaking higher level research projects. The programme is aimed at assisting students to complete their research project on time, and to progress in their chosen career. The Research Development Team can help you through workshops, courses, careers guidance and funding to help you design your own development programmes.
The Researcher Development Programme at the University of Plymouth supports postgraduate research students and research staff. The programme offers research specific skills training as well as supporting researchers continuing into diverse careers. Sessions are complimented by diverse and experienced facilitators and involve participants from a mix of disciplines. Sessions are delivered both in class and via webinars.
At UWE Bristol we are committed to supporting the development of postgraduate researchers throughout their research degree programmes, from admission through to final examination. The nature of undertaking a higher degree by research has changed in recent years; there is now greater emphasis on the development of personal and professional skills as part of a research degree as well as the production of a thesis.
In recognition of the broader range of skills and abilities that need to be developed, UWE postgraduate researchers gain a minimum of 60 credits related to professional and personal development. The Graduate School provides skills development workshops, the module Research in Contemporary Context (RCC) and a residential course that, together with discipline-specific modules students may choose in Faculties, are designed to ensure that all areas of the Researcher Development Framework (RDF), published by Vitae, are addressed. The skills development programme, the RCC module, and the residential course are available across the whole University with the focus on the transferable and/or generic elements to support the subject specific provision within Colleges.
The Researcher Development Programme at Bath Spa is informed by the work of Vitaeand its Researcher Development Framework (RDF) and provides training, workshops, development opportunities, resources and events to suit the individual needs of the researchers within our community at Bath Spa University.
The programme offers a diverse array of sessions – from publishing, public engagement, resilience, research bidding, impact, communication, project and time management, supervision, or developing yourself or your research. These workshops are led by external specialists and internal practitioners and take place across the university campuses. There are mandatory core training sessions that students are required to attend at each stage of their PhD journey.
Alongside the central programme, we also offer a wide range of opportunities for development including ESR mentoring schemes, the Journeys in Research Series (in which ESR and PhD researchers can apply for funding to lead events for their colleagues), and MA modules in Research Supervision and Researcher Development. Opportunities are also available for students to gain experience as Research Assistants on our seed funded research projects scheme, working alongside academic staff on their research.
The Doctoral College Researcher Development Programme (RDP) is designed to support PGRs’ independent learning and progress, offering the flexibility to enhance research skills and professional development. With the support of their supervisory team, PGRs should identify and document their strengths and training needs and review their development regularly. A training needs analysis template can be found on the Doctoral College Brightspace. In accordance with the Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers, researchers are expected to engage in a minimum of 10 days professional development pro rata per year. How this is achieved will be individual to each PGR’s needs.
Plymouth Marjon
Doctoral students can access a wide range of training opportunities aligned to the Vitae researcher Development Framework (RDF). Training is offered both online and in person, with sessions offering an opportunity to mix with other postgraduate researchers and academic staff from different disciplines. Regular writing retreats and writing cafes are also offered as well as opportunities to present ongoing research in seminar sessions. The programme of events is available on the PhD Zone.
Every postgraduate research student has an annual review meeting with the PGR coordinator and their supervisory team. This offers an opportunity to reflect on progress and plans as well as consider additional development needs.
Vitae
Vitae, Researcher professional development (vitae.ac.uk) supports the personal, professional and career development of doctoral researchers and research staff in higher education and research institutions, by providing resources, advice, information and fora for individual postgraduate researchers and members of research staff:
– a dedicated researchers’ portal with information, news and opportunities
– a programme of national courses and activities
– careers information and advice, including surveys and research
– opportunities to input to national policy developments and initiatives.
The Centre for Multilevel Modelling (CMM) at Bristol is running two education-focused quantitative research method workshops using R at the School of Education. “R Progamming for Beginners” and “An Introduction to Rasch Modelling Using R”.
Is the combination of a grammar test and teacher assessment at the end of Key Stage 2 a valid and reliable assessment of writing?
Given the changed policy context in England for the assessment of writing over the past five years, and the high-stakes assessment context in which it occurs, I want to investigate the validity and reliability of the current assessment of writing at the end of KS2. Currently, this combines an external test of grammar and teacher assessment of writing.
Key theoretical thinking from assessment research will be used to consider writing assessment. The research will be routed in a sociocultural perspective of writing.
Data collection will consist of interviews with teachers, observations of moderation meetings, and statistical analysis of the relationship between the KS2 test results and the teacher assessment results. The statistical analysis will look at the correlation between the teacher assessment results and KS2 results. A qualitative analysis of ten pupils’ teacher assessed writing portfolios and their KS2 test results to investigate the relationship between the two will also be conducted.
Progression in Learning Skills: Developing a formative assessment framework to track, support and inform planning for the progression of Learning Skills in primary education
My research will primarily seek to create a formative assessment framework for tracking the progress of ‘Learning Skills’ (a term used in a number of schools and LAs to describe the skills or dispositions necessary for learning to learn, developing positive learning dispositions, metacognition and self-regulated learning) across primary school. This will take the form of a practical, teacher-friendly formative assessment framework that can be used by teachers and children to assess development in Learning Skills, in order to support children to make sustained and informed progress throughout their primary years.
In addition to supporting research projects, supervisors are also well-placed to offer guidance to help supervisees develop knowledge, skills and experiences that benefit them in and beyond academia. This includes helping them navigate the many opportunities available throughout their studies, determine which opportunities are most beneficial to their individual goals and aspirations, and reflect on achievements and development plans.
The SWDTP understands that institutions offer or require supervisory training locally. As such, we try to offer training in areas where we have identified gaps, such as strengthening the capacity to support the development of transferrable skills and ability to monitor wellbeing and signpost to appropriate support.
Getting to know the SWDTP
Our ‘Getting to know the SWDTP’ series of webpages explains our key processes, studentship requirements, and funding opportunities available to you.
Compulsory training for new supervisors
If you are supervising an SWDTP-funded student for the first time since the 2024/25 academic year, you must read this series and complete an accompanying short quiz before your supervisee commences study.
Supporting an SWDTP supervisee’s researcher development
Some SWDTP-funded students, depending on when their studies commenced, must engage with Development Needs Analysis (DNA) and complete a placement as part of their studentships. Read our best practice guidelines on what you can do to support your supervisee in taking full advantage of these opportunities to meet their development objectives.
Interdisciplinary Research Supervisor Training Workshop, 20 Jan 2025
This workshop aims to guide and support research supervisors in negotiating the complexity of interdisciplinary research supervision with tips and tools for best practice. This workshop will be useful for new and experienced research supervisors who are interested in learning more about how we can support students undertaking interdisciplinary research. The workshop is relevant for all disciplines.
The workshop was developed and led by Helen Thomas-Hughes (Associate Professor in Community-Engaged Research and Pedagogy, Cabot Education Director, University of Bristol), and Jo Rose (Associate Professor in Social Psychology of Education, University of Bristol).
This webinar, part of our Conducting Literature Reviews webinar series, explores the process of conducting a systematic scoping review. Using a worked example on education in the post-independence Indian diaspora, the session will outline the five-stage framework of Arksey and O’Malley (2005), covering search strategies, inclusion criteria, and thematic analysis. It will also discuss challenges in refining search terms, identifying relevant literature, and synthesising findings. This presentation provides practical guidance for doctoral students on conducting rigorous scoping reviews and demonstrates their value in mapping research landscapes.
This presentation will be presented by Dr Rita Chawla-Duggan, Associate Professor and Deputy Head of the Department of Education at The University of Bath. No interaction is expected, but there will be Q&A during the session.
The School of Education at the University of Bristol are pleased to extend an invitation to SWDTP-affiliated students and colleagues to attend the following event:
From research impact to commercialisation: the who, what & how of making your research impactful and sustainable
Hybrid event | 15:00 – 16:00, Wednesday 5th March 2025
Academics in the School of Education have been quite successful in impact work which has led onto commercialisation opportunities, including the options to license the toolkits arising from research to organisations to continue to deliver this work in practice or by the creation of social enterprises that create value to educators/pupils etc but also give the opportunity to reinvest into the enterprise.
This session, chaired by fellow School of Education academic Dr Frances Giampapa, aims to give you an understanding of what enterprise is and how to work from impact towards commercialisation in this panel session.
This workshop aims to guide and support research supervisors in negotiating the complexity of interdisciplinary research supervision with tips and tools for best practice. This workshop will be useful for new and experienced research supervisors who are interested in learning more about how we can support students undertaking interdisciplinary research, and is relevant for all disciplines.
The workshop will be led by Helen Thomas-Hughes (Associate Professor in Community-Engaged Research and Pedagogy, Cabot Education Director, University of Bristol), and Jo Rose (Associate Professor in Social Psychology of Education, University of Bristol).
Eligibility:
This opportunity is open to pathway leads and current supervisors of SWDTP students.
Registration deadline:
13th January, or until all spaces are filled.
A Zoom link will be sent to participants separately before the workshop.
Welcome back to a new series of the SWDTP’s Let’s Collaborate podcast, recorded at the SWDTP Student Conference: Architects of Change. In Episode 7, Dinara Shaimakhanova discusses her research into trilingual language policy and how it may be implemented and the acceptance or resistance of the policy.