Richard Ingrams Goal 4: Education for All
Richard Ingram received SWDTP impact funding to start his own podcast in the area of education and within that, the issues around the inclusion of marginalised learners. Richard has had a wide range of guests spanning from education experts to researchers to Ministry of education staff. His podcast has touched all areas of education and is a prime example of the benefits of podcasting and the opportunities involved around it.
Please click the dropdown for a piece from Richard himself:
I love listening to podcasts – and do so whenever I am driving, doing chores, drinking coffee, and even sleeping. Having not been able to find one that satisfied my thirst in the field of inclusive education, I decided to set one up.
I secured SWDTP impact funding to buy a microphone and to sign up to an online hosting platform. After that, it was just a case of finding willing participants to give up their time. Having previously had a foot in the waters of international education development, and having dived straight into the world of academia, I was able to invite some very interesting people to come on the show from all over the world. It was heartening to see that almost everyone invited responded positively, and were willing to give up their time. (From a selfish point of view, it has been a great way to network and to meet new people: “Hi, I love your work – would you like to come on my podcast…”)
I have just recorded my 50th episode and have had the pleasure of interviewing Ministry of Education staff from many countries; NGO staff; UN and World Bank decision makers; teachers; parents; researchers; and best-selling authors.
Since its production, Richard has been given the chance to produce a special series with UNESCO, and is now setting up a conference in Delhi with one of his guests. He has presented at the University of Cambridge, in Paris at UNESCO HQ, at the UN building in Eswatini and at Unisa in Pretoria. Richard is also in talks about writing a book based on the podcast!
Overall Richard has demonstrated both the impact of podcasting and the value of the impact fund when utilised. We at the SWDTP would like to wish Richard all the best in his future endeavours and a big congratulations on all of his hard work.
Click here to listen to Richards podcast.
Hannah Cowdells: Queer Qult Podcast
Marginalized Majority is a queer immigrant collective based in Canada which was founded to provide safe spaces for people with queer Global South identities.
Hannah Cowdell, one of our SWDTP-funded students applied for impact funding to work alongside Marginalized Majority to produce a podcast to serve as an extension to the group. The podcast, Queer Qult is currently still in development but we at the SWDTP are anticipating its release!
Hannah interviewed Jad Jaber, the founder of Marginalized Majority as part of her MRes dissertation. Through this, they began discussing the potential of running a podcast which the group had considered for some time. Hannah took the initiative to apply and receive impact funding for this amazing opportunity.
We at the SWDTP look forward to seeing the opportunities and lessons Hannah gains from this amazing experience.
Masha Remskar and Dr. Emily Hughes: Getting Brighter Podcast
In early 2023 Masha Remskar applied for impact funding to produce the ‘Getting Brighter’ podcast. Through her and Dr. Emily Hughes’ hard work and collaboration, they conceived the ‘Getting Brighter’ podcast. Masha noticed the need for a podcast that bridges the gap between the ‘hard science’ and the conversational ‘self-help’ style podcasts that we see presently. This became the main goal of Getting Brighter, to bridge that gap and allow its listeners to make informed decisions about their lives based on scientific information which has been made more digestible by the hosts.
Please click the dropdown for a piece extracted from an interview with Masha
Getting Brighter is a science communication podcast where we draw on psychological science, but also science from medicine and other related disciplines to give people advice and actionable insights into what we can all do better based on the science that we have. Part of the reason we thought we might be well placed to do this is because we’re both psychologists, and we have access through our institutions to a lot of research, and academic literature, which otherwise is unfortunately, often hidden behind paywalls or is massively complicated, and uses scientific terms and lingo which is simply inaccessible to an everyday person.
Click here to listen to the podcast.
In late 2020, Nina, a SWDTP student, applied for impact funding to produce ‘Black Future Dr’. This was created as Nina noticed a significant divide in the ratio of minority to non-minority students. At the time there was a 22.60% difference in black African-Caribbean students and white students receiving a grade of 2:1 or higher. Even at a PGR level, only 18.1% of students identified as black or minority ethnic.
Click the dropdown to hear a piece from Nina
Black Future Dr was created on a whim during the first year of my PhD, and was one of the main highlights of my experience as a doctoral student. Early on in my PhD, I found myself stuck on the lack of diversity and caught up in the question of, why aren’t there more of us? The idea of a podcast focused on showcasing the experiences of black doctoral students in the UK and highlighting our presence randomly popped into my head, and I sent out a tweet on Twitter (now known as X) asking what people thought of the idea – and the response I received was extremely encouraging. I applied to the SWDTP’s Impact Fund almost immediately and set about finding my speakers and the topics we would cover. As I decided to do everything myself – including editing the episodes, which I had no experience of doing! – it was a very intense and time-demanding experience, so I would always recommend having a team behind a podcast, and not just one person. That said, I’m really glad that I decided to undertake this in the first year of my PhD, as I’m not sure that I would have had the time to do it later on. It also taught me a range of transferrable skills that I am still using to this day, as well as increasing my confidence in being able to undertake and excel at new challenges.