Doctoral Training Network Newsletter.

Dear All

ESRC’s Celebrating Impact Prize now open!

The ESRC is pleased to launch the 2022 Celebrating Impact Prize. This is an annual opportunity to recognise and reward ESRC-supported researchers who have created or enabled outstanding impact.

The Prize is open to current and previous ESRC-supported researchers, including doctoral students, and there are six competition categories this year:

This year we are celebrating 10 years of the Impact Prize. To mark this we have an additional category for this year – the John Hills Impact Prize. This Prize is in memory of the late Professor Sir John Hills who is remembered across the social science and policy community for his leadership and contribution to social policy, especially in relation to poverty and inequality. This category will recognise a social scientist (either self-nominated or nominated by a third party) whose work demonstrates how the economic and social sciences benefit wider society and who has encouraged or facilitated positive and profound lasting changes in the quality of the lives of a significant number of people over a sustained period.  

We have also opened up eligibility to apply to social science researchers that have been funded by another UKRI Council through an eligible programme of interdisciplinary research where ESRC has been a partner on the programme.

All finalists have a film professionally made about their work and impact, and winners are awarded £10,000 to spend on further knowledge exchange, public engagement or other impact related activities.

Key dates:

For further details, including application guidelines, please visit esrc.ukri.org/research/celebrating-impact-prize/

Invitation to attend the PreCURe programme – deadline 10 February 2022

Innovate UK is offering research students (Masters, Doctoral etc.) from any discipline and any research organisation the chance to uncover how they can maximise the social and economic impact of their research through an exploration of different commercialisation options, including Community Interest Companies and Social Enterprises. The 7 week PreCURe programme begins with a 2 day online bootcamp (16-17 Feb) where researchers will explore the world of commercialisation.

If you are interested in discovering the commercial value of your research and developing your entrepreneurial skills, then apply here by 10 February 2022. Questions to ventures@warwick.ac.uk.

Zinc Innovation Internships 2021-22

Zinc.vc is proud to be launching a flagship Innovation Internship programme for PhD students. We are giving ambitious and motivated PhD students the opportunity to undertake a three-month internship embedding research principals, methods, and their disciplinary knowledge in early-stage start-ups. This is a unique opportunity to experience research-in-action. This experience/support package will ensure our student interns are guided through their transition from academia to industry and take a wealth of useful skills and lessons back to their PhDs. We are aware that undertaking an internship with a start-up is a less traditional route for PhD students, which is partially why we think this opportunity is so valuable.

Zinc builds brand-new companies from scratch to develop products and services that respond to urgent societal challenges. We’re looking for ambitious PhD students from a range of academic backgrounds, who are passionate about one or more of our missions to: improve mental health; enhance the quality of later life; and unlock new life chances for people affected by automation and globalisation. We are particularly interested in recruiting students with an interest in our current mission focus on improving mental health for children and young people. PhD students should be in their second year (preferably) although early third year candidates will be considered too. They must also be Research Council-funded given the internships are unpaid.

You can read more about this opportunity here. Applications can be made here, with a closing date of Sunday 27th February (6pm). To apply, you’ll need a short CV and a 2-page (~800 word) cover letter explaining why you’re interested in working with us. Once you’ve submitted these, we’ll also ask you to submit a 2-minute video telling us a bit more about how an Innovation Internship with Zinc will support your longer-term career goals. Full details are on the application page, but if you need more information or want to chat to us before applying, please email salman@zinc.vc  

Please note the start date for the internships will likely be early May and run until early August.

You might also find it useful to watch some or all of the recording here of an introduction to the Innovation Internships programme, which includes thoughts and reflections from two current PhD students who have recently worked with Zinc and our ventures.

Accessing and using ‘real-world’ study data: A Stata-based introduction for newcomers to longitudinal research

In collaboration with the UK Data Service, CLOSER is running an online, entry-level course to help newcomers (including undergraduate students) get to grips with the basics of accessing and analysing longitudinal data for research. The course will include guided examples, interactive quizzes, and hands-on analysis tasks.

Date and time: Course commences w/c 7 March 2022with 3 live webinars on 9, 16 & 10 March 2022 from 13:00-14:00 GMT

Location: Online via UCLextend

Find out more and register

Best wishes

Dave

David Newton

Policy Manager – Skills & Methods Team

Economic and Social Research Council – part of UK Research and Innovation

David.Newton@esrc.ukri.org

Please note I am currently working remotely and can be contacted by email only.



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