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Funding opportunity: ADR UK PhD Studentships
WGSSS is pleased to announce the launch of the ADR UK Studentship Competition. This funding opportunity invites PhD supervisors within WGSSS Pathways to submit project proposals. Administrative Data Research (ADR) UK is inviting applications from Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Doctoral Training Partnerships (DTPs) to host a cohort of PhD studentships using ADR UK linked…
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WGSSS Cluster Reps – Call for Applications
Application Deadline: 17/02/2026 Applications are now open to become a WGSSS Cluster Rep! The Cluster Rep role is vitally important to the WGSSS and provides a conduit for comments/ideas from fellow WGSSS-funded students across the academic schools and pathways. The role will involve project-based work to shape and develop the WGSSS and attend and participate in online…
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WISERD Conference 2025 – New researcher session and prize winners
The WISERD Conference 2025 took place at Aberystwyth University from 30th June to 1st July and was attended by over 120 researchers from across Wales and beyond. WGSSS was pleased to collaborate with the Learned Society of Wales to sponsor the WISERD conference presentation prizes: Best New Researcher Paper and Best Flash Talk. The conference began…
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Citizen Science: Roots and Branches by Chloe Griffiths
Chloe Griffiths is a WGSSS-funded PhD student currently studying at Aberystwyth University on the Human Geography Pathway. Her thesis, titled “Community Participation in Biological Recording: An Ethnography of Citizen Science,” explores public engagement in scientific data collection. Chloe travelled to Copenhagen to interview Professor Alan Irwin of Copenhagen Business School, a leading scholar in the…
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Flash Talks Demystified: How to Engage and Impress in Under Three Minutes
WGSSS Training Lead Dr Peter Wootton Beard introduces the concept of a flash talk and shares his top 10 tips for delivering a successful one. What is a flash talk? Flash talks are short, concise presentations completed in no more than 3 minutes. All too often, you will have to communicate your work within a…
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Pupillometry, Language Attitudes, and a Trip to Mannheim by Dan Strogen
As is often the case in research, my discovery of pupillometry was not the result of a deliberate plan, but rather a fortunate accident. In 2024, while pursuing my master’s degree in Social Research Methods, I attended the EuroSLA conference – the European Second Language Acquisition Researchers’ Conference – held at the University of Montpellier.…
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Welsh Graduate School for the Social Sciences Launch
The Welsh Graduate School for the Social Sciences (WGSSS) was launched at a special event at Senedd Cymru with the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Vikki Howells MS, strategic partners and academic leaders. Led by Cardiff University, WGSSS is one 15 Doctoral Training Partnerships (DTPs) within the Economic and Social Research Council’s UK network.…
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My Internship with Amgueddfa Cymru by Susannah Paice
WGSSS student Susannah Paice writes about her placement with Amgueddfa Cymru. Why did you apply for an internship with Amgueddfa Cymru? In the Spring of last year, I was getting to the point in my PhD research where a break would make sense. Since the initial data collection and analysis was done and everything was going to…
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My 6-month Internship with Cadw (as a Parent of Two Young Children in the Middle of Wales) by Kirsty Usher
WGSSS student Kirsty Usher writes about her 6-month part-time placement at Cadw. I am writing this with the hope to encourage anyone who, like I was, not sure if the ESRC funded internship is for them. My situation is that I am a mature student and mother to two young children. I also live in Aberystwyth which is…
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My internship at Welsh Parliament’s Senedd Research by Isabel Lang
WGSSS student Isabel Lang writes about her three-month placement in the Children, Young People and Education research team within Senedd Research I have always valued internships and their importance in offering opportunities to network, build confidence and resilience, and learn new skills My passion for research began during my undergraduate degree in Social Science at Cardiff University, where…
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Small Grants Report by Katharine Kavanagh
Katharine Kavanagh is in the final year of her PhD in the School of English, Communication and Philosophy at Cardiff University. She is funded through the DTP’s Linguistics pathway, and researches how the different ways that UK circus audiences value their experience are represented through public texts. In this blog she describes how she successfully…
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How (not) to engage non-academic audiences: Lessons learned from the Arctic Circle Assembly by Brett Lewis
Brett Lewis is a PhD student at Cardiff University. Currently in his first year, he has a background in economics and politics with an undergraduate degree in Economics from Swansea University, and a Masters in International Political Economy from the University of Warwick. Brett’s research interests are in international relations and the Arctic. Initially brought on…
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£18.5 million award success for the Welsh Graduate School for the Social Sciences
The Welsh Graduate School for the Social Sciences (WGSSS) is one of 15 new doctoral training partnerships announced by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) following a successful bid for funding. The investment in doctoral training partnerships (DTPs) demonstrate ESRC’s commitment to its revised vision for doctoral training, that reflects the findings of the…
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Katharine Young’s Report, Live on Welsh Government Website
Katharine Young recently completed an internship with the Welsh Government, during which she produced a report ‘Welsh-medium education through late immersion: mapping the provision in Wales‘ (click the blue title to see the report) that is now available on the Government’s website. Katharine’s summary of the report: “Late immersion education is a provision that allows…
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Five Tips to Make Your PhD Internship Application a Success by Jodie Luker
Hi, I’m Jodie; a third year PhD researcher (eeek!) in the School of Social Sciences (SOCSI) at Cardiff University. My thesis is investigating the impact and harm(s) of online anti-LGBTI+ hate speech. My internship was a 3-month ESRC Wales DTP funded post at The Welsh Government (January – April 2021), and my project was titled:…
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Reflections on an Internship with Wales Centre for Public Policy by Aimee Morse
In this blog post, Aimee Morse discusses undertaking an internship during your PhD. Finding an internship There are numerous internships on offer with various organisations. The DTP works specifically in partnership with several organisations across Wales who have developed internship opportunities and the UKRI run internship programmes in partnership with organisations across the UK. Internships…
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My top 5 tips for designing and undertaking an ESRC postdoctoral fellowship by Rebecca Windemer
The post PhD job market is challenging and completely demoralising. By the time I finished my PhD I had lost confidence in myself and my research. I had spent the past few months applying for a large number of postdoc jobs, sometimes getting to interview but never getting the job. As a result, I nearly…
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Ellen Bristow and Amy Simpson’s Welsh Government Internships
From January to June 2021, Ellen and Amy worked as Welsh Government Education Policy Research Interns. In this blogpost, they share their experiences of undertaking internships as part of their doctoral training. Why did you apply for an internship with the Welsh Government? Ellen: As was the case for everyone, Covid really disrupted my PhD…
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My Internship with Wales Centre for Public Policy – Aimee Morse
From January to April 2021, DTP student Aimee Morse (Environmental Planning, University of Gloucestershire) undertook an internship with the Wales Centre for Public Policy, working on a project entitled ‘Collaboration and policy implementation at the local level in Wales: a case-study evaluation of a farmer group in North Wales’. Here are Aimee’s reflections on the…
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Conor John’s Brecon Beacons National Park Authority Internship
In 2020, DTP student Conor John (Psychology, Cardiff University) completed an internship with the Brecon Beacons National Park Authority (BBNPA). Conor worked with his hosts to find ways to undertake the internship whilst adhering to COVID restrictions. He found the internship experience beneficial. “I have no intention on staying in academia and this internship has…
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Nicola Heady’s research on COVID-19 & looked after children
We asked our students about research relevant to COVID-19. Nicola Heady contacted us about her project: Good mental health and educational attainment are government priorities for all children in the UK. Attainment of these outcomes enable and empower children to bridge social networks and improve social mobility. However, vulnerable looked after children (LAC) are four times more…
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Joey Soehardjojo wins LERA ‘Best Essay’ award
Wales DTP postdoctoral fellow Joey Soehardjojo has won the Thomas A. Kochran and Stephen R. Selight ‘Best Dissertation’ Award from the Labor and Employment Relations Association (LERA). Joey took up his fellowship, based at Cardiff University’s Business School, after completing his PhD as Warwick Business School. His thesis is Knowledge and HRM Practice Transfer in…
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Outdoor Learning Research Goes Global
Research from Wales DTP researcher, Emily Marchant (Human Geography, Swansea University), on the benefits of outdoor learning has been published by media outlets around the world. The study found that an hour or two of outdoor learning every week engages children, improves their wellbeing and increases teachers’ job satisfaction. News outlets including The Conversation, Metro,…
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Wales DTP student wins Swansea University Three Minute Thesis
Congratulations to Wales DTP student Darren Scott (Digital Economy and Society, Swansea University), winner of Swansea University’s Three Minute Thesis (3MT) at the annual Postgraduate Research Showcase. Darren had just three minutes to summarise his research in an engaging way, and talked about how inactivity could be tackled through the use of fitness apps and…
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John Harrington appointed Wales DTP Director
The Wales DTP is delighted to announce the appointment of Professor John Harrington as its new Director. John is Professor of Global Health Law at the School of Law and Politics, Cardiff University. Commenting on the appointment, John said, ‘it is a privilege to take up the directorship of the ESRC Wales DTP. I am…
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Wales DTP Student Rebecca Windemer in The Conversation
Wales DTP student, Rebecca Windemer (Environmental Planning, Cardiff University) recently had a piece published in The Conversation, ‘Repowering the UK’s oldest wind farms could boost energy generation by 171%’
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Recordings from Induction Day 2018
Our induction event for new students took place last month, and recordings of many of the talks and presentations are now available.
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Wales DTP Fellow Anna Pigott in The Conversation
Wales DTP Post-Doctoral Fellow Anna Piggott has just had a piece published in The Conversation. Anna was one of 7 Fellows recently appointed by the DTP, she is based at Swansea University – where she also completed her PhD with a Wales DTP studentship. Her piece is: Capitalism is killing the world’s wildlife populations, not ‘humanity’. Continue…
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Siôn Aled Owen’s Poetry Inspired by Research
Former Wales DTP student Dr Siôn Aled Owen has published a collection of poetry which includes poems inspired by his doctoral research into the factors influencing school pupils’ social use of Welsh. Siôn is presently giving readings from Meirioli and recently appeared at the Eisteddfod in Cardiff last month.
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3MEI #WISERD2018 Competition Won by Amy Sanders
Congratulations to Amy Sanders who won this year’s three minute engagement and impact competition (3MEI) at last month’s WISERD Conference. The competition, sponsored by the Wales DTP, challenges PhD students to give an account of challenges or achievements (or both!) in their research with respect to engagement and impact. But they must do this using only one…
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Success for Research Placement Programme Led by Michael Scott Evans
Wales DTP student Michael Scott Evans is director of the Nuffield Research Placement programme for the School of Psychology at Cardiff University, which aims to engage with the local community by inspiring and supporting sixth form students aged 16-17 from relatively disadvantaged communities with hands-on experience of a professional research environment. This experience involves a 4-6…
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Summer 2017 Wales DTP News Roundup
This has been a busy year for the Wales Doctoral Training Partnership – Director David James provides a roundup of the latest developments
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What Could You Do in Three Minutes?
There were four contestants in his year’s ‘3MEI’ (Three-minute engagement and impact) competition, which took place at the WISERD annual conference in Bangor. Participants speak for up to three minutes, using one slide only, and the object is to communicate some aspect of research outcomes or process that is rich in engagement or impact. This…
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DTP Workshop With an Outstanding Ethnographer
As part of his visit to Cardiff University, Gary Alan Fine (Professor of Sociology, Northwestern University, Illinois) led a lively session for a small group of DTP Doctoral students. Driven by questions brought by participants, the discussion covered issues of: access; ethics; values; relationships to the field; relationships between research and policy; the importance of…
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Siobhan Maderson Shortlisted as ESRC Writing Competition Finalist
Wales DTP student Siobhan Maderson (Human Geography, Aberystwyth) is one of 12 students nationally to have been shortlisted for the ESRC’s writing competition ‘Making Sense of Society’. Her entry is Ensuring a Sweeter Future. The ESRC said “shortlisted writers impressed the judges by communicating their research in an engaging, original, powerful and thought-provoking way”. The awards event takes…
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Gwyther Rees’ Welsh Government Internship
DTC student Gwyther Rees (Cardiff School of Social Sciences) recently completed an internship with the Welsh Government. “I found the experience very helpful in understanding the links between research and other functions within the government” Gwyther said. “I gained some detailed understanding of policy perspectives which I think will help me to refine my arguments for maximum…
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Launch of the ESRC Wales DTC
Video extracts of the ESRC Wales DTC formal launch proceedings which took place on 10th July 2012 at the Senedd, Cardiff Bay, are now available. The programme of speakers included Professor David James, ESRC Wales DTC Director, Mr Phil Sooben, Director of Policy and Administration, ESRC, Professor Noel Thompson, Pro Vice-Chancellor, Swansea University, Dr David…
Welsh Graduate School for the Social Sciences
Ysgol Graddedigion Gwyddorau Cymdeithasol Cymru