City joins government-funded doctoral training partnership for the social sciences

City, University of London is a partner institution in one of the newly announced Economic & Social Research Council (ESRC)-funded doctoral training partnerships (DTPs).

The partnership was announced for the South & East Network for Social Sciences (SENSS) consortium of universities, of which City is a member.

The DTP will train the next generation of doctoral researchers in the social sciences, with the funding supporting 29 students per year over the next five years.

The ESRC is the UK’s largest funder of economic, social, behavioural and human data science. It is a subgroup of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), a government body which invests in research and innovation to enrich lives and drive economic growth in the UK.

The SENSS has three key commitments: creating genuinely interdisciplinary research; being equal, diverse and inclusive; and being civic institutions at the heart of their communities. The consortium is structured around six interdisciplinary themes which relate to the UKRI's priority areas:

• Sustainability
• Climate emergency
• Digital social sciences
• Health
• Wellbeing
• Social care.

The SENSS consortium is led by the University of Essex and in addition to City includes the University of East Anglia; Goldsmiths, University of London; Middlesex University London; Cranfield University; the University of Lincoln and the University of Roehampton.

Professor Miguel Mera, Vice-President (Research), said:

I am delighted that the South & East Network for Social Sciences (SENSS) Doctoral Training Partnership bid has been successful in what was a highly competitive call.

This result represents enormous amounts of detailed work with our consortium partners as well as from the Doctoral College and colleagues across City.

SENSS will help the next generation of social scientists to create a fairer, healthier, and more sustainable world by working across six challenge-based thematic areas.

City will be able to apply for studentships each year, but will also benefit from the wider collaborative network, which includes valuable research-in-practice placements and methods training opportunities.

Professor Chris Hull, Assistant Vice-President (Head of City Doctoral College), said:

This is great news for City and all partners in the DTP. The DTP will deliver 29 doctoral studentships per annum based around six interdisciplinary themes that will allow academics from four of the six Schools at City to propose projects and bid for support.

Students will be exposed to cutting-edge aspects of doctoral student training in the social sciences including regional, national and international networks, and research in practice placements, all within a DTP that has a strong focus on EDI and the student experience.

I really look forward to colleagues engaging with the DTP and using the strengths we have at City that play so well into the themes of the DTP.

Over the next five years, the ESRC will invest in 15 doctoral training partnerships spanning 89 institutions. The new five-year PhD studentship intake will begin in October 2024 and the ESRC aims to support 500 students each year.

Stian Westlake, ESRC Executive Chair, said:

Our vision for postgraduate training is that it will develop globally competitive social science researchers who can operate in interdisciplinary, collaborative, and challenge-led environments across a range of sectors and who have a diversity of backgrounds and experiences.