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Cambridge AHRC Doctoral Training Partnership

 

What the AHRC Doctoral Training Partnership offers

Student Support and Engagement: Three Pillars

The Cambridge AHRC Doctoral Training Partnership will take a tailored approach to the development of its students, to ensure that each emerging researcher receives the training that he or she really needs.

To this end, Cambridge AHRC DTP students will enjoy an innovative triple support structure aside from the expert guidance of their supervisor. This structure will ensure that they gain optimum benefit from the development opportunities available to them.

1. Cambridge AHRC DTP students will receive individual and cohort-specific guidance from a dedicated AHRC Doctoral Training Facilitator.

  • Every student will meet with the Facilitator individually to discuss their personal training needs.
  • Students will also meet the Facilitator in a group context through the DTP Research Leadership Programme.

2. Cambridge AHRC DTP students will receive holistic support and advice on identifying the right training pathway for them.

  • This support will be provided through the University’s established systems for induction, assessment, needs identification and monitoring, within the framework of the Researcher Development Programme.

3. Cambridge AHRC DTP students will have access to specialist advice across the entire spectrum of training opportunities.

  • They will be able to work closely with trainers who listen to their individual needs with regard to particular skills.

Student Development Fund (SDF): Supporting Individual Initiatives

This fund will be used to support:

  • funding for a small number of Research Masters studentships;
  • individual training and development initiatives for doctoral students.

These latter initiatives will be devised by students themselves in consultation with the DTP Training Facilitator. They might include:

  • extended periods of study or fieldwork abroad;
  • tailored courses or internships which develop particular skills that benefit a student’s research in broad terms;
  • experiences which prepare students for future employment.

It is anticipated that a number of these initiatives will lead to further development of the Connecting Collections museum internships scheme piloted under the AHRC Skills Development Call.

Cohort Development Fund (CDF): Supporting Collective Identity

In a world where the crucial importance of the Arts and Humanities is often overlooked, the Cambridge AHRC DTP looks to strengthen its students’ sense of belonging to a community of scholars whose expertise is of value in all walks of life.

The Cohort Development Fund will be used to build the students’ collective sense of identity as arts and humanities researchers with a shared intellectual home.

That sense of identity will be developed through a multi-layered programme of initiatives overseen by the AHRC Doctoral Training Facilitator. The programme will involve:

  • targeted induction events;
  • the DTP website and social media spaces;
  • consultation forums;
  • student-led seminars and interdisciplinary activities.

The CDF will also support:

  • an Arts and Humanities Research Methods course;
  • a course in Research Leadership which will integrate training in more general leadership skills;
  • further development of the Social Media Knowledge Exchange piloted under the AHRC Skills Development Call.

Partnership Arrangements: Two Approaches, Two New Collaborations

DTP students will benefit from the University’s dual approach to partnerships in doctoral training.

1. The University’s commitment to flexibility in supporting individual student needs will ensure their access to properly tailored collaborations.

  • The DTP will facilitate a very broad range of formal and informal partnerships within the UK and abroad.
  • This initiative will emphasize ‘one-off’ research collaborations, placements or internships.

2. Students will be integral to the development of flagship partnerships with major non-HEI organisations.

  • The new statement of partnership between the University of Cambridge and Arts Council England includes provision for DTP students. This large-scale umbrella agreement potentially offers DTP students access to all Arts Council-supported cultural organisations in the region.

The DTP will develop two new collaborations supported through the recent AHRC Skills Development Call.

1. Connecting with Collections. A collaboration offering internships in a museum setting, and involving:

  • University of Cambridge Museums;
  • SHARE (a museum training and resource exchange scheme for the East of England);
  • the Collections Trust;
  • the Institute of Conservation;
  • the British Museum.

2. The Social Media Knowledge Exchange. A collaboration providing young researchers with high quality training in the use of social media in an academic context, and involving:

  • the University of Cambridge Centre for Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities (CRASSH);
  • the Institute of Historical Research;
  • the UCL Digital Research Centre;
  • the University of Glasgow Humanities Advanced Information Institute;
  • a range of further partners.