These awards offer the opportunity to gain formal recognition for the development of excellent practice related to teaching, learning or assessment. Nominations for an award provide good preparation for a future application to the annual National Teaching Fellowship Scheme awards and they are excellent evidence for inclusion in an HEA fellowship. The achievement of the award is also a valuable addition to a CV when applying for promotion. Nominees will also be extending the impact and reach of their work by sharing outstanding practice from which other colleagues can learn and many more students should benefit in the future.
The VC’s Awards are open to all Birkbeck staff members, including Research Student Teachers, engaged in teaching and supporting the learning of our students.
Alongside extending the impact and reach of your work, benefits of the VC’s Awards also include the following:
£500 awarded to individual award recipients
£1000 collectively awarded to team award recipients.
Applications are now open and the deadline is Friday 6 January 2023, 5pm. For more information and criteria, please visit the Teaching and Learning Connect site. For any questions, please email Stephanie Bass.
Cumberland Lodge offers doctoral students in the UK a unique opportunity to benefit from a close association with our work and discussions for two years.
The Cumberland Lodge Fellowship offers doctoral students who are firmly committed to promoting social progress the chance to set themselves apart, by deepening their understanding of pressing societal issues from a cross-sector perspective, and developing valuable skills in public engagement, networking, communication and interdisciplinary working.
Every year in the spring, nine Cumberland Lodge Fellows are selected through a competitive application that is open to doctoral students from universities and higher education institutions across the UK. A tenth is nominated by the Council for At-Risk Academics, which supports international academics who are at risk of persecution, conflict or violence in their home countries to study or work in the UK. Our Amy Buller PhD Scholar, who is supported financially to complete a PhD at Royal Holloway, University of London, also becomes a Cumberland Lodge Fellow for the duration of their three-year Scholarship.
A unique opportunity
Launched in 2014 and originally known as the Cumberland Lodge Scholarship, the Cumberland Lodge Fellowship is designed to fit around the demands of doctoral research. It is open to students of any age who are enrolled on a doctoral programme (on a part-time or full-time basis), and to those undertaking professional doctorates as well as more traditional paths of study.
Cumberland Lodge Fellows play an active role in our interdisciplinary conferences, consultations, public lectures and other programmes, and receive ongoing mentoring and support from our staff.
They have the chance to network with senior figures in public life and to participate in, or help to lead discussions with, people of all ages, backgrounds and perspectives that ultimately inform recommendations for practical action and policy change.
What’s involved?
Ten new Fellows join us each year in September, at the start of the academic year, beginning with a residential weekend retreat at Cumberland Lodge in Windsor Great Park, to which the previous year’s cohort of Fellows are also invited.
Cumberland Lodge Fellows have the chance to be involved in our conferences, consultations, seminars, report launches and retreats, with support from Cumberland Lodge staff. This may include:
leading workshops and/or chairing panel discussions
taking part in cross-sector discussions
proactively networking with fellow delegates at Cumberland Lodge events
supporting Cumberland Lodge staff with event facilitation
writing engaging newsletter articles and blog posts
supporting the promotion of our programmes and outputs to the wider public.
Fellows also have the opportunity to contribute to the development of our programme of events and activities, and are expected to act as an ambassador for our work and programmes, at university and beyond.
Personal development
Fellows are invited to apply for a Personal Development Grant of up to £300 during the two-year fellowship period, to use creatively to enhance their skills and promote progress towards more peaceful, open and inclusive societies.
How to apply
To apply for a 2022-24 Cumberland Lodge Fellowship, please download and complete the application form in the resources section of this webpage, and return it to: Fellows2022@cumberlandlodge.ac.uk
Applications must be received by 12noon on Friday 8 April 2022.
If you are shortlisted for interview you will be informed by Tuesday 26 April, and interviews will take place online via Zoom on Thursday 5 May 2022. Please note that, due to the high number of anticipated applications, we are unable to provide feedback if you are not invited to interview. If you have not heard back from us by Tuesday 26 April, we regret that you have not been shortlisted for interview. If you have any questions that are not answered above, please email us at: programmeteam@cumberlandlodge.ac.uk
Eligibility
To take part in our competitive application process, you must be able to demonstrate that you are:
committed to promoting more peaceful, open and inclusive societies, through your academic research and/or other activities
committed to enabling social progress
studying for a doctorate at a UK university (in any academic discipline or area of study), for the duration of the Fellowship period* (expected completion not before June 2024)
able to provide the names of two referees (one academic, i.e. your doctoral supervisor, and one non-academic) who will vouch for your eligibility and support your application
able to attend the initial residential Fellows’ Retreat at Cumberland Lodge, on 9-11 September 2022
committed to the full two-year programme (even if you complete your doctorate before August 2024).
You should also demonstrate an openness to working across disciplines and engaging with a wide range of subject matters, and explain how you think a Cumberland Lodge Fellowship will benefit your work and life, both now and in the future.
* Please note:
We accept all types of doctoral study equally, including full-time, part-time and non-traditional pathways or professional doctorate programmes. You will most likely (but not necessarily) be in the first year of your doctorate.
If you are currently registered for a Master’s degree and hope to go on to study for a doctorate, you are not yet eligible to apply.
If you are on an agreed pathway to doctoral study, but have not yet transferred from Master’s to doctoral status, you are eligible to apply, providing your supervisor can confirm you are already working to doctoral standard, as part of your application.
We do not provide financial assistance for tuition fees or maintenance, but we do provide Fellows attending our events with meals, accommodation and economy-rate travel expenses to and from our events within the UK, from our charitable funds.
Meet our Fellows
Follow the links below to find out more about our current Fellows.
Whether it concerns colleagues, friends, family or your life partner … it is good to know on which points you (dis)agree. Not so much to possibly distance yourself from that person, but to be able to work more effectively on the relationship. One way to do this is to ask yourself and the other person questions. Below is a book tip, which also includes references to research data, for light-hearted but instructive conversations.
In these unprecedented times, reflection on yourself and on your environment may be of greater value than ever. You may have been in isolation or quarantine with your partner for weeks, gaining new insights into how your personalities relate to each other. While studies show that similarities or complementarities in partners’ personalities may not determine a successful relationship (Eysenck & Wakefield, 1981; Groves, 2016; Rosowsky et al., 2012), it is nice to keep personalities in harmony. Or perhaps you have seen your colleagues in a different light due to a changing work situation. It is good to keep in mind that guarding the bond with each other at work is important if connectedness with colleagues is a factor for your job satisfaction.
As a headhunter/recruiter, I bring people together and I am actively busy with reaching out to others to make suitable matches. As a PhD student, I bring ideas together about intra-household dynamics between men and women to eventually publish as articles and complete my thesis. Already having a lot on my plate, I was still curious about finding ways to reach out to others by sharing insights – whilst undertaking PhD research – about interpersonal relationships. This prompted me to bundle research-based statements about men/women issues and put them in book form. Indeed, the book tip mentioned above is therefore a shameless plug for my “Talk Data to Me” book, but if even only one statement could provide additional insight, understanding and knowledge between you and your intimate (as the book contains sexual references) interlocutor, then this plug is worth it. In the spirit of this book, I provide “Battle of the Sexes” quizzes for groups, with statements that are also based on research data but are suitable for non-intimate individuals, such as colleagues. For example, I was recently invited to an online networking event where attendees competed for the most correct answers to my “yes/no” statements. The winners were the ones who, despite the limitations of not physically being in the same space, managed to bond with each other through video connection and live chat. If (the spirit of) my book could be a means to find online connection for these non-intimate persons, then my wish for you is that the hard copy of the book would create big sparks between you and the person who (possibly) suits you.
Eysenck, H.J., & Wakefield, J.A. (1981). Psychological factors as
predictors of marital satisfaction. Advanced Behavioral Research and Therapy,
3, 151-192.
Groves, K.K. (2016). The role of spirituality in happy fifty-year marriages.
Texas A&M University-Commerce.
Rosowsky, E., King, K.D., Coolidge, F.L., Rhoades, C.S., & Segal, D.L.
(2012). Marital satisfaction and personality traits in long-term marriage: An
exploratory study. Clinical Gerontologist, 35, 77-87.
A steering group has identified themes for the sessions but we are asking for additional help in organising the second day of the conference. We are looking for volunteers to help identify suitable contributors (academic staff, current Birkbeck doctoral researchers or alumni) and to organise for them to take part in each theme.
By taking part in this way you will have the chance to meet other PhD students and contribute to this exciting event. If you are willing to take part we will put you in contact with members of the steering group or others who would like to volunteer and you would be asked to work together on the theme you are interested in.
We invite you to let us know by
the end of Tuesday 4 February if you are willing to help in this way.
BGRS Postgraduate Research Conference: 22-23 April 2020
2020 will mark the 100th anniversary of Birkbeck joining the University of London, and also the 100th anniversary of our first PhD. To celebrate these milestones as we approach the College’s 200th year, the BGRS is organising a centenary conference, led by current PhD students and doctoral alumni.
Provisionally
entitled #BBKConversations, it will be a great opportunity for the whole Birkbeck
postgraduate research community to engage with the big issues of the day. The
steering committee are in the early stages of planning the conference, but we
need your help to shape it.
Over the course of
two days, we hope to arrange lectures, workshops and maybe an exhibition, using
our current research as well as the work of alumni to frame some big
#BBKConversations.
Below are some
themes the committee has come up with, but we would really like your input. What
do you want to discuss and focus on? We are looking for exciting and
innovative ways to bring together researchers in business, humanities, social
sciences, STEM, and everything in between.
Whether or not you want to take an active role in the conference, please put the 22nd and 23rd of April in your diary. If you would like to join the committee, propose a theme or participate in one of the #BBKConversations, please contact the BGRS Manager Tim Hoe (t.hoe@bbk.ac.uk). Get in touch with any and every idea no matter how big or small, and let’s make this a great conference. Please let Tim have your ideas by the 2nd of December so we can discuss them at our planning workshop.
The conference committee will hold a workshop on the 4th of December from 15:00 to 17:00 in Clore 101 – this will be open to anyone who would like to contribute to planning and organisation of the conference.
Suggested themes
If Birkbeck did not exist would we need to invent it? What is the relevance of Birkbeck’s mission and its particular character in relation to society today?
What have Birkbeck’s contributions to society and to research been? The conference could showcase this in relation to alumni. What should Birkbeck’s future research focus be?
What are the historic and current roles for Birkbeck in terms of activism and research? Birkbeck has a radical history but should a university be radical?
Is London a global city-state? If so, is that good or bad for the UK? It was agreed that the relationship between education, social mobility and migration could be explored in the context of London and the rest of the UK.
Access and engagement. What is the future of the university in relation to race and migration, borders and decolonisation of the curriculum? What does a modern doctoral graduate look like and what journeys have led to our research students coming to Birkbeck? It would be interesting to explore some of the different stories and the role of a PhD in different cultures, with opportunities to interact and to explore these issues further at the conference.
What are the strengths and weaknesses of quantitative and qualitative research? This could work as a debate – with representatives from both sides.
What role does objectivity play in research? How does storytelling and narrative relate to research? What is reality – and what are the consequences of choices made when framing research?
What relevance do issues of privacy and digital data have in research? This could include discussion of artificial intelligence, deep learning, big data and ethics.
On 26 March Birkbeck held the 2nd Public Engagement Awards which aims to recognize and celebrate success in working to make their research accessible to the public and within communities.
PhD/ Early Career winner: Jessica Massonnié
Congratulations to Birkbeck doctoral researcher Jessica Massonnié (Department of Psychological Sciences) who was the winner of the PhD/ Early Career prize for research exploring children’s perception of classroom noise ‘Noise Annoyance in Schools: is it a Fatality?‘
Jessica collaborated with artists and elementary school teachers and designed child-friendly interventions with the potential to improve children’s well-being while also aiding data gathering on noise in the classroom.
Congratulations also to two further PhD students who were highly commended for their work in this category:
