Funded PhD on Sustainability in the UK Lake District

Full Time Postgraduate Research Studentship, University of Cumbria, England

Deadline for submission 12 noon Friday 24 October 2014.

The Faculty of Education, Arts and Business is pleased to invite applications for one full-time PhD student scholarship. The research student will be based in either the Institute of Education or in the Institute for Leadership and Sustainability.

13.5K stipend per year, PhD fees paid up, and a £500 field costs allowance per year.

To commence January 2015 for three years. UK and EU applicants only.

The Institute for Leadership and Sustainability welcomes applications for research in either of two fields in which we are actively engaged via research, teaching, conferences and advocacy.

• Sustainable leadership development – which we understand as the practice of enabling people to development their ability to lead change in organisations and society towards greater social fairness, personal wellbeing and environmental sustainability
• Currency innovation for sustainable development – The University became known worldwide in early 2014 for becoming the first public University to accept bitcoin. This relates to our research on how new thinking on currencies and exchange systems can provide opportunities for economic resilience and sustainability.

In both areas we particularly welcome action research or similar approaches, that draw upon both sociology and management studies. Your supervisor for either topic would be Dr Jem Bendell, a Professor of Sustainability Leadership, who teaches, researches and advises on both topics. With over 300 senior managers from circa 100 countries attending our sustainable leadership development programmes each year, we have good networks for both research and dissemination.

Notes for Guidance

The research outline is indicative of your scholarly aptitude and should provide sufficient evidence to convince the interview panel that your proposal is soundly based and that you are able to develop an appropriate research study with supervisory support. The outline should not exceed six pages of A4 double-spaced typescript and should comprise the following sections:

• rationale;
• aims;
• summary of relevant published studies;
• tentative research question;
• proposed design and methodology including time-scale of study and indications of feasibility;
• bibliography;
• expected outcomes or implications of the proposed research.

In considering the proposal the admissions panel will be looking for evidence that an applicant has sufficient grasp of current research in the field to allow the formulation of a feasible research question. The proposal is not expected to be definitive.

Candidates for research degrees must be good honours degree graduates of a recognised university in the UK or comparable university overseas, or persons with equivalent qualifications who show evidence of exceptional ability, or who have demonstrated their ability in graduate studies. The successful candidate is also likely to have completed a masters degree.

Application Submission

Your application which should comprise the application form and a research proposal should be sent electronically to linda.shore@cumbria.ac.uk. You should also ask your referees to complete the reference form and return it to linda.shore@cumbria.ac.uk by the same date. Also copy jem dot bendell @ cumbria dot ac dot uk

Deadline for submission 12 noon Friday 24 October 2014. Late applications will not be considered.