Northumbria University is advertising five Staff-Led Collaborative Doctoral Award (CDA) opportunities. Staff-Led CDAs allow you to work on a project developed in collaboration with a non-Higher Education Institution.

A level playing field?Understanding diversity in the British sports media‌

Dr Roger Domeneghetti, Northumbria University, with The Black Collective of Media in Sport (BCOMS)

A collaboration between Northumbria University and the Black Collective of Media in Sport, this project proposes the first detailed scholarly exploration of the amount of diversity at all levels within British sports journalism, the experience of members of the workforce from minority backgrounds, and the understandings of this issue among the industry’s senior management. The PhD will bring new knowledge to (1) academic researchers in the fields of media and cultural studies, the sociology of sport, and sports journalism; (2) practitioners in the UK sports media, and; (3) sports journalism educators.

When applying please include the code “NBC24/DOMENEGHETTI”.

Creative Play: Learning to Failthrough Digital Tinkering‌

Prof. Nic Whitton, Northumbria University, with the International Centre for Life (Life)

Thinking creatively and managing setbacks are crucial for all young people. Playful digital tinkering in family groups can help develop creativity and build resilience by reducing fear of failure. However, play can unintentionally exclude families from disadvantaged backgrounds, and we need more evidence of how to support children to learn from their mistakes. In collaboration with the International Centre for Life, a science visitor centre in Newcastle, the research will explore how to maximise inclusivity in playful design, how best to facilitate learning through failure, and provide evidence of the impacts of this approach on fear of failure and creativity.

When applying please include the code “NBC24/WHITTON”.

Interrogating colonialism,climate crisis and mass human migration through decolonial curating‌

Dr Donna Chambers, Northumbria University, with D6: Culture in Transit

Rooted in decolonial curatorial theory and practice, this PhD interrogates the idea of the Anthropocene by critically examining interconnections between colonialism, climate crisis and mass human migration. It will do this through building collaborative relationships with impacted international visual artists. Working with Northumbria and partners, D6: Culture in Transit, a Newcastle-based visual arts organisation with international reach, the candidate will: work with international visual artists to co-produce multi-faceted interpretations of the nexus between colonialism, climate crisis and mass human migration; interrogate and reflect on the extent to which such artistic interventions can contribute to social justice through decolonial curatorial practices.

When applying please include the code “NBC24/CHAMBERS”.

Our Calder History: Our CalderFuture‌

Dr Leona Skelton, Northumbria University, with Calder and Colne Rivers Trust (CCRT)

Calder and Colne Rivers Trust (CCRT) must urgently balance the environmental and heritage needs of Yorkshire’s heavily modified, post-industrial River Calder. This archival PhD project analyses the Calder’s past management because historic priorities have shaped the development and management of today’s Calder catchment. The research will inform environmental policy by sharing archival evidence of the legacies of historic river management in the present and future with CCRT, Yorkshire Water (YW), the Environment Agency (EA) and local councils. By incorporating this PhD project’s conclusions, CCRT’s new management plans will better accommodate competing needs of heritage, people and environment in the future.

When applying please include the code “NBC24/SKELTON”.

Wholesaler of the North: TheBewick-Beilby Enterprise and Newcastle Print History‌

Dr Helen Williams, Northumbria Univesity, with Tyne & Wear Archives

Thomas Bewick (1753-1828) is widely recognised as a producer of fine prints who pioneered new techniques of wood engraving. But the shop that he co-ran with Ralph Beilby (1744–1817) was also a major intervention in the commercial history of Newcastle, helping to service a city which became a premier print centre outside of the metropolis. The Bewick-Beilby archive is held at Tyne & Wear Archives, where a collection of papers remains unlisted in the archive catalogue. This project will make accessible this underused resource to future scholarship while producing new knowledge on eighteenth-century Newcastle as the printing centre of the North.

When applying please include the code “NBC24/WILLIAMS”.

We strongly encourage you to make contact with the named supervisor to discuss the project at an early stage.

You must first complete Northumbria's online postgraduate application form.  On the application form under 'Studentship / Partnership Reference' and 'Who is your sponsor / funding body?' please include the relevant code NBC24 / plus the name of the supervisor of your project.

Your application should discuss your academic and/or professional experience, and describe how this has prepared you to undertake this project. The ‘Research Proposal’ should be based on the advertised project and should set out what your proposed approach to the project will be. If your application is successful and you are invited to interview, the project supervisor may ask for additional material to be submitted (such as, for Creative Practice projects, a sample of creative work). Please contact the project supervisor if you have questions about your application.

We expect to hold interviews for these studentships in February 2024. Studentships will start in October 2024.