Training opportunities and funding

Further information can be found on the awards, scholarships and memberships section. This also makes recommendations about research funding external to NTU.

SPUR Scholarship Projects for Undergraduate Researchers’. This scheme introduced by NTU provides bursaries for undergraduate students to get involved in staff research projects – the students gain valuable research experience and the staff gain an extra pair of hands and the opportunity to act as mentor. For more information email Helen Puntha.

The ESRC National Centre for Research Methods website is worth exploring as it has training information and funding opportunities for research methods (although sometimes hard to find so I have put the links in here).

• A list of research methods training available can be found on the ESRC research methods events pages. Not all of the training listed are by the ESRC so the training may vary in quality.
• A list of further resources can be found on the ESRC resources for training, information and data section.
• Further information about ESRC training bursaries is available. There are 50 bursaries each year for up to £1,000 for research methods training (aimed at mid-career academics rather than PhD or masters students).
• The ESRC Michael Young Prize is aimed at early career researchers, particularly students who have recently finished PhDs to disseminate “socially relevant findings” to a wider audience.
• Advice on how to apply for grants (both ESRC and others) can be found in the useful grant applications made simple(r).

In addition to training and funding advice the ESRC is also developing new resources for research methods that may be worth looking at in the future.

• ReStore is a project looking at how to create a sustainable, updated online resources.
• What is? Series. Again, this resource is currently still being developed but provides a series of presentations in PowerPoint about different types of research such as visual theory, grounded theory (although not specifically education based).