Review of past SPA postgrad events
2nd Postgraduate Conference: University of Birmingham, July 2007
July 2007 saw not only the full SPA Conference in Birmingham but also, on the following day, the SPA’s 2nd Postgraduate Conference. Following the success of last year’s inaugural event we were delighted with the demand for places at this event from postgraduates. This event is gaining momentum year-on-year and this year’s event required two parallel streams to run throughout the day in order to accommodate the number of papers received. Despite the transport chaos caused by the floods the one-day event brought together around fifteen postgraduate researchers from across the UK to take part in a day of engaging presentations and discussions across a broad range of social policy topics.
The day fell into six broad topic areas: social cohesion; poverty and social exclusion; health; work-family reconciliation; the policy process; and one mixed sessions. Presenters were each able to enjoy thirty minutes for papers and discussions for what for some was a more informal environment in which to make their first academic presentation or to practice their presentational skills, and what for others was an opportunity to meet fellow postgraduates and to share research experiences as much as research findings. Like last year, presentations were once again of an excellent standard and lunch was once again unable to break off the questions and discussion!
Overall, the day was a huge success and is an excellent addition to the SPA’s package of benefits to postgraduate members for their £18 annual membership. Participants felt the day was enjoyable and stimulating, and welcomed the opportunity to meet other students and to present their work in a less intimidating setting. Many met fellow postgraduates working on similar topics and there was great enthusiasm for developing the event further in the coming years. My thanks go again to Helen Harris at Birmingham University for her help in organising the event and too al those postgraduates who took part and who made the event such a success.
1st Postgraduate Workshop: March 2007, University of Oxford
March 2007 saw the launch of the SPA’s new Postgraduate Workshop series, held at Oxford University and chaired by Professor Karen Rowlingson. This first workshop explored issues relating to lone parenthood and participants included postgraduate students as well as speakers from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and One Parent Families (OPF). The day took place at the University of Oxford and a full timetable involving six related presentations and plenty of discussion took place. Presentations, though related, came from a range of academic perspectives and ranged in terms both of focus and methodology. All though, were of an excellent standard and raised a range of thought-provoking issues both for policy and for discussion throughout the day.
Some of those who took part in the first workshop
Tina Haux (Bath University) explored the concept of ‘distance to work’ and sought to enhance the accuracy of how research and policy categorise different lone mothers within this discourse, focussing particularly on teasing out heterogeneity within the large group described as ‘postponing’ paid work. This was followed by Dr Eileen Spencer (Manchester University) who used the notion of ‘role strain’ as a lens through which to consider working lone mothers’ pressures, options, and strategies. Tamsin Hinton-Smith (Sussex University) presented a more methodologically orientated paper which described the pros and cons of her innovative ‘email interviews’ within her PhD thesis. Alex Skew (Southampton University) concluded the day with a presentation of her thesis’ quantitative approach to investigating the factors which affect lone parent repartnering. These were complemented by ‘on the ground’ experience and policy insights from speakers from the Department for Work and Pensions and the lobby-group and charity One Parent Families, as well as from contributions by postgraduates who enhanced lively discussions but who did not present themselves.
Even lunch couldn’t interrupt the discussion!
The Postgraduate Workshop series emerged in response to discussions between the Postgraduate Representative of the SPA and postgraduates themselves who felt that they would find this kind of more focussed event useful alongside the annual Postgraduate Conference. This first event was very much something of a ‘test’ and proved to be extremely successful and enjoyable for the twelve participants. The interest in participating was high and the quality of research and of discussions made for an extremely stimulating workshop. Perhaps more importantly, feedback from participants was incredibly positive who said that they really enjoyed building links with postgraduates working on similar issues, discussing themes of relevance to their own research throughout the day, and having the time and space to discuss their own work. This first Postgraduate Workshop suggests that this is an excellent addition to the expanding SPA calendar of events for postgraduates and we look forward to hosting the next workshop in December 2007. If you have ideas for a theme which you would like to see for a workshop in 2008, or are part of a research network that would benefit from a focussed event for postgraduates, get in touch with adam.whitworth@socres.ox.ac.uk
There are, of course, various people to thank: the SPA Executive for providing financial support to cover participants’ travel costs; George Smith at the Department for Social Policy and Social Work at the University of Oxford for allowing us use of the department’s superb facilities without charge; Lindsey Smith for all of her hard work and support on the day, without which the day would not have been able to function; and, finally, Professor Karen Rowlingson for chairing the event.
What participants said about the workshop
“Worked well to have focus on lone parents but with a wide variety of approaches”
“Well structured- plenty of time for discussion, which was great”
“great to network with others in similar fields and to gain insights”
“Interesting to meet other researchers, learn about their work and get comments on mine”
“definitely beneficial- an excellent opportunity to reflect and also to update on new ideas”
“Extremely useful to meet peers”
“I thoroughly enjoyed it”
“Nice location, enjoyable event and small numbers meant interesting atmosphere”