Postgrad Network
** NEWS - see new call for papers in the
Postgraduate Weblog page. **
Welcome to the SPA Postgraduate Network homepage, where you will find details of SPA activities dedicated to postgraduate researchers. If you’re a postgraduate student and you’re not currently a member of the SPA then now is the time to have a look at all the benefits of membership. Membership for postgraduates only costs £18 per year and for that you receive free copies of the Journal of Social Policy and Social Policy and Society, the annual Social Policy Review, a discount on the annual SPA Conference and SPA Postgraduate Workshop, and a range of other benefits. This represents amazing value for money for postgraduates so why not join the SPA today.
The SPA run regular Postgraduate Conferences and Postgraduate Workshops tailored to support the needs of postgraduate students. On the postgraduate webpages currently there are reviews of the 2nd Postgraduate Conference which took place in July 2007 and the 2nd postgrad workshop on social policy in developing and transitional economies held in December 2007.
The Postgraduate Conference brings together 15-20 postgraduate each year presenting and discussing across a range of social policy themes and issues. It is an excellent way to gain experience of presenting in a more informal environment and to meet and network with fellow postgraduate students. Postgraduate students are of course also encouraged to attend and present at the annual SPA Conference. The SPA have also recently begun a Postgraduate Workshop Series in order to bring together smaller groups of postgraduate students from across the UK who have a shared research focus. The 1st Postgraduate Workshop took place in Oxford in March 2007 and focussed on exploring issues around lone parenthood. It was a great success and we are looking for themes for future workshops in 2008: contact adam.whitworth@socres.ox.ac.uk if you are part of a group or network with ideas for a workshop theme.
To help you get in touch with other postgraduates working on similar topics there is a Postgraduate Members page on which you can search for other postgraduates either by topic area, name or organisation. Members can log-in to the members area to update, change or extend the information on them in this directory. There is also a Postgraduate Weblog page
The SPA have developed a strategy to help meet the needs of postgraduate researchers in the UK and we welcome your thoughts and ideas about what more we can do in the future as this strategy expands. If you’re full of ideas we’d love to hear from you! Contact the SPA’s Postgraduate Representative adam.whitworth@socres.ox.ac.uk