ID187 Creating PhD+ (placement) opportunities for PGR researchers

The Idea

Placements play a crucial role in preparing PhD researchers for life after university. They provide valuable insights into different employment cultures, enhance transferable skills, and increase employability and awareness of career opportunities. 

UKRI has adopted a 3-month funded placement as part of all its doctoral training partnership schemes (including the DTP Keele is involved in) but beyond this few of our PGRs have access to placement opportunities. Evaluation of the scheme is positive in terms of graduate outcomes and employability. BBSRC-150224-EvaluationOfProfessionalInternshipsForPhDstudentsProgramme.pdf. 

To create a distinctive Keele PhD experience and ensure equity by providing such opportunities to the broader pool of PhD candidates, we propose that Keele creates a funded competitive professional internship scheme for doctoral candidates (PhD+partnership scheme) to apply for, working with the partnerships team. Research indicates that providing PhD students with opportunities to explore different employment environments through placements may have a positive impact on their learning and career development, encouraging them to develop their transferable skills, and become aware of employer requirements (Bracewell et al. 2023; Manathunga and Lant, 2006) 

Why This Idea Should Be Considered

Such a scheme would enhance PGR graduate employability outcomes (recognising that many PGRs will have left the academic sector within five years) making Keele PhDs more attractive within the sector, boosting PGR recruitment, offering collaborative opportunities with partners and bringing our offer in-line with competitive sector best practices. The university has a broad range of partners from a wide range of sectors and organisation types. It is envisaged that opportunities be sought through existing relationships and that there will be learning in how this works across different types of organisations.  Partners rarely have the opportunity to be exposed to doctoral skillsets through work-based and placement learning and a scheme would have the benefit in enhancing understanding of what level 8 skills can add to a business setting, building prospective workforce opportunities. In turn, institutions too often do not expose doctoral learners to broader employability skills in a live context, enhancing their understanding of options available to them and building transferable skills and confidence. 

How We Would Implement This Idea

Fund a pilot project between KDA and Partnerships team to support a fixed number of one-month placements for a three year period. PGRs would apply for the PhD+partnership scheme competitively, outcomes from partnerships would be shared at PGR events and participating PGRs and organisations asked to supply some evaluation data at the close of scheme to assess impact. In parallel work would be undertaken to support financial sustainability of the scheme. 

What Success Would Look Like

• Increased number of PGRs taking up placements 
• Improved PGR experience 
• Improved PhD employability metrics 
• Increased PGR recruitment 
• Increased PGR self confidence, self efficacy and knowledge of transferable skills 
• Further development of placement scheme (to consider longer placements) and funding for ongoing support.