fionalouisescott

The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) in the UK offers a fantastic opportunity to PhD students who receive funding from them. During the course of an their studies, students can apply for funding to go on an Overseas Institutional Visit (OIV) to another organisation – anywhere in the world – for up to three months.

The ESRC recently accepted my proposal so I’ll be heading off to spend three months in Australia from mid September to establish research networks, disseminate early research findings from my doctoral studies and participate in a range of conferences, seminars and other academic activities.

I’ll be starting my trip as a Visiting Scholar at the Australian Catholic University (ACU), Melbourne. Amongst other things, I’ll be presenting my work to a group of early childhood educators working in Melbourne and spending some time in a local school. I’ll also be presenting a paper at Improving Children’s Lives: Translating Research for Practice, Policy and Community (University of Wollongong). Following a brief stint in Sydney, I’ll be moving on to Queensland University of Technology, where I’ll be giving a guest seminar at the Children and Youth Research Centre. My trip will draw to a close in Fremantle, where I’m presenting two papers at the Australian Association for Research in Education Conference. Australia is an important centre for Early Childhood research and my hosts are leaders in the study of young children’s engagement with digital media, so the trip will give me a amazing opportunity to push myself further. I will also be strengthening established partnerships between the School of Education here in Sheffield and two Australian universities.

I’ll be blogging about my adventures (academic and personal!) here from September onwards, so watch this space!