PhD full time fellowship in Glasgow 2009/2010

PhD FELLOWSHIP (Full-time)
Glasgow, UK, (Abroad), Glasgow Caledonian University

Job description
PhD FELLOWSHIP
The fellowship is open to candidates from any country. Applicants must be graduates (Masters or Bachelors Degree plus relevant Masters) with a background (and interests) in Educational Science & Training and its sub-disciplines. Candidates with a background in Social or Behavioural Sciences are also eligible to apply, but a strong interest in Education and Training is essential.

•Experience (or strong interest) in socio-cultural approaches to learning and participatory research methods is necessary. Experience in using Change Laboratory method is not compulsory but would be an advantage. Familiarity with case study methodology will be highly valued.
•Experience (or strong interest) in technology-enhanced learning is desirable. In particular this involves application of emergent social technologies, games and simulation and virtual worlds for learning.
•Familiarity with relevant research on workplace learning, organisational learning, health and safety, motivation, sociology, ergonomics, and/or organisational psychology is a plus.
•Practical understanding of corporate learning context is desirable.

Requirements
University Graduate
We are looking for a smart, dynamic, curious and motivated person who has the following skills:

•experience, or interest in, conducting original qualitative research
•strong writing and oral presentation abilities
•ability to work to strict deadlines
•ability to communicate research findings efficiently to both academic and corporate audiences
•skills in workshop facilitation are desirable

Additional information about the job:
The PhD fellowship will be supervised by Professor Allison Littlejohn, Director of the Caledonian Academy and Dr Anoush Margaryan, Lecturer in Learning Technology at Glasgow Caledonian University (www.academy.gcal.ac.uk/people), along with two corporate supervisors.

Organization
Glasgow Caledonian University The Caledonian Academy
The Caledonian Academy is a flagship initiative of the Glasgow Caledonian University, focusing on Quality Enhancement. The Mission of the Academy is twofold: to lead the University in the development and implementation of new and innovative forms of learning and to extend its international reputation as a centre of first-rate, applied research in education.

The Academy will offer a unique contribution towards University’s Learning, Teaching and Assessment Strategy to 2010. To support this development a Development Director is required to take a major role in leading educational research initiatives both within and beyond the University.

Purpose of fellowship

The Caledonian Academy, in collaboration with the UK Energy Institute (EI) and Shell International BV, is offering a 3-year fellowship to carry out research leading to a PhD investigating and developing new approaches to enhancing learning from health and safety incidents in the industrial workplace. This PhD fellowship is funded by the EI and will be jointly supervised by Caledonian Academy, EI and Shell. The research will be conducted in 3 real-life testbeds in Shell, BP and ConocoPhillips. The fellowship offers a unique opportunity to work with three leading, global corporations as well as an internationally-renowned research team.

Research project

Learning from incidents is embedded in the culture of organisations. The premise of this study is that incidents will be reduced by embedding learners into a culture where continuous learning is promoted (a generative organisation). A strong mechanism to achieve a generative organisation can be found from social constructivism. Social constructivism stresses dialogue in learning, with this taking place via an active process of constructing meaning. By following a participatory Change Laboratory methodology, workers, in collaboration with the researcher, will develop a deep understanding of why incidents have occurred and how they can be prevented in the future. Applying deep learning into practice will help develop a safer workplace environment and create a generative organisation.

Conditions of employment
Employment basis: Temporary for specified period
Duration of the contract: 36 months

Additional conditions of employment:
There is a stipend of £13,900 per annum in the first year, rising to £14,746 in year 3. Each year’s stipend shall be payable to the fellow in four equal quarterly payments on 1 October, 1 January, 1 April and 1 July respectively of each year. In addition, the funding organisation will cover fellow’s PhD fees. Travel and subsistence expenses for carrying out data collection, progress and evaluation meetings in the testbeds will be covered by the funder/sponsoring organisation. The fellowship will also cover a conference visit, as well as residence permit costs for international student and training in workshop facilitation/Change Lab method. Glasgow Caledonian University will provide desk space and amenities.

‘Glasgow Caledonian University is committed to being an equal opportunities employer’

Additional Information
Additional information about the vacancy can be obtained from:

Prof. Allison Littlejohn
Telephone number: +44-141-331-8409
E-mail address: allison.littlejohn@gcal.ac.uk

Or additional information can be obtained through one of the following links.

* About the organization: http://www.caledonian.ac.uk/
* About the department: http://www.academy.gcal.ac.uk/
* About the function: http://www.caledonian.ac.uk/jobs/vacancies/index.html

Application
You can apply for this job before 28-11-2008 by sending your application to:

Caledonian University
Fiona McBeth
E-mail address: Fiona.mcBeth@gcal.ac.uk

Your application must include the following documents:

- Letter of interest
- CV/Resume
- A writing sample (500-1000 words)
- Names and contact information of two references (professional and/or academic).

Deadline for applications is November 28, 17:00 GMT. Interviews with shortlisted candidates will be conducted in December 2008.

When applying for this job always mention the vacancy number AT0012.

The short URL code for this job opening is: 00511-9.
You can use this as a direct link to the job by adding the code to the URL www.academictransfer.org/