This project aims to collecting information from Sanctuary scholars and feedback from people involved in the University of Sanctuary initiative to voice beneficiaries' needs and expectations, help the PI - who is the University of Sanctuary initiative co-coordinator - assess and implement the Sanctuary programme, raise awareness and strengthen collaboration across the University.
Department: Department of Languages and Cultures
Supervised by: Professor Federico Faloppa
The University of Reading Is fully committed to support a Sanctuary initiative to a) help students and academics with a forced migration background; b) develop a broader plan for social change and inclusion. Since 2021, the University has been offering Sanctuary scholarships, and has recently applied for a University of Sanctuary award to become part of a national network of Sanctuary Institutions. Global events in 2022 have however renewed the question of how universities can best support displaced students and academics beyond scholarships and has led to an expansion of sanctuary activities and long-term planning, To best support current sanctuary activities and implement long-term planning and strategies, some detailed information should be gathered for a. Surveying current and future Sanctuary scholars' needs and expectations; b. Increasing Institutional knowledge and awareness; c. Better understanding how to create and consolidate a sanctuary community; d. Evaluating the academic and social impact of the Sanctuary initiative in the long-run; e. Raising awareness across all UoR communities (UG and PG students, members of staff); f. Informing local communities (including NGOs' practitioners), Reading City of Sanctuary officers and councillors, and the local media. Should the project be financed, the student will help the PI gather and systematise information by co-designing and co-conducting a fact-finding survey through desk research and interviews. The desk research will provide background information and updates on University and City of Sanctuary initiatives across the UK. Ca. fifteen 30-minute interviews will be conducted to gather Information about needs, perceptions, expectations of current Sanctuary scholars and people already involved in the Sanctuary initiative or potentially interested in taking part In future Sanctuary programmes, including a. admin and academic members of UoR staff (such as the Pro-Vice Chancellor for Global engagement; Heads of Schools; Student services managers); b. RUSU officers; c. Student representatives; d. people working on/with refugees and asylum seekers in the Reading area; e. Reading Borough’s councillors; The student will then extract relevant information from the interviews, that will be included in a short summative report to be circulated internally and to be used by the PI and the other co-coordinator of the Sanctuary initiative to implement strategies, promote activities, foster participation and awareness. Together with the PI, the student will also assess the current programme and ambitions against the key-finding of the report, to help the PI identify issues, challenges, and emerging key areas for further development.
The student will undertake the following tasks: a. he/she will conduct a (short) desk research to provide background information and updates on University and City of Sanctuary initiatives across the UK; b. together with the PI, he/she will set up a list of people to interview, and will contact them to fix online/face-to-face appointment (upon availability); c. together with the PI, he/she will draft an ethical protocol to store and protect the Information collected through the interviews; this protocol will be submitted to the School of Literature and Languages Ethical Committee for approval; d. together with the PI, he/she will design a template questionnaire for the interview; e. he/she will interview the selected samples of people; f. he/she will partially transcribe the interviews to extract relevant information; g. he/she will provide the PI with relevant information to be included in a summative report by the end of the project.
The student will need the following skills/knowledge: a. some command of voice-recording and word-processing software; b. social skills to Interact with people; c. good command of academic English; d. good experience in working with secondary sources (for the desk research); e. sound interest in working on the subject (fostering inclusion of refugees in the University and the wider society). No previous knowledge of the Sanctuary initiative is required.
As a result of the placement, these further skills will be developed: a. collecting and analysing information; b. designing an ethical protocol for dealing with sensitive data (this skill could be very beneficial to the student for his/her dissertation or if/when applying for PG programmes); c. designing a template for interviews (see comment at b); d. selecting relevant information from interviews; e. reflecting upon academic impact on society; f. teamworking; g. fostering collaborative knowledge; h. managing a research activity; i. enhancing communicative competence.
University of Reading. Whiteknights campus (for the desk research and work: Miller Building, Post-graduate room) Reading town (in case of face-to-face interviews in Reading)
3 days a week for 8 weeks (indicative)
Monday 12 June 2023 - Friday 04 August 2023
The deadline to apply for this opportunity is Friday 26th May 2023. Students should submit their CV and Cover Letter directly to the Project Supervisor (click on supervisor name at the top of the page for email). Successful candidates will be invited for an interview.