During the week commencing 16th September we held the first Centre for Care Summer School. The event has set the bar very high in terms of the presentations from the students and the collegiate contributions from staff across the Centre for Care and further afield.
The programme for the week included presentations by the Summer School students, with feedback from their Centre for Care mentor and peers. The presentations covered a wide range of topics and methodological approaches and generated some great discussions. Alongside these, various interactive sessions were organised, covering key theories in care research, guidance on publishing, Open Science and developing digital communications, as well as ‘lightening talks’ showcasing the work underway across the Centre for Care.
Thank you!
All the logistics would have been impossible without the support of Centre Manager, Dr Kelly Davidge, and Administrator, Sarah Givans. Kelly worked incredibly hard to craft such a comprehensive programme of both academic sessions but also evening activities, and Sarah’s management of the travel arrangements and bookings was crucial in the smooth operation of the school.
We’d like to offer a thank you to all the fantastic mentors (Professors Charlie Rahal, Majella Kilkey, Matt Bennett) who provided really engaged and constructive feedback. Also to wider Centre colleagues and PhD students for coming together on the Tuesday for our in-person day and being so welcoming to the summer school students.
Our gratitude also goes to all our speakers – Professor Teppo Kröger (Centre of Excellence in Research on Ageing and Care) for both his inspiring keynote and theory session; Dr Katherine Davies for fantastic insight into not only how to read a qualitative paper but improve their publications prospects too; Dan Williamson for a behind the scenes look at how he creates such engaging content for the Centre; Dr Grace Whitfield and Ella Monkcom for an excellent reading group; to Professor Charlie Rahal for a really thought-provoking session on Open Science; and Dr Obert Tawodzera (IMPACT Project Officer), Dr Greg Hollin (Wellcome Trust Research Fellow) and Dr Katherine Davies (Senior Lecturer, University of Sheffield) for an brilliant and honest session on publishing.
Often the support with the more social aspects of events like these are overlooked – so thank you to Dr Kelly Davidge, Sarah Givans, Dr Duncan Fisher, Professor Charlie Rahal and Dr Maria Petrillo for ensuring everyone’s evenings were enjoyable.
And last but not least, thank you to the summer school students who provided so much food for thought and were so engaged with such a varied programme of activities. We look forward to keeping in touch and seeing your careers develop!
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About the Author
Kate Hamblin is Professor of Social Policy and Director of the Centre for Care. She joined the University of Sheffield in 2018 to work on the Sustainable Care programme. She also currently leads the Centre for Care’s Digital Care research theme and is the UK Networks and geographical lead for the North and East-Midlands in the IMProving Adult Care Together (IMPACT) evidence implementation Centre. She is also the Policy and Practice Liaison lead for the NIHR School for Social Care Research at the University of Sheffield.
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