A review of the last few months at the GCDC from Dr Beth Breeze
One of my favourite things about working in a university is the rhythm of the academic year. When the world is in flux – as ours undoubtedly is – there is something very reassuring about knowing that, come September, the campus will fill up again with roughly a third of bright-eyed new students, and two-thirds who are older, wiser and heading towards graduation. Summer on campus is very peaceful – a time for staff and Postgraduates to enjoy the library, cafes and grounds all to ourselves. But it’s not the same without the buzz and laughter of big gaggles of undergraduates, and the possibility that some are heading in the direction of joining us as doctoral students and on into research careers in academia or the wider world.
In case any of them are reading this eNewsletter, or we have other readers who are not quite sure what GCDC is (and no, it is nothing to do with the similarly named Australian rock band!), I thought it might be helpful to offer an introduction and overview of who we are, what we do, and why it matters:
The Global Challenges Doctoral Centre (GCDC) was established in 2018. It is an interdisciplinary community of researchers and future world leaders working to address some of the most complex global challenges of our time, as set out in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). GCDC provides funding, specialised training, networking with external experts, and a community of support for all those who wish to undertake research that creates social, cultural, environmental, and economic benefits.
To date, the Centre has supported 28 exceptionally talented doctoral students with full funding (fees, living stipend and training grant): 11 from the UK, 2 from Indonesia, and one each from Brazil, China, Germany, Greece, India, Ireland, Italy, Kenya, Palestine/Lebanon, Mauritius, Nepal, Nigeria, Sri Lanka, Sudan and Sweden. We are recruiting our 5th cohort as I type.
Our students are based across the university in the following departments: Anthropology and Conservation (6 students); Biosciences (6); Politics and International Relations (5); Physical Sciences (4); Architecture (2); Social Sciences (2); Economics (1); Kent Business School (1); and Kent Law School (1).
All of our super-talented and committed students are undertaking research projects connected to at least one of the SDGs, ranging from climate change adaptation strategies including sustainable air conditioners in resource-poor countries, to reducing deaths from snake bites, to developing low cost and environmentally sustainable rapid tests for infectious diseases.
I wish there was space to introduce all of them here, but let me instead point you to their online profiles on our website.
It is an absolute privilege to direct the Global Challenges Doctoral Centre. Thank you for being with us on this journey.
Dr Beth Breeze
Director, Global Challenges Doctoral Centre