AudiencePostgraduates

The University of St Andrews and NHS Fife are exploring what could be done to improve processes from initiation to successful completion of research projects involving both the University of St Andrews and NHS Fife. These discussions include many aspects, such as contact points and communications, guidance and navigation tools, and training.

We are looking for input from researchers who have had experience working on joint projects between the University of St Andrews and NHS Fife, or have considered/are considering doing so.

If you have some time to spare and would be willing to meet with me, I would really appreciate your input into these discussions. I have scheduled a few drop-in Teams sessions to allow for this, which are scheduled as follows:

Thursday 23 September 10:00-12:00 Click here to join the meeting
Monday 27 September 14:00-16:00 Click here to join the meeting
Tuesday 28 September 10:00-12:00 Click here to join the meeting
Monday 4 October 14:00-16:00 Click here to join the meeting
Tuesday 5 October 14:00-16:00 Click here to join the meeting

Alternatively, if you would like to discuss any ideas in person/on Teams please do not hesitate to contact me and we can arrange a meeting.

Best wishes,

Catriona Young
Joint Research Office Project Officer.
jro-planning@st-andrews.ac.uk

Dr Alysa Ghose
University of Edinburgh

Title: Knowledge from feeling, action from advice – the collective hustle and erotic witnessing of spiritual development in Cuban Espiritismo

Abstract: TBA

This biology postgraduate career session will feature discussions around the challenges of finding a job in sciences while balancing a family life.

The event will include a diverse panel of speakers, academics and non academics, who will talk about personal experiences and offer suggestions on how to find the optimal balance between a rewarding job and a stable family life.

The panel of speakers includes:

• Dr Christopher Stockdale, Clinical Scientist at Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
• Dr Katie Gillies, Health Care Assessment Programme Director & Senior Research Fellow, University of Aberdeen
• Julie McLellan, Career Adviser, University Careers Center
• Professor Maria Dornelas, School of Biology
• Dr Nicholas Jones, Postdoctoral Researcher in the School of Biology

Each speaker will give a ten-minute presentation followed by five-minutes for questions. At the end of the session there will be a round table discussion. The event will run on a dual mode: most talks will be live but some will be online via MS Teams.

Please register for the event using this online form.

Postgraduate research seminar.

Please contact Kate Dove on kad20@st-andrews.ac.uk or Liz O’Keefe on ero4@st-andrews.ac.uk for further information.

A Speaker Series not to be missed. Organised in partnership with the Entrepreneurial Education Working Group, this week’s edition of the Entrepreneurship Centre Speaker Series features St Andrews student and entrepreneur, Suhit Amin.

Suhit, 20, is a Young Entrepreneur and Founder of Saulderson Media. In February 2018, aged 16, he was diagnosed with Stage 2A Hodgkin Lymphoma. His illness motivated him to do something bigger and pursue his entrepreneurial passions.

Instead of letting his diagnosis bring him down, he channeled it into his ambitions – to be a successful entrepreneur. His mindset was that, if he wasn’t alive in a year’s time, he would want to go out doing something big and what he loves.

He overcame the odds and beat cancer whilst launching a successful business – now a seven-figure influencer marketing agency. He is now a five-times award-winning entrepreneur and speaker who leads multiple businesses across different sectors.

Join us to hear Suhit share his inspirational journey.

Postgraduate research seminar.

Please contact Kate Dove on kad20@st-andrews.ac.uk or Liz O’Keefe on ero4@st-andrews.ac.uk for further information.

Join us for this weeks’ Speaker Series where we will be joined by St Andrews Alumnus and serial-entrepreneur, Sagar Kumar.

We are delighted to be joined by Sagar Kumar – Co-Founder Of VS Charity Fashion Show and Founder of many Health & Real Estate Companies & Masters Student. Sagar Is Passionate About Fulfilment & Life Strategy, Coaching Other Successful Founders. Join us as we hear Sagar share with us, his journey, experience and the importance of creating impact.

Dr Lisa Davidson
York University

Title: Multiculturalism as the Work of Miracles – Christianity and Canadian Belonging Among Racialized Presbyterians in Toronto

Abstract: TBA

Postgraduate research seminar.

Please contact Kate Dove on kad20@st-andrews.ac.uk or Liz O’Keefe on ero4@st-andrews.ac.uk for further information.

We are happy to invite you to the lecture series ‘Thinking Inclusively: A Lecture Series on the Role of Inclusive Academia in Intellectual Development’ developed by the Equality, Inclusivity and Diversity (EDI) committee of the School of Philosophy, Anthropology and Film Studies (PAFS).

The event is open to all members of the university and will take place on Friday, October 22nd, from 9.30am until 5pm BST/ London UK Time. This is a hybrid event where people can either attend online or in-person. Feel free to join for some of the talks or all of them.

The event will feature lectures given by current PhD students in the School of PAFS, as well as short presentations showcasing summer STEP projects lead by UG students and sponsored by the School.

The program is the following:

9.30am- 10am Welcome and coffee

10am- 11am
David MacDonald (Philosophy) and Manar Kawasmi (Social Anthropology)
“Issues of inclusion and power relations in Philosophy and Social Anthropology”

11.15-11.45am STEP Project: First Presentation by UG students

11.45am-1.15pm Lunch Break

1.15-1.45pm STEP Project: Second Presentation by UG students

2-3pm
Camila Ferreira Marinelli (Social Anthropology) and Olivia Booker (Film Studies)
“Practicality of decolonisation”

3.15-3.45pm STEP Project: Third Presentation by UG students

4-5pm
Cassice Last (Film Studies) and Enrico Galvagni (Philosophy)
“The Universal Subject? Breaking Down Assumptions in Western Philosophy and American Survival Films”

If you have any questions about the event or how to access it, please reach out to Lara Jost (laj7@st-andrews.ac.uk).

As we prepare for the UN United Nations Climate Change Conference, also known as COP26, the University of St Andrews’ Centre for Energy Ethics & Model United Nations Society invite all Postgraduate Taught (Masters) students at the University of St Andrews to participate in a:

MOCK COP
the event will take place on Friday 22 Oct 10 am — 4 pm

Our Mock COP will use the Model UN format to re-create COP26 negotiations and provide a unique insight into the ways in which the UN Conferences of Parties (COPs) work.

Each participant will join a group representing one of the key parties at COP to debate and negotiate critical resolutions related to energy and climate change.

There are few better ways of understanding international affairs and global politics than putting yourself ‘in the shoes of world leaders’ — and few (if any) issues more critical than those of climate change.

The event will offer a great opportunity to all participants to hone and develop their debating, teamwork, negotiation and public speaking skills; and meet other Masters students from across the University. Those familiar with the Model UN format will vouch that it will also be a very interesting, at times hilarious, always informative and often surprising day — in all the best possible ways.
All participants will receive appropriate training, and the session will be facilitated by Model UN experts.

The event is open to Masters students from all schools and departments at the University of St Andrews, and free. We anticipate that the event will be held in person, in the prestigious Parliament Hall (pending health and safety regulations).

To take part in the event, please e-mail Dr Emilka Skrzypek with an expression of interest by Monday, 4th October. E-mail address: ees7@st-andrews.ac.uk

Next Generation St Andrews is a series of Environmental Discussions between students and professionals and researchers in the environmental sector in the run-up to COP26. The speaker series has a fantastic line-up of internationally-renown researchers, ranging from all areas of interest.

Our line-up:
– October 25th 6-7 pm: Baroness Brown of Cambridge, Julia King (Climate Adaption and Mitigation)
– October 26th 6-7 pm: Caroline Hickman (Eco-Anxiety)
– October 27th 6-7 pm: Physicist Amory Lovins (Disruptive Technologies)
– October 28th 6-7 pm: Professor Alan Dangour (Global Health & the Environment)
– October 30th 6-7 pm: Claudia S. de Windt (Climate Law & Policy)
– October 31st 6-7 pm: Professor Prakash Kashwan (Climate Justice)

Registration for the Fellowship Day hosted by the BSRC and IBANS is now open.

The event brings together external funders, current fellowship holders and colleagues from a range of Units who support the submission of fellowship applications.

There will be a CV surgery, where small groups will discuss CVs with a senior member of academic staff, time for Q&As, and the opportunity to meet with one of the funders via individual appointments.

This event will be of particular interest to PhD students and PDRAs, but anyone is welcome to attend. Please register at this link where you will find the full agenda for the day.

Dr Julienne Obadia
University of Cambridge

Title: Paying in Processing Time – The Contract Complex, Polyamory, and the Relational Production of Unrelationality in American Late Liberalism

Abstract: TBA

Do you want to work in an environmental or sustainability-related field after you graduate? Come along to our COP26 careers discussion and meet some St Andrews’ alumni who have done just that! Find out more about how they approached their careers and discover what it takes to work for a better future.

Our speakers:

Keynote speaker & Moderator: Sofie Bøgger Jensen
Sofie is a current student at the University and a student representative on the ESB.

Hanna Plant-
Hanna is from Edinburgh and plays an active role in driving the circular economy in Scotland as a Senior Consultant for waste and resources consultancy Resource Futures. She graduated from the University of St Andrews with an MA Honours in Sustainable Development and has over 10 years of experience in behaviour change and sustainability projects. Hanna was previously Waste Team Manager at Scotland’s largest environmental charity, Changeworks. She has also trained and supported hundreds of sustainability graduates to develop ‘the skills of a change agent’ during her time as Education Projects Manager with Change Agents UK. She was recognised in the late Sustainable Development Commission’s Young Scottish Greens list for her community mobilisation for social justice and sustainability campaigns during her time at St Andrews and was a founding member of Scotland’s 2050 Climate Group.

Sam Bruce-
Sam Bruce is Co-founder and Director of Much Better Adventures, an adventure company focused on reducing carbon emissions, benefiting local communities and backing important conservation work. Sam graduated from the University of St Andrews in 2010 with a BSc. in Sustainable Development and Management and co-produced the documentary: Adventures not Dams, a documentary film and campaign to save the last wild river in Europe.

Lea Weimann-
Léa Weimann is a passionate eco-activist who has organised environmental campaigns in South Africa, Germany, and the UK. She runs her own blog and podcast “Eco-Activist Journeys”. Léa co-organised and led four global climate marches in St Andrews, was the Students’ Association Environment Officer 2020-21 and Advisor to the Environmental Sustainability Board. Léa graduated from the University of St Andrews in International Relations and Sustainable Development in June 2021 and received the Principal’s Medal for her community service, climate activism, and academic achievements. She has published a non-for-profit poetry book called DEAR EARTH. Currently, she is studying for an LLM in Global Environment and Climate Change Law at the University of Edinburgh.

A service to commemorate St Leonard who was regarded as the protector of travellers and carer of prisoners. All postgraduate students especially welcome.

Important Information: Those attending in person will no longer be required to reserve a place. All who come will be accommodated up to the chapel’s capacity. The collection of contact details for Test and Protect will take place on the day. You will have the option of scanning the QR Code provided using your smart phone, or leaving your contact details with the ushers.

A copy of the QR code Check In Scotland Privacy Notice can be found on our Worship web page, in the relevant documents section.

Dr Brian Alleyne
University of London, Goldsmiths

Title: Technological speculations and explorations in odd places, or, how to be a geek in the Global South

Abstract: Except for industrialising Asia, the Global South is not generally associated with deep innovation in digital technologies: research recognises Southern innovation in terms of improvisation around affordance considering material derivation, but fundamental tech development is seen as happening in the North. In this talk I challenge this construction by exploring geek culture outside global North centred national silos and ethnocentric frameworks. I offer first the outline of a surprising narrative history of computing in the Caribbean, before discussing two cases. The first case is built around a thematic ‘distant reading’ of speculative fiction written by authors identified with the English and Spanish Caribbean. The second case addresses efforts by geeks from Cuba and Trinidad-Tobago to enter the supposedly lucrative field of digital commodity production. Alongside the substantive presentation, I highlight several methodological issues around ‘fieldwork’ that I had to confront because travel was impossible owing to the pandemic.

Prof Jenny Huberman
University of Missouri, Kansas City

Title: Moments are Still the Elements of Profit – The App Economy and the Digital Extraction of Surplus-Value

Abstract: Over the last two decades, while the ranks of the under and unemployed have swelled, and as the commercial demand for more precise data has skyrocketed, the smartphone task and gaming app industry has exploded. Likened to a portable Mechanical Turk, or a veritable “data enrichment” industry, apps such as Spare5, Taps for Money, InboxDollars, Cash Karma, Mistplay, Bingo Box, Solitude Cube, Swagbucks, Survey Junkie, Lifepoints, PrizeRebel, and TreasureTrooper, to name just a few, are advertised to e-commerce and AI companies as a way to get the most direct access to potential consumers, and as way to gain a “cost-effective” leg up in the “arms race in training data.” They are also presented to consumers or users as a means to “win” or “earn some money by performing simple tasks irrespective of the place where you are.” Companies propose that by downloading these apps onto smartphones users can render their “free time” economically productive. In this talk, I explore how the smartphone app industry is facilitating the digitized extraction of surplus-value. I argue that it is precisely by blurring the boundaries between work and leisure, and in many cases, “gamifying” tasks, that the app economy, which is inextricably tied to the platform economy, is able to perpetuate and extend a classic form of capitalist expropriation into the most intimate reaches of daily life. Drawing upon an analysis of some of the most popular smartphone “earning” apps, I will demonstrate that although much has changed in the era of digital capitalism, moments, as Marx recognized long ago, are still the elements of profit.