Kate Greer is encouraging fellow PhD students to explore opportunities to be a visiting scholar following the successful time she spent at the Swedish Centre of Education for Sustainable Development (SWEDESD) at Uppsala University.
Kate, who is in the School of Education, Communication and Society (ECS), was invited by Professor Anna Danielsson, a professor at Uppsala and a Visiting Professor at ECS, after she reviewed Kate’s paper, The Capabilities Approach: A Fresh Perspective for Understanding Environmental Education.
Kate explains: “The paper began as my MA dissertation and, over the past two years, has been developed through the work of a writing team in ECS, made up of Dr John Owens, Dr Heather King, Dr Melissa Glackin and myself. As a new researcher, writing in this team has shown me just how rich collaborative writing is a for learning and for generating ideas.”
A Global Research Grant then made the two-week visit possible. “I am grateful to Anna for extending the invitation, to my supervisors, Heather and Melissa, for their encouragement and the Global Research Grant through King’s Mobility Office for the funding. I strongly encourage other PhD candidates to make the most of these types of opportunities – to find ways to be a visiting scholar – alongside your PhD. The application process for the Global Research Grant was straightforward, and the rewards were great."
So how did the trip help Kate in terms of her studies?
“My visit to Uppsala University was terrific. I met several established academics in my field who gave generous input into my research. The combination of the people I met and the time I spent shook up several of my research ideas in ways that will ultimately (hopefully!) make it all the stronger."