Category: Travel

Universitas 21 Scholarship


Melbourne University Quad
Students move through the dim stone archways of Melbourne University's Quad

As part of my ongoing debrief regarding the Universitas 21 Scholarship I undertook earlier this year I’ve been invited to talk at the first PGR Student Seminar this term, on Monday 1st December, from 12.30 – 1.30 pm.in Room B33, Dearing Building in the School of Education on Jubilee Campus. Refreshments will be available. These tend to be informal events focused on student perspectives. The blurb being circulated runs like this:

The speaker will be Sarah Lewthwaite who will be talking about Universitas 21. Sarah will talk about her experiences as a Universitas 21 visiting scholar at the Centre for the Study of Higher Education at the University of Melbourne, Australia. She will also discuss the application process for the U21 travel prize, and the practical aspects of making such a trip. If you are interested in applying for travel bursaries during the course of your studies, or finding out more about working internationally at other universities, this will be a ‘backstage’ look at how to get going!

I’ll be bringing along my application, as well as photos from the trip  – so if you think you’re interested in applying for this kind of scholarship in the future, do come along.

U21 Prize Scholarship


I’m fortunate to announce that, with support from academics in the UK and Australia, I’ve won the Universitas 21 Prize Scholarship to continue my studies at the University of Melbourne, for a month later this year. Universitas 21 is an international network of 21 research-intensive universities in 13 countries. If you are a 2nd or 3rd year PhD student studying at a partner instutition you can apply for the prize scholarship to strengthen your research, these total up to £1000 ($2000) for visits outside a home country.

I’m hoping to benefit from the insights of Melbourne academics working in the areas of ‘Access and Equity’ and new technologies.  I have a desk at the Faculty of Education in ICT in Education and Research and my supervisor for the duration will be Dr Richard James, director of the Centre for the Study of Higher Education. 

Access and Equity is the Australian equivalent to the UK’s Widening Participation agenda. In particular, I’m interested in how national inclusion strategies and global (economic) information interests – embodied by new technologies – are experienced in and around the HE classroom. Hopefully this visit will allow me to couch my research in a wider, more internationally applicable context. The only downside has to be that I’m travelling during UK academic down-time (August) so I can’t benefit from the joys of an Australian summer!