Latest student opportunities

Student research enquiries

Grow Research Opportunity

Grow supports people with lived experience of mental distress to access the deeply therapeutic effects of nature. A closed group of up to 15 people is supported by 2 experienced project leaders to explore local Sussex countryside, in partnership with the National Trust (NT) warden based at Saddlescombe Farm just outside Brighton. The group meets fortnightly for 3 month ‘seasons’, travelling together by minibus, with healthy lunches provided. We offer activity choices for varying mental & physical health - including NT guided walks & conservation activities, green woodworking, environmental art, mindfulness, tea & chat by the fire. Participants can devise their own volunteer roles & we support progression to mainstream eco-projects by making community links & encouraging peer support. Grow has shown that it can transform people’s lives - they've gained confidence, self-esteem, a sense of hope & belonging & increased overall wellbeing, empowering them to move their lives forwards. We started delivering the project in March 2011 & are currently funded until June 2012. This pilot of the project has been very successful & we are at a really exciting time of growth & change involving developing plans to access further funding and expand.

Culture Shift CIC

Culture Shift: Leaders in creative and cultural learning. We are a small non-for-profit social enterprise founded in 2011. We believe that creativity is a catalyst for change that can be harnessed for community and individual benefit. www.cultureshift.org.uk

We work with the creative and cultural sector, in education and youth settings, with businesses, local government, health and criminal justice.

We broker partnerships that put the expertise of creative professionals to use tackling our partners’ most challenging issues. With them, we co-produce tailor-made solutions, in the form of projects, consultancy, training or research where creativity plays a central role.

Stay Up Late – Gig Buddies Project

Stay Up Late want to look in to the feasibility of setting up a volunteer scheme that concentrates on utilising the social capital that already exists (ie people going to gigs and events) and seeing how we could link up those people as buddies with people with learning disabilities, who would otherwise not be able to attend. The whole idea is about linking up people due to a shared appreciation of the same kind of music and hopefully enabling friendships to develop naturally from that.

Hove Civic Society

Hove Civic Society are looking for a research student from either Engineering or Environmental Science to help them gather information about re-using waste heat from Shoreham power station in order to provide CHP and district heating to the City. This is part of the work of their renewables infrastructure group, moving towards the government target of reducing CO2 emissions by 80% by 2050. The work would involve identifying relevant information and documenting and presenting it in way that would support the case to citizen and government departments.

Details about Hove Civic Society can be found on http://www.hovecivicsociety.org/

Brighton Housing Trust

Brighton Housing Trust at First Base Day Centre is a resource base for homeless people and people who are insecurely housed.

They were awarded a Heritage Lottery Fund grant earlier this year for a five year heritage project. Part of this project is a social history research project into the history of homelessness in Brighton and Hove from 1777, when our building was built, to the present day.

Formerly – Older people’s council in Brighton and Hove

Marina Murphy was up until recently a co-opted committee member of the Older People’s Council in Brighton and Hove. She recently resigned from this role, because of perceived limitations of the group in terms of ‘reach’, ‘inclusion’ and ‘effectiveness’. The committee was also ‘male dominated’.

She is interested in developing a research project looking into the health and well being needs of BME older people in Brighton and Hove and the surrounding area

There is little known about this group locally and because of this it would be best to carry out a quantitative and qualitative study.

Friends of Queens Park – supported by B&H City Council

Johnny Webb sits on the Friends of Queens Park management committee and is currently involved in preparing a public consultation on the future of Queens Park to ensure that the park meets the needs of the community going forward.

Links Research Opportunities

Possible research projects with ‘Links’, a Health Watchdog in Brighton for users of NHS services:

What would encourage people from the lesbian community to have more cervical smears?
How could GP practices be more young people friendly?
What would encourage younger people to join their local patient participation group at their GP practice? - as generally very very few young people are involved in these groups which means their voices are not heard.

Bike Maintenance - Phase 2

Outline

A continuation of the successful Bike Maintenance workshop attended by 10 service users several of whom expressed an interest in continuing the work in some way, perhaps as a ‘bike club’; offering simple maintenance to the public at local Farmer’s market; and/or doing up donated bikes and selling on. This would be further research into the interest and viability of setting up a Social Entreprise that repairs and re-sells bikes in Hailsham

Seap Buddy Scheme

Seap Buddy Scheme offers short breaks for young disabled people within their local community. Non disabled trained volunteers provide support and friendship at these events.

Funded by East Sussex Short Breaks programme we are looking for a student that wants to get involved at events and provide an external evaluation report to provide evidence to our funders.

Travel and event expenses will be reimbursed.