British Council and SGSAH launch Global Research Scholarships to help address Climate Emergency
Published: 20 August 2024
The British Council Scotland SGSAH EARTH Scholarships programme enables international research collaborations between PhD and Early Career Researchers and Scottish HEIs and Scotland-based academic mentors, and external organisations, thematically focused on environmental Arts and Humanities and their interdisciplinary connections.
- British Council Scotland and the Scottish Graduate School for Arts and Humanities (SGSAH) have launched the EARTH Scholarship Programme for its 3rd year running to tackle the climate emergency.
- The 2025 EARTH Scholarship Programme will encourage global and interdisciplinary collaborations with a focus on climate emergency themes and the interventions of the Arts and Humanities.
- Scholarships are open for application and are available to PhD and Early Career Researchers from across the Arts and Humanities.
British Council Scotland and the Scottish Graduate School for Arts and Humanities (SGSAH) have launched the 2025 EARTH Scholarship programme that will be awarded to PhD and Early Career Researchers from around the world.
Building on the legacy and success of the programme in both 2023 & 2024, the EARTH Scholarships will recognise the importance of the climate emergency through innovative Arts and Humanities research
The programme will provide scholarships for in-person or hybrid exchanges to Scotland for up to three-months in 2025. The exchanges will include an in-person leadership programme where all recipients will come together alongside Scotland-based scholars to network and collaborate.
Aimed at incoming PhD and Early Career Researchers these scholarships will help showcase the cultural assets of Scotland, as well as the vital role that arts and culture can play in addressing the climate emergency. The scholarships will address climate change from a new angle, drawing on the expertise of both organisations in offering international opportunities for research in the area of the arts, climate, and sustainability.
The EARTH Scholarships align with SGSAH's GREEN/GRADUATE Strategy and with the British Council’s broader objectives of their flagship Going Global Partnerships programme, which works to build understanding and trust through arts and education worldwide.
The programme ran for the first time in 2023. Profiles of the 2023 and 2024 EARTH Scholars are available on the SGSAH website. Recordings of the research presentations by the 2023 Scholars are available here, along with research showcases here
SGSAH is the world’s first national graduate school in the Arts and Humanities. Established in 2014, SGSAH provides training and support to doctoral researchers across Scotland. An integral part of Scottish, UK and international civil society, SGSAH works in the arts, culture, creative and heritage sectors, supporting positive connections locally, regionally, and globally to provide outstanding opportunities for doctoral researchers in Scotland.
Working in Scotland since 1946 at forefront of education and culture, a key part of the British Council’s work is supporting universities in Scotland to internationalise their offer. Over the last few years, the British Council has delivered the Climate Connection, a global platform that has helped build climate cooperation through arts, culture and education.
Previous EARTH Scholars have worked on projects to drive awareness, shift perceptions, and inspire solutions to our world's escalating climate challenges. Recent alumni of the 2024 scholarships spoke to us about the programme's impact on their work:
Krista Collier-Jarvis (Dalhousie University and Mount Saint Vincent University) spoke about bringing her research across the Atlantic:
"The EARTH Scholarships programme provided me the opportunity to build dialogue other PhD researchers in the Scottish context. I’ve found brilliant approaches here in and there is an authentic desire here to find solutions to the climate emergency. Through events like Global Connects, we hope to expand how Scotland and future researchers approach the climate crisis."
Poulomi Choudhury (University College Dublin) added about her research into representations of horror fiction:
"The EARTH Scholarship programme has been an incredibly enriching experience for my PhD research into literary horror fiction centred around the abattoir and representations of cannibalism. It has not only allowed me to engage deeply with my ongoing work at the University of Edinburgh but has also significantly enhanced my understanding of the Indian literary works I am analysing. The programme has helped me foster dialogue and collaboration, inspiring innovative and critical thinking to address the climate crisis."
Wonah Odey (University of Stirling) concluded:
"Participating as an EARTH Scholar has allowed me to delve deeper into the cultural and environmental implications of AI technologies. This programme provides a unique platform to engage with scholars and experts from really diverse disciplines, fostering a holistic understanding of how AI intersects with environmental sustainability. This experience has equipped me with a deeper understanding of the environmental impact of AI, and it’s also given me valuable connections with peers and mentors”.
Introducing the Scholarship programme for 2024-2025 Harish Lokhun, Head of Education, British Council Scotland said:
"We're thrilled to launch the next iteration of EARTH Scholarships. This programme represents a unique opportunity to harness the power of arts and humanities in addressing global challenges around climate. The programme has already forged excellent relationships between individual researchers and between universities across Scotland. We’ve seen some great international collaborations and interdisciplinary approaches, so far and we're excited to open the EARTH scholarships for the next year”.
SGSAH’s Director, Professor Claire Squires, commented:
“It’s with great delight that, for a third year, SGSAH is running the EARTH Scholarships in partnership with British Council Scotland again. The programme has already enabled us to extend our reach globally, and bring almost 30 scholars to Scotland to work with mentors in Scottish HEIs (Higher Education Institutes), with Scotland-based PhD researchers, and with leading experts in the environmental arts and humanities. We can’t wait to see who the 2025 EARTH Scholars will be"
About the British Council
The British Council is the UK’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities. We support peace and prosperity by building connections, understanding and trust between people in the UK and countries worldwide. We do this through our work in arts and culture, education and the English language. We work with people in over 200 countries and territories and are on the ground in more than 100 countries. In 2021-22 we reached 650 million people.
About SGSAH
The Scottish Graduate School for Arts and Humanities (SGSAH) is the world’s first national graduate school in the Arts and Humanities. Its mission is to work in partnership to offer unparalleled training and support to doctoral researchers in Scotland. Its HEI members cover the whole of Scotland, from the Highlands and Islands to the Scottish Borders. Working with supporters in the arts, culture, creative and heritage sectors, SGSAH supports positive connections and productive networks locally, regionally and globally to provide outstanding opportunities for doctoral researchers in Scotland.
SGSAH is home to the AHRC Doctoral Training Partnership for Scotland. SGSAH is funded by the Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and the Scottish Funding Council as well as member HEIs.
First published: 20 August 2024
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