We are committed to supporting students and early career researchers and below are some of the many initiatives that we offer to develop students and early career researchers’ careers, influence and research. We remain committed to supporting our members and the wider regional research community through knowledge exchange, webinars, publications and micro grant funding. To stay up to date with RSA and RSA Europe activities, we recommend to sign up for our monthly e-Bulletin at www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/webadmin?SUBED1=REGIONAL-STUDIES-COMMUNITY&A=1
Free events and trainings
Past webinars from both RSA Webinar series will be available on demand for RSA members via the RSA Lounge.
Professional Development Webinar Series
This webinar series offers training and support for skills, knowledge and professional development on a variety of topics. Run by experts in their field, this ‘how to’ best practice webinar series aims to support RSA members and interested participants at different career stages. Forthcoming Webinars:
- 14.04.2021, 12:00 BST: Policy Making: Making a difference – how to respond impactfully to consultations (Neil Lee, LSE, UK)
- 21.04.2021, 13:00 BST: Grants and Funding: An Introduction to the Small Grant Scheme by the RSA (Ron Boschma, Utrecht University, The Netherlands and Jana Kleibert, Leibniz Institute for Research on Society and Space, Germany)
- 05.05.2021, 15:00 BST: Grants and Funding: An introduction to the Early Career Grant Scheme by the RSA (Stuart Dawley, University of Newcastle, UK and Jacopo Canello, University of Groningen, The Netherlands)
Regions Cities Industry Webinar Series
Open to all and free to attend live, this webinar series brings experts in the field of regional studies, science and policy to you. Forthcoming Webinars:
- 24th March 2021, 10.00 EDT, 14.00 GMT, 16.00 SAST – Policy Expo China’s Belt and Road Initiative: Better Policies for Alleviating Risks and Enhancing Opportunities
- 28th April 2021, 13.00 BST, 14.00 CEST – title tbc
- 26th May 2021, 09.00 PDT, 17.00 BST – Failing Federalism? US Dualist Federalism and the 2020 Pandemic Debacle
Regions in Recovery Building Sustainable Futures – Global E-Festival
The Festival will address themes related to the re-emergence of regions and cities from the pandemic. It includes longer standing challenges to society of climate change, geopolitical manoeuvrings, the rise of populism, the financial implications of these shifts, migration crises, new challenges to the survival of pandemic struck firms and city centres and much more. More details on the Festival and how to participate as partner, presenter or non-presenting participants can be found here.
Funding & Awards
RSA Awards 2021
Nominations (both self-nominations and third-party nominations) of current members are being sought for the following awards in regional studies and related fields:
- Nathaniel Lichfield Award – this award is for recent Masters graduate who have graduated within the previous year.
- Paul Benneworth PhD Student Award – this award is for registered PhD students who have not yet received their PhD certificate. This name change recognises the enormous contribution of Paul Benneworth to the field of Regional Studies and his strong commitment to supporting students in our subject areas. The full announcement is available here.
- RSA Routledge Early Career Award – this award is for early career researchers (defined as being within five years of the date on their PhD certificate or equivalent).
The prize for each Award is: a cheque for £500; and a certificate. Deadline: 30 April 2021
This Scheme aims to support a discrete piece of regional studies and/or regional science research on the impact of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) on regions cities and industry. This award is open to single applicants or team of researchers. All applicants must be based within an eligible higher education institution (HEI) and must be a current individual (non-corporate) member of the Regional Studies Association and remain a member throughout the duration of the grant and reporting period.
- Value: up to £4,000 (c. €4,500; $5,000)
- Forthcoming deadline: 30th June 2021
RSA Early Career Grant Scheme
This funding is open to individual applicants in their early career (five years maximum between the date showing on the certificate and the application deadline). Applicants must be based within an eligible higher education institution and must be a current, early career member of the RSA. This grant aims to support a discrete piece of regional studies and/or regional science research.
- Value: up to £10,000 (c. €11,500; $12,000)
- Application deadline (Expression of Interest): 15th September 2021
Publishing
Regional Studies Regional Science: Early Careers Papers Section
The editors of the Early Career Papers section are seeking submissions of paper proposals for short articles. Contributions are welcomed from any discipline in the field of regional studies or regional science and with any geographical focus. Authors (and co-authors) should be PhD students or early career researchers that have completed their PhD in the last five years. If selected for publication, the RSA will cover the article processing charge and the author will work with a mentor to develop the paper. There are two calls for paper proposals each year with deadlines for submissions on 31 March and 30 September.
Regions e-Zine
The Regions e-Zine is our online and open access digital magazine and has become a vital tool to showcase the excellent regional-based research carried out by all members and friends of the Regional Studies Association. Regions e-Zine has three issues a year, in March, September and December. If you would like to contribute or discuss an article suggestions, please email the Editorial team via office@regionalstudies.org using the subject line “Regions eZine”.
The RSA Blog
The RSA Blog has been running since 2010, providing an online platform for the RSA community to share short, engaging articles on research and the latest developments in the field. The writing style within the Blog is less academic than academic journal articles. Guidelines for writing a blog can be found here. If you wish to discuss an idea for a Blog article, please contact the Blog Editor at RSABlog@regionalstudies.org.
Taylor & Francis Author Services
Taylor & Francis Author Services is a dedicated website offering support and guidance for every step of the research publishing journey, from researching potential journals for publication, through to drafting an article and the reviewing process. Visit their website for more details.
Networking
- International territorial networks: Link up and extend your networks via the RSA’s International divisions, country sections and UK-Sub national branches & sections
- Female Early Career and Mid Career Researchers Network (with both in-person and online meetings, an active WhatsApp group and closed Facebook group)
- Active Student and Early Career Facebook group
- RSA APP – Search for RSA Hub (or Regional Studies Association) in your app store to download
- Connect with us with our active social media channels: Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter – @regstud @RSAEurope
These initiatives are in addition to the many membership benefits we offer. The full list of benefits can be found under each membership category at www.regionalstudies.org/about/memberships/ If you like to have a discussion on membership benefits most suitable to you and how the RSA can support you, please get in touch and we will arrange a phone call or zoom meeting with you.