Training

A key element of the training provided by the Extinction Studies DTP is a foundational year which, while still research-based, includes two non-credit-bearing introductory modules: (1) a skills-based module on interdisciplinary research, backed up with an intensive Crucible experience (Semester 1); and (2) a co-taught module focusing on theories/methods within Extinction Studies and designed to accommodate students from both arts and sciences backgrounds (Semester 2). These two modules, neither of which are formally assessed, engage practical ways of addressing the difficulties associated with doing university-based interdisciplinary research, and include short ‘crash-course’ elements (including science-based mini-MOOCs and arts-based ‘creative labs’) designed to introduce arts-oriented students to scientific subjects and vice versa, based on the reasonable assumption that some students effectively have to learn a second discipline, while others are encountering interdisciplinary research for the first time. These modules are open to other doctoral researchers working in cognate fields, building a platform for interdisciplinary training at the University for many years to come (see also Legacies below). The PL (Graham Huggan) leads on designing and implementing these modules, based on his 20 years’ experience of leading interdisciplinary doctoral programmes; however, both modules are developed in full consultation with other members of the core group.

Depending on the disciplines involved, training may involve a 1-2 month fieldwork component, while participating researchers may also opt to do a short (max. 1-month) industry placement. Career options actively explored in the professional training programme include laboratory and other types of research work, green business, environmental consultancy, media and communications industries, and humanitarian/environmental NGOs. These opportunities are enhanced by an annual practice-based workshop involving a regional/national company or NGO and geared towards spreading knowledge of the extinction crisis and finding new, creative ways of addressing it in the public domain; by a postgraduate-led installation, ‘Inhabiting Extinction’ (Year 3), hosted by the University’s new Centre for Immersive Technologies and featuring the latest in extinction-related VR and AR technologies; and by an international PGR/ECR conference, ‘Extinction: Then and Now’ (Year 2) as part of the University of Leeds Frontiers Institute (LFI) launch.