The Welsh Graduate School for the Social Sciences, which launched in October, marks a significant moment for social science research in Wales. We’re delighted to be one of the partners who are involved with this important and collaborative initiative.

The WGSSS will invest £40 million in social science research across Wales over the next five years. This will support 360 new, fully-funded doctoral students across 15 social science disciplines at the following universities: Cardiff, Aberystwyth, Bangor, Swansea, Gloucestershire, Cardiff Metropolitan and University of South Wales.

Our involvement with WGSSS is already well-established, and our researcher development team attended both the launch event and subsequent induction day, where we met current and new doctoral researchers from across Wales.

This followed on from the first annual, online workshop we held, in advance of the formal launch, for PhD supervisors involved in the supervision of WGSSS students.

A number of our Fellows also play important roles within the WGSSS. Professor Claire Gorrara FLSW, Dean of Research and Innovation for Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences at Cardiff University, spoke at the launch, explaining how the bid to secure funding for the WGSSS had been described by the ESRC as ‘outstanding, visionary and impressive.’ The model of cooperation, she said, included important connections between government, civil society and Higher Education. Additionally, the WGSSS model has been an inspiration for other disciplinary communities, such as the Wales Arts and Humanities Alliance (WAHA), in its application to the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) for an all-Wales Doctoral studentship programme.

Professor Emmanuel Ogbonna FLSW delivered the keynote speech at the induction day, following the launch event, while Professor John Harrington FLSW finished his cycle as Director of WGSSS at the end of October, being succeeded in the role by Professor William Housley FLSW.