PARLIAMENTARY OFFICE OF SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY: PhD Fellowships

The Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (POST) is an Office of the two Houses of Parliament (Commons and Lords) set up in 1989.

POST is charged with providing balanced and independent analyses of science and technology-based issues of relevance to Parliament.

Most of the UK research councils and several learned societies have special collaborative schemes with POST which enable doctoral students who are supported by them to undertake parliamentary fellowships.  In the past, POST has had numerous approaches from doctoral students who do not qualify for such support, such as students on university fellowships or those sponsored by other councils or learned societies.

It is to provide an opening for such persons that the Parliamentary Science and Technology Information Foundation  (PSTIF) has decided to initiate, to mark POST's 20th anniversary, a special Open Fellowship at POST.

This Fellowship provides the opportunity for a UK-based PhD student to undertake a 3 month placement at POST, with the aim of working on a science policy topic of interest to the Fellow and POST through the production of a short briefing note (POSTnote) for Parliamentarians or by other activity, such as assistance to a parliamentary committee of either the House of Commons or House of Lords.

For more information please see this document and visit www.parliament.uk/post.cfm. You can find the application form here.

The application form and POSTnote proposal should be submitted electronically, via email to post@parliament.uk by 24.00 hrs on 7 December 2008. Late applications will not be considered.