Research Assistant

The Centre of European Law at King's College London is seeking a research assistant. 

The research assistant will help with completing a literature review, as well as background initial research (ECJ case law, EU institutions documents and reports, possibly national legislation) on the rule of law and independence of judiciary. They will help with contacting and liaising with various potential partners on the project, as well as organising several in-person events in London. They will collaborate with the grants and the events team at The Dickson Poon School of Law in carrying out their tasks.

PhD in relevant subject

The research assistant will be a doctoral or a postdoctoral researcher seeking to obtain experience with writing a large grant application. EU law knowledge is required, as well as experience in researching EU law databases. Knowledge in the area of the rule of law, independence of the judiciary, judicial politics is desirable. Working knowledge of one or more of the following languages is a plus: French, German, Polish, Italian. 

To support a project on evaluating whether real-time student feedback improves assessment design, making the process more fair, inclusive and transparent. The research involves analysing focus groups notes, student feedback and grade performance surveys. 

The role includes conducting thematic analyses and working with quantitative data. The successful candidate will be supported in developing their qualitative and quantitative research skills through guidance towards self-directed learning resources and ad-hoc training to enhance their expertise. 

The Research Assistant will contribute to generating meaningful insights to inform educational practices, particularly in assessment co-creation and design.

Key responsibilities:

1. Clean, process and manage datasets from multiple sources for analysis.
2. Provide quantitative and qualitative research support.
3. Assist in conducting thematic analyses to identify themes from qualitative data.
4. Perform quantitative analysis of student grade performance.
5. Participate in discussions, communicating and presenting research at meetings.
6. Contribute to writing reports, presentations and academic publications.

We welcome applicants from diverse backgrounds and are committed to creating and inclusive research environment.

A first degree in a relevant subject area (or have equivalent experience) or currently enrolled in their final year of an undergraduate degree in a relevant subject area (or have equivalent experience).

Desirable: Currently enrolled in a PhD programme in a relevant subject area.

1. Knowledge of qualitative and quantitative research methods and techniques.
2. Some understanding of thematic analysis and experience in working with large datasets. 
3. Some relevant experience with qualitative data analysis software (e.g. NVivo) and econometric software (e.g. Stata, R or Python).
4. Ability to work independently and collaboratively remotely.
5. Ability to manage tasks and deliver results under tight deadlines.
6. Strong work ethic, commitment to data accuracy.
7. Ability to work with limited supervision.

Job Role: Student Participants for Project: ?Towards a Radical Pragmatism of Climate Pedagogy: Student Centred Curriculum Design to Address Climate Anxiety?

About the role

We are seeking student participants to take part in focus groups for our research project entitled: "Towards a Radical Pragmatism of Climate Pedagogy: Student Centred Curriculum Design to Address Climate Anxiety".

The project aims to reshape how we teach climate change at university level through co-producing a curriculum with current UG and PGT students in our module "Climate, Environment and Uneven Development" in the Department of International Development.

The climate crisis is everywhere and at times overwhelming, especially for younger generations, including students. In response to this, we would like your participation in focus groups where we discuss how to instil hope in our climate teaching, balancing analysis of the climate crisis with actionable policies and grassroots responses to build hopeful climate futures. From your inputs we aim to co-produce a climate curriculum for future years of our course: "Climate, Environment and Uneven Development". 

The work will involve preparing for and participating in two focus (2 hours each) groups held at the beginning and end of Term 2 in 2025. We aim to recruit 5 students from the PGT cohort. Participation will be paid at ?16 per hour. 

To apply, please submit a CV and a short statement (max 300 words) responding to the question: ?What does "hopeful" climate teaching look like to you in a time of climate crisis?? via King?s Talent Bank. 

Any queries should be directed to a ambarish.karamchedu@kcl.ac.uk and nithya.natarajan@kcl.ac.uk. 

The application deadline is 20th January, with the focus groups taking place during teaching term. 

Student on 7YYDN037 Climate, Environment and Uneven Development

Interest in climate pedagogy and politics