PhD student joins Spanish university for research placement

Lorena Salud Gadella Kamstra is a Spanish Teacher in Languages for All. She has worked as a Graduate Teaching Assistant in the Department of Language and Linguistics and is currently studying a PhD in English Language Teaching.

Lorena was selected out of a total of 88 applicants to take part in the YERUN Research Mobility Awards (YRMA), which allows academics from international institutions to work together on research projects and share ideas.

She has been granted a placement at Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona in Spain.

She said: “I feel very excited to be one of the selected applicants. I will make sure I take advantage of this opportunity to increase the collaboration between the University of Essex and the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona.”

Lorena, who is researching English as a foreign language teachers in Spanish secondary schools was eager to work with researchers from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona.

She said: “I chose this university because I knew their Department of Filologia Anglesa I de Germanística was very strong. Dr Elisabet Pladevall agreed with this collaboration and was very supportive with the application from the beginning.”

During her placement, Lorena will present her research to undergraduate and postgraduate students in seminars and will take part in the Research Group EFLIC (English as a Foreign Language in Instructed Contexts). She also hopes to deliver a workshop on qualitative research methods for postgraduates and seek future collaborations with the University.

She said: “I am looking forward to the feedback and insights from students and members of staff who are familiar with the Spanish educational system and will be able to help me to better understand my findings and report them in my thesis and future publications.”

The call for the YERUN Research Mobility Awards opens every October. If you are interested in applying, please visit the YERUN website.