Research Internship

THIS INTERNSHIP OPPORTUNITY IS ONLY AVAILABLE TO GREEN SKILLS FOR JOBS AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP PARTICIPANTS

Three exciting research opportunities have become available to contribute to ongoing research projects within the Department for Geography and Environmental Management. Both opportunities will enable you to contribute to research that is having a direct influence on policy and industry and both will involve direct supervision, support and skills development.

Opportunity 1: Research internship: Is there an afterlife for onshore wind turbines in Italy?

In this internship you will be working directly with Dr Rebecca Windemer and Dr Carla De Laurentis to contribute to a current research project exploring what is happening to old wind farm infrastructure in Italy. The tasks associated with this role will include the following:

Helping to promote an online survey to wind farm developers in Italy to ask what they are doing with their old wind turbines
Helping to analyse the results of the survey (training and support will be provided).
Writing a summary of the existing industry literature (key documents have already been identified) to create a summary of current industry knowledge on ageing wind turbines.
Creating a list of the different options for old wind turbines
Starting to write an academic literature review based on detailed instructions and support from the supervisors
Identifying key stakeholders in Italy (and the UK) for sharing the research findings with.

Full support will be given to help you undertake these tasks and there is flexibility in the tasks undertaken. Both supervisors are happy to provide mentorship and advice in any skills that you would like to develop / experiences you would like to get during the internship.

Opportunity 2: Research internship: What is happening to the UK’s oldest wind farms?

Dr Rebecca Windemer previously undertook research looking at the planning policy for onshore wind farms in England. Her research revealed that under the current policy wind farms can only be developed in 11% of local authorities in England. This research has already been picked up by national newspapers such as the Guardian and by UK policymakers. In this role you will help Dr Windemer to complete the research and extend the impact.

The role will include:

Completing a review of neighbourhood plans to check if any have policies for onshore wind. This will provide important evidence for future policy change.
Checking the wording used in the policies of the 11% of local authorities who do have policies for onshore wind farms to see e.g. how many wind farms they would allow.
Helping to write a report based on a template and survey results provided.
Sharing key findings through e.g. creating social media content such as infographics, creating a list of people to share the results with etc

Mentorship will also be provided.

Opportunity 3: Investigating decommissioned wind farms

In this internship you will help to contribute to a new research project exploring why some wind farms have been decommissioned (removed without replacement). This project is at an early stage so the intern will have a lot of flexibility in what tasks they would like to undertake.

Potential tasks will include:

Undertaking a review of existing academic and industry literature on wind farm decommissioning
Looking in detail at wind farms that have been decommissioned, including identifying relevant news articles and contacts.
Identifying decommissioned wind farms beyond the UK
Creating social media images to promote the project.

Full support will be given to help you undertake these tasks and your name will be listed in the research report. Mentorship will also be provided.

Qualifications/Skills/Experience required

Comfortable working with Microsoft 365 applications (Outlook, Teams, Word, Excel)
Enthusiasm for the project

Desirable

Interest in wind energy
Report writing experience
Ability to synthesise literature including clear writing skills and referencing.

Deadline for applications

9am Monday 10th October

Where is the opportunity based?

Geography and Environmental Management at UWE's Frenchay Campus, working with Dr Rebecca Windemer, senior lecturer in environmental planning. However you can work remotely with contact via MS Teams if preferred.

Application process

Please submit your CV and a short covering letter stating which opportunity you are interested in and why to Dr Rebecca Windemer, Senior Lecturer in Environmental Planning rebecca.windemer@uwe.ac.uk

THIS RESEARCH INTERNSHIP OPPORTUNITY IS ONLY AVAILABLE TO GREEN SKILLS FOR JOBS AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP PARTICIPANTS

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