Two NSCG lecturers celebrate PhD success

A Level Geography teacher Laura, who also coordinates the Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) at NSCG, has been a dedicated member of the college for nearly six years. She completed her PhD part-time while balancing her teaching responsibilities.

Her research was titled “Patterns, changes, and barriers to realizing educational aspirations”, and explores how young people's academic aspirations evolve over time, the barriers they face in realizing them, and the inequalities that influence this process.

Taking 7 years to complete and totalling 70,000 words, Laura commented about her time studying for her Doctorate: “Studying for a PhD is huge undertaking but I am proud of my achievements and look forward to sharing my new knowledge and skills with the students and staff at NSCG”.

Joining NSCG just over a year ago, Lewis recently began a full-time teaching role in September. In addition to delivering the BTEC Applied Science course, he is also preparing for the upcoming T Level Laboratory Science qualification set to launch in the near future.

Lewis studied his PhD full time, and worked on the project ‘Low-temperature growth of metal chalcogenide semiconductors’, which addressed the challenge of creating high-quality thin films of metal chalcogenides, materials with potential uses in electronics, energy, and catalysis.

Lewis said: “Completing my PhD would not have been possible without the incredible support of my colleagues at Keele University and NSCG. I am so grateful for their guidance and encouragement throughout this journey. I’m now looking forward what I’ve learned with my students and inspiring the next generation of learners.”