EARTH Scholarships

About 

British Council Scotland and the Scottish Graduate School of Arts & Humanities (SGSAH) established the EARTH Scholarships as part of the legacy of COP 26 in Glasgow in 2021. The programme enables research collaboration between international researchers, Scottish universities and Scotland-based academic mentors, and external arts and culture organisations. 

EARTH Scholarships are structured around two strategic themes: the Environmental Humanities and the Creative Industries, with a focus on climate emergency themes, the interventions of the arts and cultural sector, and the legacy of COP26. They support PhD and Early Career Researchers based outside the UK to come to Scotland to undertake in-person and hybrid exchanges for up to 3 months.  

The 2023 cohort involved scholars from South Africa, Netherlands, Switzerland, Pakistan, Finland, Norway, India, Canada, USA, New Zealand, Australia and Mexico. 

Contribution to knowledge 

Research themes to date have included:  

• Media coverage & plastics pollution 

• Placemaking practices & marine governance 

• Human – seal relationship & climate crisis conversations 

• Culture & ecological history – literature & performing arts 

• Wetlands & impact of human activity 

• Historical social movements & current Climate Justice action 

• Cultural & environmental impact of using digital tech in mining sites 

• Relationships between works and environmentalists 

• Monsoon uncertainties exacerbates socioeconomic vulnerabilities 

• Exploring indigenous agroecological practices 

The research placements include an in-person two-week cohort-building leadership programme where all recipients come together alongside Scotland-based scholars to network and collaborate. 

Contribution to climate action 

The programme supports international research mobility to develop new approaches to the global challenge of climate crisis. It promotes, in particular, the capacity of the arts and humanities and the cultural sector for interdisciplinary climate research within STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts, and Mathematics) contexts.