Westminster’s Centre for Social Justice Research launch work-based learning projects

Established in 2023, the CSJR aims to understand contemporary social inequalities and challenge the power relations and institutions that sustain them to bring about meaningful social change. As part of this mission, colleagues within the CSJR have developed a series of collaborations with leading social justice organisations to provide opportunities for undergraduate and postgraduate students looking to gain employability experience working in the social justice and civil society sector.

During the last two years, the CSJR has partnered with four leading organisations that reflect the research expertise among colleagues based within the Centre. This has included INQUEST, the only organisation in England and Wales that provides expertise on state-related deaths and their investigation to bereaved people, lawyers, advice and support agencies, the media and parliamentarians; Women in Prison, a national charity that supports women affected by the criminal justice system and campaigns to end gender-based harm by imprisonment; Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT), a UK-based organisation working to end the international arms trade; and the Association of Visitors to Immigration Detainees (AVID), a national network of visitor groups to people in immigration detention, committed to reducing their immediate suffering.

This semester, over 30 students from across the School of Social Sciences will have the opportunity to develop research and employability skills as part of the CSJR projects, which will lead to opportunities for paid internships with the organisations over the summer.

Over the course of 12 weeks, students will undertake training workshops and attend institutional visits to learn about the work of the partner organisations, hearing from experienced professionals and lifelong campaigners about the different aspects of their work. This includes an introduction to media and communications, policy and campaigning, advocacy and the provision of support services. After learning about the partner organisation’s work, students will undertake a variety of research, administrative and public engagement tasks designed to support and amplify the partners in their social justice work. The CSJR projects, supported by the Quintin Hogg Trust’s funding, are designed to provide a supportive pathway for students interested in working in the civil society sector, giving students the opportunity to progress onto paid internships with the University’s partner organisations over the summer.

As well as providing students with opportunities to develop transferable employability skills, the projects provide opportunities for collaborative research and knowledge exchange between students, academics and the partners.

Lecturer in Politics and International Relations, Dr Jac St John, and Team Lead for the CSJR work-based learning projects, Dr Naomi Oppenheim, are collaborating with INQUEST on a project memorialising state violence and resistance in Britain. They are currently exploring how the INQUEST archive, which Westminster students have helped catalogue over the last two years, can shape teaching and research into contemporary British history.

Similarly, Dr Francesca Esposito has used the collaboration with AVID and the Unchained Collective to continue her activist participatory research on the intersectional impacts of immigration detention and grassroots forms of solidarity and resistance. This has led to a podcast series and a blog post series with Border Criminologies.

Speaking to the success of the projects in recent years, Alan Porter, Head of the School of Social Sciences, said: “The CSJR collaborations provide students with important opportunities for authentic learning, who will develop valuable employability skills and contacts with key social justice organisations. The projects are an excellent example of Westminster’s progressive, compassionate and responsible values, and equip students to make a significant contribution to their communities.”

Significant funding from the Quintin Hogg Trust will support the development of these projects over the next two years, widening the opportunities for students, amplifying the work of the partners and strengthening the knowledge exchange and community impact activities being developed through these projects.

The CSJR collaborations with community partners directly reflect the University of Westminster’s Research and Knowledge Exchange Strategy 2022-2029 and contributes to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions and 17: Partnerships for the Goals. Since 2019, the University of Westminster has used the SDGs holistically to frame strategic decisions to help students and colleagues fulfil their potential and contribute to a more sustainable, equitable and healthier society.

Find out more about the Centre for Social Justice Research at Westminster.