Strength and Conditioning academics Dr Alex Bliss and Dr Paul Read at St Mary’s University, Twickenham (SMU) have been awarded funding from Research England to explore the “Practices and Perceptions of the Funded Studentship Model for Research Projects in Strength and Conditioning”.
The project will be taking place at St Mary’s, with the aim to enhance research culture at the University.
The strength and conditioning field has seen a systemic, industry-wide concern around the use of unpaid or voluntary positions as students and early career practitioners seek to establish themselves in one of the most competitive fields in the sport and exercise sciences.
As there is a small number of strength and conditioning job roles at elite sports teams in comparison to the number of global graduates from strength and conditioning degrees, as well as those who achieve positions in the industry without formal academic qualification, organisations in the field often opt to recruit free labour.
Speaking on the project Alex said, “Both Paul and I have run the student placement offering internally at St Mary’s, so we see almost weekly the challenges students face trying to get their foot in the door in the sector. This is a particular problem for students who cannot afford to work on a voluntary basis. Therefore, I created a funded studentship model for master’s study here around six years ago. The model allows students to get their master’s degree funded by the employer, and usually an ability to conduct their research project within the organisation. The employers in return get access to a skilled and enthusiastic masters student, usually for 12 months.
“However, while I have supported around 15 students through this route, uptake of the model has been mixed and we are seeking to understand why this is the case. We are pleased to be awarded funding from Research England to investigate this issue, and how these funded studentship models work in practice, and both employers and students’ perspectives on them. We will be recruiting a researcher to support our project and hope to have preliminary findings by spring/summer 2025.”