Thematic areas:
International Political Economy; Political Economy; Fashion Management; Business; Development Studies; Culture, Media and Creative Industries; Politics; Sociology; Geography; Social Sciences.
Type of financing:
Tuition fees. Bursaries. Bench Fees / Research Training and Support Grant.
Examine how fashion producers use knowledge, technology, capital and raw materials to create social, economic and cultural value for domestic and global markets in creative economies.
Prize details
Project title: African fashion: creative innovation, sustainable practices and socio-economic transformation.
This project seeks to understand how fashion producers in Africa use knowledge, technology, capital and inputs to create social, economic and cultural value for domestic and global markets, and how this influences socio-economic change. Creative economies allow for broader readings of value in the economic, social and cultural spheres, presenting opportunities for conceptual innovation in this project. Current debates on global production, such as with global value chains, tend to neglect the ideas of leading companies in Africa due to narrow understandings of value. The project therefore aims to move beyond visions of Africa as resource-limited to focus on the creativity, ideas and innovation, including sustainability, emerging across the continent. The PhD will focus on generating new data on fashion economies relevant to the industry and will seek to build concepts in leading companies in the global South.
We envisage the researcher using mixed methods case study research, including (for example) analysing industry data, surveys, interviews, focus groups and observations, but these will be defined more specifically during the project. The project will focus on one (or more) African country cases. This will complement the existing case studies carried out by the supervisors (Nigeria, Kenya). The supervisors have established partners in South Africa, including SACO (South Africa Cultural Observatory), which would facilitate a research focus on South Africa. However, the team is open to exploring alternative contexts.
Premium amount
The internship covers the following four years:
- Tuition fees at the highest international rate;
- An annual stipend (living allowance): at the UKRI rate (for the year 2022/23, it has been set at 19,688 pounds);
- Research costs up to £5,000 a year.
Eligibility criteria
Centre for African Leadership, King's College London
International political economy, creative and cultural studies
African citizens and permanent residents of an African country;
- We plan to start a full-time master's and doctoral programme at King's College London in the 2023-24 academic year (ideally, we would like to start in October 2023, but no later than January 2024).
- Meet the academic requirements for enrolment in the PhD programme in the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences at King's College London.
- You must have or expect to obtain a High Merit or Distinction at Master's level (or equivalent) in any subject.
- Subject areas of particular relevance would include, but not be limited to: International Political Economy; Political Economy; Fashion Management; Business; Development Studies; Culture, Media and Creative Industries; Politics; Sociology; Geography; Social Sciences.
- A strong interest in fashion and the creative economy (academic, professional, personal).
- Good teamwork, observation, organisation and communication skills.
- Experience of qualitative and quantitative methods.
Application process
The selection process will involve a shortlisting based on documents - CV, cover letter explaining your interest in the project and how your previous experience is relevant, and sample of written work (i.e. MA/MSc thesis). Please email these documents to Dr Ikpe and Dr England before applying via the KCL portal. If selected, this will be followed by an invitation to an interview. If you pass the interview, an offer for doctoral study and scholarship funding will be made.
The selected candidates must then apply via King's Apply online application system.
Please apply for Leadership Studies (with reference to Security and Development) (MPhil/PhD) and indicate the Dr Eka Ikpe as your desired supervisor and the project title on your application and all correspondence.
In the funding section of the application (Code or Name of the Award Scheme) use the following code: 2324-AFRICA.
