We have positions open for research interns with a background in either a social science or science degree, AND a strong interest and motivation to question, pursue, and find new approaches with an interdisciplinary approach. As a team, we blend theory and practice to address global and local questions around climate, ecology, environment, and social injustice, especially as it relates to asking how ecological degradation occurs, and what methods we have as interconnected societies to create the necessary social environments for socio-ecological renewal.
As an intern, you will assist the Soil Regeneration Project with its 2-year Collaborative Research Project with the National Parks Board, be part of shaping its community-led action research methodology, and help to build a set of key resources for use by the wider networks that the Soil Regeneration Project is part of.
Action research is a well-established and continually shaping methodology first emerging through the contradictions of development work and anthropology. Research undertaken in one place, led by “experts”, to create value not in the area being researched but in the home of the funding country, was criticised. Action research evolved out of that to specify an iterative cycle of theory and praxis: reflection, action, reflection and action.
The Soil Regeneration Project is our attempt at piloting a form of community-led action research work: one that specifies research that builds bottom-up and horizontal forms of organising, undertaken and led by communities working for their own benefit. This grounds theory and praxis in the vocabulary and practices of people, not institutions.
What would you learn with us?
Your duties may include, and are not limited to:
1. Reading and synthesising materials shared by the team
3. Content creation for social media posts based on existing resources (Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn)
4. Independent research and presentation of findings to the team or in an organised session
5. Potentially drafting and writing about their readings for a publication platform
More information about this will be shared during an interview.
Time and period of commitment: Part-time Intern
- Minimum 1 month, 2-3 months preferable
- Approximately 10 hours a week, flexible working arrangement.
- Mostly remote work and team meetings once a week or as needed.
- We have a small stipend to offer for this role.
Rolling applications!
Next start date: November / December
Apply if
- You are motivated to see how action research can be used in working with diverse communities to create tools and languages that allow communities to be heard on their own terms
- You want to translate the latest work, methods, and knowledge being generated in scientific and practitioner communities working with soil, for growers and gardeners based in Singapore and the region
- You want to find and work with a small group of individuals to create a space for engaged, reflective praxis, that has a material and energetic impact on knowledge co-creation
About the Soil Regeneration Project:
The Soil Regeneration Project is shaping a community-led action research methodology, that focuses on bringing state-of-the-art understandings of urban transformation and agrarian change, with practical and critical action, to join theory and practice. It is part of the Foodscape Collective network and broader communities of individuals thinking about and working with land, media, community, and digital infrastructure to shape inclusive and circular food systems in Singapore and beyond. The Soil Regeneration Project team works flexibly to link individual roles in the team with ongoing work in partner organizations, with the opportunity to connect approaches and outputs across our platforms.
@soilregenerationproject
@foodscapepages
This role has a rolling application deadline. Statements of interest can be sent, together with a resume, to soilproject.asia@gmail.com and huiying.n@gmail.com with the Subject heading “Soil Regeneration Project: Research Intern”