Scholarships & Fellowships
SIRC, the Seafarers International Research Centre, is a constituent center at the Cardiff University School of Social Sciences. At this institution, The Nippon Foundation has established a masters program under which participants study maritime-related social science. In the course, students are given training in social science research methods, required to write a thesis of up to 60,000 words, and funded to attend an international maritime conference related to the human element. One exceptional student each year will be offered the opportunity to continue on to a PhD. The purpose of the course is to create an international network of social scientists studying the lives of seafarers.
In order to facilitate contact and at the same time protect the privacy of the people on this list, we ask that those who wish to contact them use the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page to send us your name, email address and a brief message. We will make sure that the scholar receives your message. However, we leave any response up to the individual.
 | Iris Acejo |
| Country of Citizenship | Philippines |
| Major Field of Study | Iris' field of interest is human resource development with particular attention to vulnerable sectors - seafarers, women and children. Her research will explore the factors that motivate seafarers to participate in temporary migration. |
| Pre Cardiff Occupation | Iris graduated with a B.S. Business Economics degree (Dean's Medalist) at the University of the Philippines (U.P.). Her involvement in economic policy research for five years prompted her to further her studies. Under the PIDS-HRD Scholarship Program, she took Master of Arts in Economics in the same university and has been involved in various policy research concerning labour and employment, migration and computer adoption. She has been a teaching fellow at the U.P. School of Economics from 2005-2006. |
| Other | Iris loves to dabble with photography. She revels with new sights and sounds and is always ecstatic about traveling. She has eclectic taste for music but jazz and classical music is at the top of her list. If not engrossed inside her room, Iris can be found communing with nature - swimming, mountain hikes, rock climbing and maybe scuba-diving and other extreme sports very soon. |
 | Lin Li |
| Country of Citizenship | Dalian, China |
| Major Field of Study | Lin is interested in faith and seafarers; he wants to explore what faiths impact on seafarers as there are real risks of danger out at high seas caused by either nature or human errors. |
| Pre Cardiff Occupation | Before coming to Cardiff Lin worked as a Manning Supervisor in COSCO Dalian Manning Cooperation Co., Ltd from May 2005 to June 2006, during which Lin was taking care of three ships' crew and arranged their signing on and off ships. When the company negotiated a manning contract for the first LNG carrier (still being built at Pudong Shipyard, Shanghai 2006) of China's primary LNG project, Lin joined to review employment contract with his colleagues and attended interviews of seafarers undertaken by captains from BP Shipping. Before Lin became a Manning Supervisor he had worked in an area of business selling artificial festival crafts to US and European markets. He, a Business Manager of Liaoning Longde New Arts & Crafts I/E Co., Ltd, went to the Canton Fair three times as a role of exhibitor in order to promote the company's products to customers. Back in the office he arranged sampling, mass production, on site quality control check by buyers, and finally shipments. He made business trips to US, UK and Hong Kong for his time of service in the company. His main experience was as a seafarer of COSCO Dalian Shipping Company since 1990; he is holding a merchant navy engineer's certificate. |
| Other | He obtained his Postgraduate Diploma in Hotel Operations from IHTTI School of Hotel Management Neuchatel, Switzerland in 1999, and then had for a short time work experience with Dalian Hilton Hotel when the hotel was preparing its grand opening in 2000, as a Guest Service Manager in Front Desk operation. Lin enjoys a variety of activities in his free time; in particular, he likes swimming, hiking and classical music. He has a habit of reading and has been learning ballroom dancing for quite a while, and he practices Taiji every morning. He has a strong interest in his obligation which gives him enthusiasm and exuberance. |
 | Nelson Nava Turgo |
| Country of Citizenship | Philippines |
| Major Field of Study | Nelson's research deals with the mapping of the maritime geography of Lamon Bay, one of the Philippines' major maritime resources. He says "As a minefield of opportunities because of its rich marine/maritime resources, it follows then that competing interests will arise in the pursuit of control of Lamon Bay. In this study, variegated and contending interests belonging to the small-scale fishermen, the local inhabitants, local capitalists, NGOs (both local and global), local politicians, national politicians, and global capitalists will be identified and problematized. In the ensuing clash of interests, I will spatialize the mitigating and discourse-setting formations that shape the contours of the geography of Lamon Bay as a contested geography and these are: globalization, modernity and small-town politics." It is hoped that this study will pave the way for a more engaged study of maritime spaces as both an economic and a political discursive field. |
| Pre Cardiff Occupation | A consistent valedictorian from elementary to high school, Nelson graduated from the University of the Philippines-Diliman with a degree of English Studies (Creative Writing), cum laude. He also holds a master's degree in Philippines Studies from the same university with Prof. Bienvenido L. Lumbera, Philippine National Artist for Literature, as his thesis adviser. Right now, he is a faculty-on-leave at the Department of Filipino and Philippine Literature, College of Arts and Letters, University of the Philippines-Diliman where he teaches cultural studies, Philippine literature, humanities and literary theory and criticism. In 2002, he was awarded the "Gawad Leopoldo Yabes Bilang Pinakamahusay na Instruktor" (Best College Instructor for 2002). He has traveled widely as a young academic, reading papers and attending conferences abroad. He has been to Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Japan, Thailand, Myanmar, the USA, France, Norway and Germany. |
| Other | Nelson grew up in Mauban, Quezon, a coastal town, feeling the sea in his breath and tasting the waves in his dreams. As a young boy, he used to accompany his father in fishing. When he wrote his master's thesis, he talked about his town, it's small-scale fishermen and their narratives concerning the sea. Aside from his interest in the socio-political and cultural aspects of maritime studies, he is also into creative writing. In 2005, he launched a collection of short stories in the US with the title "The Fart of Love of Felicito Pasatiempo and Other Stories." |
 | Zhiwei Zhao |
| Country of Citizenship | Dalian, China |
| Major Field of Study | Zhiwei's research mainly focuses on the health and safety concerns of seafarers and the potential for shipping companies to develop more effective regulatory strategies to improve health and safety management concerning seafarers. |
| Pre Cardiff Occupation | Zhiwei graduated from Dalian Maritime University with a bachelor degree in Logistics Engineering in July, 2006. Dalian Maritime University provided her with an ideal environment for the aggregation of her fundamental maritime knowledge. In addition, with the influence from her cousin who is a seafarer and her part time working experience in COSCO Dalian Manning Cooperation Co., Ltd for almost two years, she got interested in and familiar with seafarers and their careers, and also developed her keen interest in the study of the health and safety policies of the shipping company considering their great influences on seafarers' well-being. |
| Other | Zhiwei once assisted with research on the Imbalance in Freight Volume of the Containers Transported on the Japan and China Regular Route, and on the Construction of the Logistics Park of Dalian Free Trade Zone. Besides this, Zhiwei is the first Gold Medal Counselor of MEA (Maritime English Association) and she was holding the post of Director of Planning Department in Lingfeng Literature Association of Dalian Maritime University as well. During that period, she directed, organized and hosted a large campus talk program, which won tremendous echo. What's more, Zhiwei is also an ardent fan of driving, travelling, history studying and has visited different parts of China to study Chinese history and culture there. Furthermore, Zhiwei is an ardent sports enthusiast as well. She is the National Second-Class Volleyball Athlete and once participated in Liaoning Province contest. Living in a beautiful coastal city, Zhiwei has a special interest in swimming in different styles. Besides enjoying reading books in her spare time, Zhiwei also likes listening to various sorts of music, playing piano and singing and dancing with her friends. |