Play

P4PLAY

EU-funded PhD Programme in Occupational Science dedicated to enabling play

About Us

The P4PLAY Marie Skłodowska-Curie Innovative Training Network (MSC ITN) is a European Joint Doctorates (EJD) programme in Occupational Science for Occupational Therapists. The P4PLAY consortium will deliver a high-level, first-rate PhD programme in the discipline of Occupational Science, in the study of play occupation.

P4PLAY is a collaboration between the Departments of Occupational Science & Occupational Therapy in University College Cork, Ireland, Lulea University of Technology, Sweden, Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh, Scotland and Zurich University of Applied Sciences, Switzerland. The consortium also includes fifteen partner organisations from across Europe including government play policy advisors, NGO advocacy groups and designers of play materials.

P4PLAY: Research Programme

The P4PLAY EJD will establish the first innovative trans-European Occupational Science doctoral training programme dedicated to enabling play. The outcome will be the training of a new generation of 8 early stage researchers (ESRs), who can translate and implement innovative and entrepreneurial play solutions to health and wellbeing of diverse children, families, and communities. This will help address the challenges that children face in play deprivation, the rise in psychopathology, and the lack of socio-spatial inclusion for children at risk; it will equip occupational science researchers with the tools to convert knowledge and ideas into the design and provision of services that support social inclusion.

P4PLAY: European Joint Doctorate

Our goal is to progress a rights-based agenda for all children at risk of play deprivation through the development of a child-centred play research programme in relation to four fundamental areas: People, Place, Policy and Practice (P4PLAY). The outcome of P4PLAY will be a new generation of early stage researchers who can translate and implement innovative and entrepreneurial play solutions to benefit the health and wellbeing of diverse children, families, and communities.

Further Information

8 fully-funded PhD positions will be recruited to commence this new programme in late January 2021.

Applications are now open!

Get in Touch

If you are interested in applying to P4PLAY, please find information on the application process here. For any queries, you can contact us at p4play@ucc.ie.

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