Job description
The King’s India Institute at King’s College London invites applications for a Research Assistant (Masters level) or Research Associate (PhD level) in trade, business and economics.
The post will be based in the research team of Dr Sunil Mitra Kumar (King’s India Institute) and Dr Kamini Gupta (King’s Business School) at KCL’s Strand Campus in central London as part of a 3-year project
Enablers and Obstacles for UK-India Trade: Banks and Diasporas (UKIT- ENOB) funded by the Economic and Social Research Council and Indian Council of Social Science Research.
UKIT-ENOB aims to understand key enablers and obstacles to UK-India trade from the perspective of small export-oriented firms in India. Key project collaborators also include India-based Primary Investigator Dr Prateek Gupta (IIM, Bangalore) as well as non-academic partner FICCI UK. The project focuses on understanding macro questions surrounding UK-India trade (in particular, ongoing negotiations around signing an FTA) as well as focusing specifically on the role of small Indian export-oriented manufacturing firms by gathering primary data on handwoven carpet manufacturing firms, as well as primary data on UK-based buyers.
The project is now in its second year, and the post-holder will contribute to research, project management, and impact creation under the guidance of Drs Kumar and Gupta. They will collaborate with various stakeholders as necessary to further these aims. Specifically, the postholder will be expected to: conduct interviews with UK-based buyers of Indian carpet exports, co-write project outputs including policy notes and journal articles and OpEds, assist in analysing data (depending on expertise, this could include qualitative and/or quantitative data). They will also co-lead and co-create an impact strategy, and lead on day to day project-management involving event planning (seminars, roundtables, panel discussions) in coordination with project partners, besides assisting with updating the project website.
The King’s India Institute is committed to equality, diversity and inclusion, and has a vibrant, friendly and international research culture focused on contributing to a public understanding of contemporary India through empirical research, events and outreach activities, and partnerships with academic and non-academic partners in India and internationally. As part of the School of Global Affairs, the Institute includes a vibrant PhD community of around 20 students and anchors the MSc Global Affairs which has approximately 70 students, a core group of faculty, and associate members of faculty across the social sciences, arts and humanities, and law at King’s.
The King’s Business School (KBS) is a diverse community committed to high quality research and teaching. Guided by its four research values: rigour, relevance, inclusion and innovation; members of faculty conduct research that combines rigorous scholarly insight with practical and relevant impact around the biggest problems being faced by organizations today. KBS runs highly successful undergraduate and post-graduate programs in management attracting students from across 80 different countries, including an active PhD community.
The postholder will form part of a group of academics in the department, and will have opportunities for professional development, or pursue their ideas within the themes of the project.
The post will be responsible to Dr Sunil Mitra Kumar. For questions or further information, please email
sunil.kumar@kcl.ac.uk.
The position starts in April 2023 and will be offered on a full-time, fixed term contract for up to one year. The latest possible end date for this post is 30 April 2024.