St Andrews helps lead next generation

Dr Philip Roscoe of the University of St Andrews’ School of Management is among the 10 winners of the inaugural New Generation Thinkers scheme – the culmination of a nationwide search for the brightest academic minds with the potential to turn their ideas into fascinating broadcasts.

The scheme was a collaboration between BBC Radio 3 and the Arts and Humanities Research Council.

Dr Roscoe was selected, out of more than 1,000 applicants, for his work investigating how Economics affects the moral landscape of internet dating; an industry he describes as “social engineering on a massive scale”.

Dr Roscoe and the other 9 winners will now work closely with dedicated mentors from the production team of Radio 3’s arts and ideas programme Night Waves (Mondays to Thursdays 10.00-10.45pm). Each night from Tuesday 28th June, and for nine subsequent editions of Night Waves, a New Generation Thinker will talk about an idea inspired by their research.

Launched in November 2010 at Radio 3’s Free Thinking festival of ideas, the New Generation Thinkers scheme invited applications from academics at an early stage of their career who are passionate about communicating modern scholarship to a wider audience.

The winners will now become Radio 3’s first-ever resident New Generation Thinkers and will be given the unique opportunity to develop their broadcasting ideas hand-in-hand with Radio 3 and appear on-air in special New Generation Thinkers debates and sessions.

Dr Roscoe said: “The prospect of being able to make some programming about the ideas and the concepts behind the research and take some time to do it properly is very exciting.”