NxtGen ( previously The Young Researcher Training Programme ) arose out of the recognition that if we are going to produce meaningful research that will benefit young people, we need young people to tell us what is important to them and to work with us to decide what the research should be, how it should be carried out and how it should be communicated.
For young people to be involved in all aspects of the research process, we wanted to provide a training programme that could be delivered through different organisations; schools, youth groups and self-directed. This training programme has been designed to meet the requirements of the Higher Project Qualification (HPQ) and the Extended Project Qualification (EPQ).
NxtGen has been co-created with young people, both the design of the overall course and the detail of each session. The development team consisted of 12 young people aged 14-18, from diverse backgrounds and attending a range of schools and colleges, supported by University of Southampton staff with research and academic skills expertise.
Watch our introduction video here
The
fully-resourced training programme covers a range of topics through 16 training
sessions such as: ‘What is research?’, ‘How to be a reflective and reflexive
researcher’, 'Introduction to research methods' and ‘Research ethics’. It
includes session plans, PowerPoint presentations, worksheets and videos.
This document is a manifesto co-created by the
spring/summer 2024 NxtGen young researcher cohort and University of Southampton
researchers. The document comprises of call to action from the researchers who
researched health and social care issues affecting their peers and then worked
with decision-makers to propose solutions. The manifesto outlines their vision
for improving young people’s health and wellbeing, and it includes 12 practical
policy recommendations, such as better mental health support, inclusive
education, and more youth engagement in decision-making, to make services more
responsive to young people’s needs.
The video shows the young
researchers explaining their policy recommendations. They explain their reasons
for choosing the research topics they did, why they are important & what it
would mean to them for their policy recommendations to be implemented in the
city.
