LaunchPAD wants to keep the voice of those with lived experience at the centre of everything we do. We want postgraduates and early career researchers to talk about their experiences and share the issues of the community with key policy and decision makers rather than it coming from a second-hand source. We know, due to the National Access plan (2022) and AHEAD research that people with disabilities are an underrepresented group in postgraduate study, and we want to help change that. 

We want to advocate for changes empower people with disabilities to take up postgraduate study and increase the numbers of those participating in masters programmes and PhD study, forging new routes to research careers. We feel this can only be adequately achieved by amplifying the voice of those who have recently or are currently undertaking postgraduate study/research. They can raise awareness as role models while also educating key policy and decision makers on what needs to change to further facilitate the entry of people with disabilities into postgraduate study and research careers.  

Being a LaunchPAD Ambassador may entail:

• Committing to being a LaunchPAD Ambassador until the end of 2026
• Liaising with members of staff from AHEAD and LaunchPAD on all activities and collaborating with the other LaunchPAD Ambassadors on advocacy activities. 
• Taking part in mandatory training that will help you to understand the LaunchPAD policy platform and to better prepare you for public speaking and advocacy activities
• Talking about your lived experience as a postgraduate or early career researcher with a disability at conferences and other symposiums as a representative of LaunchPAD
• Connecting with the AHEAD/USI Students with Disabilities Advisory Group (all undergraduates) and possibly collaborating on advocacy issues
• Speaking about LaunchPAD's research and policy goals at meetings and conferences and engaging with key policy and decision makers 
• Supporting LaunchPADs development of policy submissions on related issues
• Being paid for the time you spend on training and advocacy activities as an Ambassador

If you have a disability/learning difficulty and are a current or recently graduate postgraduate/PHD student, or an early career researcher, you are eligible to apply. Applicants must have an interest in advocating for change in the area, be willing to act as a solution-focussed and constructive partner to system stakeholders and be open to taking direction/input on the approach you’ll take as a LaunchPAD Ambassador from the team.

If you are selected, to be a LaunchPAD Ambassador, here’s how it will practically work:

• You will be invited to take part in mandatory training that will introduce you to the LaunchPAD research findings and policy platform, help you to better understand how the higher education system works, and support you to build your advocacy and public speaking skills. This training will take place on the Fri May 16th and Sat May 17th 2025 in Dublin and is mandatory (accommodation and travel costs will be covered). This date is unfortunately not flexible and all LaunchPAD ambassadors must first complete this training before they can begin taking opportunities, so please do not apply if you are unable to attend. 
• You will be expected to attend quarterly meetings of the LaunchPAD Ambassadors, where the project team will give updates on progress, get your input as required on the development of the project, and flag any upcoming opportunities for Ambassadors.
• Based on the opportunities and issues arising for LaunchPAD, the project will identify opportunities (known as work packages) requiring the support of one or more Ambassadors. These could include things like speaking at a conference on behalf of LaunchPAD, attending/contributing to a meeting with stakeholders, providing input into the development of a resource we are creating, or contributing to/reviewing a policy submission LaunchPAD is developing to submit to a government agency.
• During these advocacy activities, you will be expected to share your lived experience (positive and negative) as a postgraduate/researcher with a disability. You may also be asked to discuss how your lived experience relates to public/institutional policy. The goal here is that your experiences will help to raise awareness and add weight to the LaunchPAD policy goals.
• These work packages will either be shared at meetings/circulated to the group and any Ambassador can express an interest, OR opportunities will be sent to specific individuals where their lived experience or skills are deemed most relevant for the task.
• You will be reimbursed for all advocacy opportunities sanctioned by LaunchPAD, as well as attendance for any mandatory training and meetings at at a reasonable hourly rate, and reimbursed for any travel expenses incurred. You will be invited to submit a claim every three months to be reimbursed for time/activities completed.

Being a LaunchPAD Ambassador will provide you with:

• Training in advocacy and on issues pertaining to people with disabilities, improving your understanding of the area
• Training and opportunities which will support you to build your public speaking skills
• Opportunities to build connections with other like-minded peers in the Ambassadors programme
• Opportunities to contribute to policy submissions and possibly publish in Journals/magazines with the other Ambassadors
• A chance to contribute to positive changes which lead to better experiences for disabled postgraduates and researchers into the future
• Reimbursement for your time
• A certificate of engagement/digital badge once you contribute to a minimum number of opportunities – which looks great on your CV

Being a LaunchPAD Ambassador means a minimum commitment of participating in the mandatory 1.5 training session in Dublin,  attending a 1-1.5 hour meeting 4 times a year until the end of 2026. On top of this commitment, you can express your interest in contributing to work packages as they are circulated. Work packages will either be offered to the group as a whole to express interest or offered to particular individuals if their lived experience and skills are deemed highly relevant to the task.

LaunchPAD wants a diverse mix of candidates to represent the project, so we will carefully select the Ambassadors group from those who express their interest to reflect this. We want to ensure the group has a good gender balance, featuring candidates from both universities and technological universities, and a range of people with different disabilities to ensure broad representation. 

If you are not selected, this is no reflection on you – rather it’s a reflection of the need for a broadly representative group.

Any information or data which you share in the sign-up form below will be treated confidentially. Only members of the LaunchPAD team will have access to this data, and none of it will be shared with third parties.

All of the data will be stored securely and will be destroyed in accordance with GDPR and AHEAD’s Data Protection Policy and Privacy Policy. Periods for data destruction and retention can be made available on request. 

LaunchPAD seeks to engage a diverse group of people with disabilities and is happy to provide support to enable participation and ensure all have an equitable platform to contribute. If you have any accessibility considerations around your participation, please make it known below in the appropriate section within the form and we will endeavour to support you should you be successful. 

mailto:If you require any of the information in the form in an alternative format or require support completing it, please contact Nicole.bennett@ahead.ie.