Postgraduate Network (PGN) Conference: Emerging knowledge from emerging researchers

Call for papers

After a year of social, academic and professional events, the PGN is happy to announce our first in-person conference since before the Covid-19 pandemic. With this, we aim to encourage knowledge production and exchange, particularly among PhD students and early-career researchers (ECRs). The conference will offer an opportunity for all of us to increase the visibility of our work, receive valuable feedback, and consolidate the sense of community we have been fostering throughout this academic year.

01 The purpose and structure of the conference

In line with the PGN’s goals to offer valuable opportunities for PhD students and ECRs to develop academic (and otherwise) skills, this year’s conference combines the traditional panel setup with an experience exchange.

The opening day of the Conference will include specialised skill workshops where PhD students and ECRs can exchange knowledge on different aspects of their (post-)PhD journey. These workshops are meant to go beyond the usual university offerings and bring together emerging scholars based on different institutions and different parts of the world to produce the most fruitful exchange. Attendees will be able to register for these workshops based on their preferences, once registration for the Conference opens.

The second day of the Conference will feature panel presentations. The panel sessions will benefit from the collaboration of BISA Working Groups as aligned with the panel’s theme. Each panel will count with (at least) one senior discussant. This will be a valuable opportunity for all PhDs and ECRs to present their research to an extensive audience, increasing the visibility of their work and perfecting their research dissemination skills, while getting targeted feedback from senior staff beyond their usual institution and academic circles. We are currently opening the call for individual paper submissions. We accept scholarly research papers and policy analysis on any topic related to International Studies in its broadest definition. Participants are also invited to present pieces or chapters of their PhD thesis.

02 An in-person conference

Our 2025 Conference will be the first PGN in-person Conference and will take place at the University of Edinburgh. There won’t be a virtual or hybrid option. We offer many virtual opportunities for participation in events throughout the year, and you can find out more about these in our events page as well as social media. We aim for this Conference to become an opportunity for all our previous and prospective attendees to meet in person and spend an enriching couple of days getting to know each other and exchanging ideas and experiences. The Conference will include free coffee breaks and lunches for attendees, in the spirit of making participation as accessible as possible.

All Conference venues and classrooms will be equipped with accessible entrances. Allergies and other dietary requirements can also be accommodated, and you will be asked to share these with us once the Conference registration opens. For any other accessibility requirements, please contact us at pgn.group@bisa.ac.uk and we will be happy to help.

03 How it works

The call for papers is currently open. No predetermined themes or panels have been established, as we aim for the Conference to be as inclusive as possible. When you start a submission, you will be required to provide a title and abstract (up to 300 words) for your paper. You will also be asked to assign a ‘research track’ label to your submission. This is simply to facilitate the peer-review process, but you can also select the option ‘Other’ if none of the tracks suits your proposal. This will not have any impact on the assessment and outcome of your paper proposal.

Submissions will then be reviewed by the PGN Committee. Accepted proposals will be organised in panels, of around 4 to 6 papers each (exceptions may apply). Where there are paper proposals with scholarly merit but for which there is no good panel fit, the PGN Committee will attempt to construct interdisciplinary panels.

As per the main BISA Conference criteria, two key points to note are:

• Selection is first and foremost based on academic quality.
• There is no limit as to the number of times an individual can present, but we would like to give as many people as possible an opportunity to participate and will bear this in mind when making selections.

04 Timeline

• 31 January 2025: Call for papers open.
• 1 March 2025: Deadline for submissions.
• w/c 17 March 2025: Notification emails sent out and registration opens.
• 7 April 2025: Registration closes (last day for changes to the programme, please check name/affiliation details are correct).
• 14 April 2025: Final programme published.
• 8 May 2025: Conference begins.

05 Costs and bursaries

The Conference is free to both presenters and non-presenters. We will also be offering a limited amount of bursaries, on a needs-basis, for travel and accommodation costs for presenters. You can select to be considered for this in your paper submission. Applicants will be notified of the outcome of the bursary application on the week commencing on 17 March 2025, together with the acceptance of their papers.

06 Ready to submit your paper?

We encourage all PhDs and ECRs with an interest in International Studies, broadly defined, to make a submission.

When you are ready to submit your paper proposal, you can do so using our Google form.

We will be on hand to help with any submission queries. Please contact pgn.group@bisa.ac.uk should you need any help.

We look forward to reading your submissions!

We gratefully acknowledge that part of the funding for the BISA PGN Conference 2025 is provided from a Student Experience Grant which is funded by the University of Edinburgh Development Trust. Without this ongoing support we would not be able to fund these projects which do so much for the quality of the student learning experience at the University of Edinburgh. We would like to thank all alumni, staff and other donors who support the Development Trust, including through its unrestricted Edinburgh Fund. Find out more about the University of Edinburgh's Development Trust and the Edinburgh Fund.

We would also like to thank the University of Edinburgh’s School of Social and Political Funding Student Initiative Fund.