North West Social Science Doctoral Training Partnership
Attending the RGS-IBG Annual Conference
Chloe Fox-Robertson, Geography & Environment, University of Manchester (2022 Cohort)
Last week, I was fortunate to attend the RGS-IBG Annual Conference in London, supported by the NWSSDTP Research Training Support Grant. Over 2,000 geographers and others from beyond the discipline came together to share and discuss new research ideas and directions. Although united under the Chair’s theme ‘mapping’, sessions were numerous and varied, from decolonising urban futures to mapping the geographies of AI to more-than-human cartographies. Not only was this my first time attending an academic conference, but it was also my first time presenting and convening a session. During this piece, I reflect on these first-time experiences and share some advice and tips for navigating a conference.
Read MoreChairing the Lancaster Historical Postgraduate Conference
Anna Drury, Economic & Social History, Lancaster University (2023 Cohort)
Hello!
My name is Anna Drury. Since starting my PhD in October last year, I had the great privilege of acting as Chair of the Organising Committee for 2024’s Lancaster Historical Postgraduate Conference (LHPC), and I am very happy to report that LHPC 2024 was a roaring success!
Read MoreThe Hotel Hideaway: My Power Hours at a Hotel Writing Retreat
Paige Monaghan, Psychology, University of Liverpool (2021 Cohort)
I’ve never been to a writing retreat before. As a PhD student, it often seemed that every opportunity just wasn’t the “right place, right time.” Perhaps you’ve seen ads for the famous Gladstone’s writing retreat—it’s far away and pricey (and the Gladstone Writing Retreat is not covered by RTSG). So, it’s safe to say that the perfect opportunity hadn’t come along until last month.
Read MoreSocial History Conference in Durham University
Amy Stanning, Economic & Social History, Lancaster University (2021 Cohort) with Louise Bell from Leeds University
I have been a PGR rep on the SHS committee for a year now and this was my first conference as a rep.
Louise and I organised a welcome desk at the start of the conference and welcomed lots of lovely PGRs and shared all the wonderful things we had in store.
On the first night we organised a post-dinner quiz of five rounds in the bar at Collingwood College where we all stayed. The quiz was great fun and the winners enjoyed their chocolate!
On day two we organised a meet-up and lots of PGRs came along to discuss PGR life and how we as reps could support the PGR community – we got lots of great ideas!
My paper was also on day two and it was a big milestone for me as it was my first paper at a learned society conference, quite nerve-wracking but it seemed to go well!
I am grateful to the NWSSDTP for funding my place at the conference and enabling me to get involved!
North West Social Science Doctoral Training Partnership 