The COVID-19 pandemic rapidly accelerated a trend in academic meetings and conferences to move from real world to digital environments. Whilst this has potential gains in accessibility and inclusivity, drawing on a study of physicists, Harry Collins an…
Category: conferences
An introvert’s guide to academic networking and hybrid events
As academic conferences and events re-emerge after a period of COVID-19 induced absence, Mark Carrigan, takes stock of the new post-pandemic world of academic meetings and provides four strategies for how academics can productively navigate and build n…
2021 In Review: Living and Working in Academia
Throughout 2021 universities and higher education institutions have faced the immediate challenge of COVID-19, whilst at the same time long term trends continue to disrupt and reconfigure the sector. This annual review brings together a selectio…
Is hybrid a desirable ‘new normal’ for academic events?
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to an intense period of innovation in how academic events are mediated and communicated to online audiences. As in-person academic events begin again, Mark Carrigan, considers whether we are returning to an implicit new no…
Rethinking the research seminar for a post-COVID world with Cassyni
Research seminars are a foundational part of academia and an important medium for communicating new ideas and research. However, national lockdowns and social distancing regulations have required research seminars to be translated at speed into digital…
The Post-Covid future of virtual conferences
For many researchers, 2020 will have been the first year in which they have attended any virtual academic events. In this cross-post Gina Sipley reflects on the advantages and disadvantages of virtual conferences and whether they may become a permanent fixture of the post-pandemic university. In January when I saw the call for papers for the … Continued
Online conferences don’t have to feel like substitutes. 4 considerations for making yours better than the ‘real thing’
Academics and event organisers have had to quickly adapt to online conferences. However, they are here to stay. Mark Carrigan and Dave Elder-Vass argue that digital events offer opportunities to be better than face-to-face versions. They outline four considerations for organisers and participants to embed online events in academic culture, as a superior alternative to many, though … Continued
Video of Open Repositories Keynote, and Thankful.
I just posted on the Our Research blog (I’m not blogging much there either, but a bit more than here) and wanted to cross-post the content here. Partly because it includes a link to the video of my Open Repositories keynote, which I’m proud of :), and partly because I really do feel thankful and […]
The Art of Connection – To deliver a good research seminar you need to connect with an audience at a pragmatic, intellectual and emotional level
Academic research is often an international undertaking that requires researchers to present their findings in any number of different cultural contexts. In contrast, research presentations normally adhere to a universalist principle, assuming that all audiences are alike in their interest in any given subject. In this post, Zehra Waheed outlines how successful presentations do not simply convey information, but are […]
If we have to endure plenary + panel conferences, how can we make them better?
The default format for most academic conferences is that of a plenary presentation followed by panel presentations. In this post Duncan Green argues that if we can’t revolutionise conference design, we can at least strive to make standard conferences and presentations better and suggests seven ways in which academic presentations could be improved. I recently attended a big and fascinating […]