Workshops for early career scholars

The Emerging Scholars Network and Communication Policy and Technology sections of IAMCR held an online three-day professionalization workshop for early career scholars on February 23, 24 and 25, 2022. The event, titled “Research, Publish, Engage: Workshops for Emerging Communication Scholars,” invited expert panellists to speak on themes of developing impactful research, writing and publishing, and finding and applying for funding. These lecture-focused segments were followed by breakout rooms where participants could respond to pre-written questions, as well as get to know their fellow participants. 

Interested graduate students are invited to a followup workshop on Academic Writing and publishing to be held on 2 September. See more about this upcoming workshop, including how to register, at the end of this article.

Toronto Metropolitan University and Daystar University hosted the workshops. With approximately 50 attendees each day, the organisers were pleased with how the event went and encouraged to organise similar workshops in the future. 

Read on for a quick summary of the three days of the conference, how the event was received, and upcoming workshops. While you do, consider whether you would like to host a similar workshop for your region or institution!

Day 1
The theme of day 1 was impactful research and it featured Professor Hopeton Dunn from the University of Botswana speaking on the joys and challenges of publication and Dr. Theodora Dame Adjin-Tettey from the University of Ghana speaking on navigating the social and academic challenges of postgraduate studies.

Day 2 
The theme of day 2 was Writing and Publishing and it featured three speakers. Dr. Aditya Deshbandhu, now of the University of Exeter, spoke on how he balances the pressures and interests of academic publications with his own publication goals and research interests. Devina Sarwatay, research fellow and PhD student at the University of Hyderabad, spoke on responding to CfPs as an early career scholar. Finally, Dr. Gerard Goggin, Wee Kim Wee Professor of Communication Studies, Nanyang Technological University, provided an editor’s perspective on navigating publishing and a scholar’s perspective on value(s) in academic publishing models. 

Day 3
The theme of day 3 was Engaging Funders and it featured Dr. Sai Amulya Komarraju, postdoctoral fellow at CDMC, MICA, speaking on how to find and apply for research grants, and Dr. Jeremy Shtern, Toronto Metropolitan University (recently renamed), speaking on how to apply for research grants.  

Reception

The event was very positively received, with attendees praising the choice of topics, the speakers, the organization of the event, and the opportunities for discussion in breakout rooms. Attendees commented that they liked “The flow of conversation. It was a blend of both formal and informal experience sharing.” Others commented that “the topics were interesting and timely. Backing up the workshop with Slack was an added value too” and “the breakout sessions were the most insightful. I liked the personal touch to the engagements.” These comments are encouraging, and demonstrate the value of facilitating peer-to-peer sharing and discussion within professionalization events, as well as value of multiple modes of communication in virtual environments.

Participants also noted room for improvement in some areas, including finding a time that worked for more participants, reducing the overall time commitment (three half-days is a lot to ask), and making space for more practical and applicable writing workshops. 

For general information about the wrokshop series, or to propose a workshop, contact Steph Hill, ESN co-chair: sh903@leicester.ac.uk

Next webinar: Academic Writing and publishing for Graduate Students