Research Blog

UBEL Conference blog post

By the UBEL Conference Committee

Laura, Shomo, Helina, and Lottie

On Friday 7^th October, we hosted the UBEL Student Conference 2022 at Birkbeck. As this was the first in-person DTP conference many of us had attended, it was a great chance to meet people from other disciplines and institutions, and across the DTP. In total, 26 UBEL PhD students presented on aspects of their research, and we had nearly 60 PhD students attending across the day’s different sessions.

Shomo:

“Two years ago I became a UBEL student rep after guest attending a fabulous virtual student conference at another DTP, hoping to host a similar conference at UBEL when circumstances permitted. So I was unreasonably excited when Laura proposed holding this year’s conference. Laura put in equally unreasonable efforts to put together the event, and supported alongside my fellow reps Lottie and Helina, we organised the first major in-person student event at UBEL since the start of the pandemic. The day was really well attended by students at different stages of their studies and showcased the incredible range of research supported by our DTP. Though this strength posed thematic challenges in arranging presentations, the day was received very positively by both presenters and attendees. We certainly appreciated the feedback and as doctoral students arranging our first truly interdisciplinary multi-institutional conference, the experience of coordinating, hosting, and chairing was both fun and challenging, and we’ve learnt a great deal in preparation for future events.

A huge thanks once again to Jamie and UBEL management for supporting the day (especially the drinks at the end), to Laura who single-handedly managed the logistics, to Helina and Lottie for their unwavering enthusiasm and tech skills, and to all our fabulous presenters and attendees. Hopefully some of you will take on the challenge, continuing to support what we hope will become the regular annual UBEL student conference. In conclusion, at least I know had fun!”

Laura:

“I really enjoyed organising the conference, despite the surprising amount of emailing and logistics involved, and I was very relieved when it turned out to be a successful event! Thank you again to all our presenters for putting talks together and to all the attendees who came along and asked interesting and insightful questions. The majority of the feedback we received was very positive with comments about the range of talks and the disciplines covered as well as the opportunity to meet and talk to other PhD students face to face. There were lots of comments on feeling part of a community of PhD students and that the conference was a supportive environment to present in. The suggestions on how to improve the comments will be taken on board and passed to the committee who will organise the next UBEL student conference.”

A selection of photos from the day:

Top row: Clau and Rebekka’s workshop (Left) and Lottie and Claire’s workshop (Right)

Middle: Dr Laura’s first workshop after being awarded her PhD!

Bottom row: During the longer talks and Pecha Kucha presentations.