Postgraduate and early-career development day 2025

Tuesday 17 Jun 2025, 09:30 → 19:45 Europe/London

Graduate School at Queen's University Belfast

A one-day series of professional workshop sessions for postgraduate and early-career colleagues designed to give a unique insight into the challenges and rewards of a life in academia. We bring together an esteemed group of academics, practitioners and journalists from across HE, the FCDO and the Conversation to guide you through a variety of topics and give you the skills and knowledge to enhance your professional lives. The workshops cover life as an independent researcher, publishing, grant and writing tips as well as careers outside of academia. 

 

Draft programme

These sessions will take place in two parallel rooms from 10am to 5pm.

9.30am​​ - Arrival and registration

10.00am - Welcome/overview of the day

10.15 – 11.30am​​ Parallel session 1 (You will select a preferred option when you register)

Finishing your PhD and starting your career as an independent researcher

- Andy Payne (City, University of London) and Juanita Elias (University of Warwick)

Or

Life as an academic: Understanding teaching, supervision and beyond

- Nick Caddick (Anglia Ruskin University), Nat Jester (University of Gloucestershire) and Ilan Baron (University of Durham)

11.30 – 11.40​​am Break/networking

11.40 – 1.10​​pm Parallel session 2 (You will select a preferred option when you register)

Writing for a big, international, non-specialist audience – with The Conversation

-Jonathan Este, (Senior International Affairs Editor, The Conversation UK) and Stephen Khan,  (Executive Editor, The Conversation)  

Or

Transforming your thesis or article into a book

- Helena Farrand Carrapico (Northumbria University) and Geoffrey Swenson, (City, University of London)

1.10 – 2.10pm​​ Lunch

2.15 – 3.30pm ​​Parallel session 3 (You will select a preferred option when you register)

How to get a research grant or post-doctoral fellowship

- Jack Holland, (University of Leeds) and Amna Kaleem (University of Sheffield)

Or

Demystifying the lecturer job application, short-listing, and interview process

- Kyle Grayson (Newcastle University) and Toni Haastrup (University of Manchester),

3.30 – 3.40pm​​ Break/networking

3.40 – 4.55​pm Parallel session 4 (You will select a preferred option when you register)

Publishing in peer-reviewed journals: from preparation to acceptance

-Andy Hom (University of Edinburgh, Editor, Review of International Studies) and Andrew Mumford (University of Nottingham; Editor, European Journal of International Security)

Or

IR careers and academic engagement beyond academia

- Juliet Dryden, (CEO of BISA) and Nicholas Wright, (European Research Group, FCDO)

7.45pm​ Drinks reception

Join the editors of Review of International Studies and European Journal of International Security and other participants for a drinks reception and networking.

 

BISA members pay a reduced fee of £18pp to help cover some of the costs. Non-members are welcome to attend for a fee of £55pp. All places include refreshments and lunch. We recommend reading our ‘Become a member’ information to see if you could save money on this and future BISA events by becoming a member.

 

Registration will close on 1 June 2025 or when all places are filled. Should the event be over-subscribed BISA members will be given priority for places.