The sixth annual UNE Postgraduate conference, titled “Intersections of Knowledge”, has presented some new challenges for the organising committee in 2021.
With the event now embedded in the research culture at UNE, this year we had no option other than to include a digital participation option for presenters and audience. We have also expanded the conference participants to include contributions from our PhD, Masters, Honours and Post-doctoral Fellows. This event continues to provide candidates a valuable stage for honing presentation skills with a friendly audience, while also providing a community showcase of our excellent postgraduate research and researchers. We recognise the vital role of supervisors in encouraging and supporting their PhD, Master and Honours students to participate and again invite them to view there candidates presentations live, this year as part of our Covid- 19 restricted on-campus audience.
Due to the pandemic, the 2021 conference will be a hybrid design, now including face to face and online/digital attendance. Within the hybrid format, presenters will be able to engage face to face at the Armidale UNE campus or online, from another location of their choice. Face to face presentations will be made on the Armidale campus to a live audience made up of session presenters, their supervisors, session Chairs and organisers. All presentations will be streamed to the larger virtual audience, attending the event remotely.
Appropriately, this year’s sub-theme is Researcher Innovation and resilience in a challenging environment. In line with that theme, at the close of the conference, our Research Director, Dr Andrew Johnson, will run a special session to explore the challenges brought to us by the pandemic. Engaging with the audience, we will take a moment to reflect on the past year and take a look towards what the future might hold.
Acknowledging that research creates new knowledge, it follows that research communication stimulates interactions that self-generate new thinking, ideas and actions within and across networks; that is, research creates “intersections of knowledge”. The value of these intersections cannot be understated, and it is important that they extend more broadly and outside the research community.
Our postgraduate research conference provides an opportunity to:
- prepare and present research across the university in a friendly setting;
- hear how researchers from other disciplines are approaching their investigations and;
- how research practices are carried out in different contexts.
Each year, Keynote and Special Sessions presenters are invited to provide unique insights into the world of research. From the Keynotes, we hope to encourage our postgraduates to identify and acknowledge the skills they are acquiring within their studies and the expanded career opportunities that their higher degree training could provide them. The Special sessions are focused on alerting candidates to support and training available to them through UNE.
The conference will be opened by our keynote speaker, UNE’s Vice-Chancellor and CEO Professor Brigid Heywood. Prof. Heywood began her academic career in the United Kingdom in the biological sciences, and at 33 was the first woman in the UK to hold an established chair (in inorganic chemistry at Keele). Her work has since ranged across research, research commercialisation and administration in three countries, providing her with valuable insights into innovation and resilience.
On the 24th we have another, not to be missed Keynote, on Media for Science Communication. In this session, ABC News Journalist, Sean Murphy, will team up with General Manager – Commercial Programs at SQ Landscapes and PhD. Innovation candidate, Darren Marshall and Chief Scientist, Food Agility CRC, Professor David Lamb. This session will provide a unique insight into the researcher – journalist story telling process, using UNE researcher’s ABC Landline produced stories.
Interested in attending the conference? Everyone attending the conference needs to register as soon as possible, including guests who do not wish to present.
The closing date for abstract submission is COB Monday 10th May.
Details can be viewed on the Postgrad Conference Webpage at https://www.une.edu.au/research/hdr/postgraduate-conference or email the committee at unepgconference@une.edu.au or via phone 02 6773 3715.