Research students from universities across the country will be gathering for a major conference at the University of Aberdeen – the biggest postgraduate event of its kind in the UK.
The annual Moving Forward conference will attract more than 100 postgraduate students to the city next month to take part in two days of presentations and talks covering issues affecting postgraduate study including: the PhD experience, getting published, combining teaching and research and the Viva – the final oral exam regarding the submitted thesis.
Now in its third year, the 2006 conference, which is sponsored by the College of Arts and Social Sciences at the University of Aberdeen, will be held on Wednesday and Thursday, June 28 and 29, at King’s College Centre.
Conference committee member, John McKenzie, who is a PhD student in Sociology, said he hoped this year’s event would be the most successful yet. He said: “This conference is a hugely important event for postgraduate students across the UK and the University of Aberdeen is delighted to be hosting the event.
“We’re hoping to attract even more students than last year with the main aim of bringing postgraduate students together from different departments and disciplines to discuss common issues and problems.
“The event gives students the chance to network and form long-term friendships and provides them with an ideal chance to discuss their work in a supportive and relaxed atmosphere. As well as giving students the opportunity to present papers on their work, there will also be an on-poster session held in the reception area. This gives those students who are not ready to do a paper to informally present a pictorial representation of their research topic ”
Next month’s event, which is also open to all fourth year students from UK universities, will feature a series of talks presented by a range of speakers including: Professor Dominic Houlihan, Vice-Principal for Research and Commercialisation, University of Aberdeen, and Professor Angela Black, Director of the College of Arts and Social Sciences Graduate School.
“This conference is now a well established platform for post graduate to speak about their studies and to network with other researchers” added John.
Conference participants will also have the chance to enjoy an evening reception at the Monkey House, Aberdeen, on Thursday, June 29.
To book a place at the free Moving Forward conference, and to view the full two-day programme, log on to: http://www.abdn.ac.uk/cass/pgradconf/
The deadline to register a place at the conference is Wednesday, June 14.