Successful Applications for International Conferences

Description:

International conferences and workshops are one of the essential scholarly activities and are especially relevant for young academics and their research. These events provide unique opportunities for postgraduate students to present and discuss their research projects among their peers and relevant professionals and to obtain valuable comments and constructive criticism. Furthermore, they also serve as important networking events. International conferences and workshops also let postgraduate students to familiarize themselves with other scholarly and scientific environments.

            Nevertheless, it sometimes seems difficult to locate these events, prepare for them and conceptualize a good application and discussion topic. Postgraduate students might find themselves staring at their “empty” CVs and scrolling through social media feeds full of their colleagues sharing experiences from conferences in pictures or words. This may sound trivial, but one should not underestimate the discouraging effect of the feeling of “missing out”. Academic research, in any capacity, is in its essence a communal venture, heavily dependent on the work of and feedback from colleagues. The lack of meaningful contact, such are the opportunities to share one’s research process, dilemmas and results, can have negative effects on the research project in total and can contribute to the academic “impostor syndrome”.

            Fortunately, practice and guidance is often all that is needed. The goal of this workshop is to help postgraduate students to explore different ways in which they can filter the abundance of available information and inform themselves about relevant international events. Furthermore, the students will have the opportunity to practice strategies for compiling, conceptualizing and writing effective applications for different formats of international conferences and workshops. Finally, the workshop will provide useful tips regarding the organization of the experience, in order for students to make the most out of these events. Special focus will be given to the online events, in the light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Short biography:

Stefan Trajković-Filipović is a doctoral candidate at the Justus-Liebig University Giessen (Faculty of History and Cultural Studies). He holds a BA in History (University of Belgrade), an MA in Medieval Studies (Central European University), and an MA in History (University of Belgrade). His research focuses on the collective memory studies as well as digital history and digital heritage. He participated in a number of international conferences, workshops and summer universities in Germany and abroad, most notably “The Changing Frontiers of Political History, 16th - 20th Century” conference (Sciences-Po Paris) in 2017, Memory Studies Association Conference (University of Copenhagen) in 2017 and Association for the Study of Nationalities (ASN) World Convention (Columbia University, Harriman Institute, New York City) in 2018. In February 2019, he co-organized the “Villains! Constructing Narratives of Evil” conference at the Justus-Liebig University Giessen and GCSC.