SUPRA Postgrad Conference
CONNECT
discussion::collaboration::participation
POSTGRADUATE CONFERENCE
Wed 1st - Fri 3rd October 2008
Main Quadrangle
CALL FOR PAPERS
We are pleased to announce the third SUPRA CONNECT cross-disciplinary postgraduate conference. CONNECT 2008 will take place between the 1st and 3rd of October. All Sydney Uni coursework and research postgraduate students are invited to submit a 300 word abstract for a proposed paper or poster. The conference will not be themed, however we encourage you to present your work in a way that is accessible to a non-specialist audience and to consider the relevance of your work to an audience beyond the academy.
In the interest of generating constructive commentary and debate, we encourage you to approach friends or colleagues to present on a panel with you. Your panel may address a particular theme or showcase a range of work in your area. Papers should generally be 20 minutes in length, however shorter papers are also welcome. While we would prefer you to organize an appropriate panel, we will also consider papers submitted individually.
SUPRA’s annual postgrad CONNECT conference is not just interested in traditional academic papers. Are you at the Con or SCA? Are you a poet or creative writer? Our aim is to showcase the breadth of postgrad work at Sydney Uni and to promote interdisciplinarity across campuses. How you would like to showcase your creative work is only limited by your imagination - we are interested in all types of visual art, installations, multimedia, creative writing, readings, poetry and musical interludes.
Please send abstracts to conference@supra.usyd.edu.au by Friday 15th August. Also, please indicate any AV requirements that your paper/panel/poster will require. Abstracts submitted without registration will not be considered.
Registration for CONNECT 2008 is free. Please complete the registration form and return it by email before registration closes on Friday 19th September.
EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST
SUPRA is currently organising our third University wide Postgraduate Conference CONNECT to be held in the Main Quadrangle from Wednesday 1st to Friday 3rd October 2008 (put a note in your diaries now!). The aim of the conference is to provide a forum for postgrads from all faculties to come together to share ideas, theories, strategies, and to build networks and partnerships across the University. If you are a postgraduate student at Sydney University, and interested in making this conference a success, we would like to hear from you!
You can assist by:
ORGANISING A PANEL
Is there a subject you feel passionate about, want to learn more about and think it would be benefit the postgraduate community? SUPRA can assist you with how to invite speakers and focus on a theme.
PRESENTING
Perhaps you would like to present an aspect of your thesis, present a paper or poster from a coursework subject that you are passionate about. This is an opportunity for you to share your research and ideas with the broader postgraduate community.
CREATIVE TYPES!
SUPRA's annual postgrad conference is not just interested in traditional academic papers. Are you at the Con or SCA? Are you a poet or creative writer? Our aim is to showcase the breadth of postgrad work at Sydney University and to promote interdisciplinary across campuses. How you would like to showcase your creative work is only limited by your imagination - we are interested in all types of visual art, installations, multimedia, creative writing, readings, poetry and musical interludes.
VOLUNTEERING
SUPRA will need volunteers to assist with the conference so if you would like to be involved, please let us know.
SO WHAT IS IN IT FOR ME?
As postgrads, we know only too well just how intellectually and physically isolating postgraduate study can be. At postgraduate level, research and coursework study becomes increasingly specialised, sometimes to the point where there may be only a handful of people in the University (or the world for that matter!) that understand your work.
To a certain extent, this is unavoidable if we are to make steady advances in knowledge in complex fields. But it can leave us with a lack of broader intellectual stimulation and lack of understanding of the social context of our research or study. It also leaves us cooped up in small offices for hours on end with square eyes from staring at computer screens. This can not only make our research experience less rewarding and enjoyable, it can also weaken our research by closing us off to potentially useful ideas and approaches.
SUPRA believes that a cross-disciplinary approach to postgraduate study is essential. We also think that collaboration is indispensable to the mental health of postgrads. By encouraging postgrads to present to a cross-disciplinary audience, we hope to encourage thought about the broader context of research and the importance of keeping its social benefit in mind. We also want to encourage postgrads to think about their research from different angles and perhaps make connections with postgrads from other departments or faculties for the purpose of collaboration. We hope this will remind us that we are part of a university and not just a faculty, department or research cluster. A university-wide collegial atmosphere not only helps our research as individual students but also produces knowledge of value to the community at large. And, of course, we could all use the chance to get some presenting experience away from the intimidating eyes of professors and world experts! We look forward to seeing you there.
If you would like to know more or register your interest please email conference@supra.usyd.edu.au
Connect 2007 ... read more
Connect 2006 ... read more
