“Today, the second Monday in June, would normally have been the first day of the conference I have chaired over the last 15 years, INFINITI. From a small workshop to a 200+ delegate conference it has grown over these years. As it happens we had decided to park it for the year to reassess, but it gets me thinking of why conferences happen and why they wont go away …” (more)
[Brian M Lucey, 8 June]
“A question on the minds of many executives at scientific and scholarly societies is whether it will be possible to hold a large in-person meeting (or any gathering over a hundred people) before a vaccine or drug is widely available or the pandemic otherwise subsides …” (more)
[Michael Clarke, The Scholarly Kitchen, 29 April]
“The current international health crisis surrounding coronavirus is wreaking havoc across the globe and is now also having a major impact on the scholarly ecosystem. Academic conferences are being hardest hit as event after event is cancelled to reduce the risk of the virus spreading further. These cancellations are resulting in turmoil for many would-be attendees who have often spent months preparing for events and not only lose out on time and money, but also on the opportunity to discover and share valuable early-stage research …” (more)
[Sami Benchekroun and Michelle Kuepper, The Scholarly Kitchen, 25 March]
“As I write this, I have two academic trips coming up in the next month. Together, they will cost just over US$1,300. This not-so-hidden expense of academia is generally accepted in every field that I’m aware of. To be considered successful, scientists have to give conference presentations, network and collaborate with similar researchers around the world …” (more)
[John Malloy, Nature, 13 February]
“Just a quick post to highlight the fact that December 15th marks the deadline for submission of abstracts for the 4th International Conference on the History of Physics. The meeting marks the fourth in a biennial series of conferences that aims to bring together historians of science and physicists with an interest in the history of their subject and will take place at Trinity College Dublin on June 17th-19th …” (more)
[Cormac O’ Raifeartaigh, Antimatter, 13 November]
“One of the perks of academia is the thrill of presenting work at international conferences. Although the best conferences always seem to fall at the busiest moment in the teaching semester (a pet peeve) and the travel can be tiring, there is no doubt that interacting directly with one’s peers is a huge shot in the arm – not to mention the opportunity to travel to interesting locations and experience new cultures …” (more)
[Antimatter, 20 October]
“Conference attendance is an important part of an academic’s work, offering opportunities to present and receive feedback on recent research, and also to make new connections and expand professional networks. When deciding whether or not to attend an event, the cost of travel or having an abstract accepted remain the determining factors to many. But for some, as Donald Nicolson writes, more restrictive border policies have meant securing a visa and obtaining clearance to attend international events can be difficult or even impossible …” (more)
[LSE Impact Blog, 28 August]
“I had looked forward to our association conference for months. I would be reconnecting with old friends and making new ones, visiting a new city, and hearing about exciting work in my field. In many respects, the event exceeded my expectations …” (more)
[Amber Pouliot, Guardian, 3 August]
“Academic conference season is in full swing. For early-career researchers, conferences offer opportunities to share ideas and build networks. More established academics attend to meet with colleagues, old friends and learn about the latest work in their field. But they can also be a stressful, distressing and exhausting experience, particularly for disabled academics …” (more)
[Kate Sang, Guardian, 31 August]
“A conference on free speech and the Israel-Palestine conflict will be held in Trinity this September. The once-peripheral issue has dominated recent discussion in College after the cancelled visit of the Israeli ambassador, which was branded an ‘unacceptable attack on free speech’ …” (more)
[Róisín Power, University Times, 4 May]
“While rarely interrogated for the role that they play, academic conferences form a significant part in the construction of an academic career. Any aspiring, or indeed expiring, academic has at some point presented at, or attended, a conference …” (more)
[Fawzia Haeri Mazanderani, Impact of Social Sciences, 23 April]
“Academic freedom includes the liberty of individuals to express freely opinions about the institution or system in which they work, to fulfil their functions without discrimination or fear of repression by the state or any other actor, to participate in professional or representative academic bodies, and to enjoy all the internationally recognized human rights applicable to other individuals in the same jurisdiction …” (more)
[Academics for Palestine, 6 April]
“The organisers of an academic conference on Israel and international law have said they are delighted that the event will go ahead at two venues in Cork city at the end of this month. The staging of the conference was in doubt after University College Cork objected to it, citing a number of concerns, including ones based on security …” (more)
[RTÉ News, 7 March]
“The Organising Committee of ‘The State of Israel and International Law: Legitimacy, Exceptionalism and Responsibility’ is delighted to confirm that the conference will take place in Cork March 31-April 2. We are aware that confusion has arisen about the timing and location of our event, due in part to inaccurate reporting in the press. We now warmly invite you to register …” (more)
[Conference website]
“The status of the conference has been the source of some confusion over conflicting reports and statements both in the press and on social media in recent weeks. In response to the confusion, the University has released a statement following a meeting of the University Management Team on the 16th of January …” (more)
[Chris McCahill, UCC Express, 7 February]
“Sir, – Mike Jennings (January 26th), general secretary of the Irish Federation of University Teachers, has come out strongly against University College Cork’s decision to indefinitely postpone – on safety and security grounds – the proposed March conference, ‘International Law and the State of Israel: Legitimacy, Responsibility and Exceptionalism’ …” (more)
[Kevin McCarthy, Irish Times, 27 January]
“Sir, – The Irish Federation of University Teachers is deeply concerned at attempts to block the holding of an important conference entitled ‘International Law and the State of Israel: Legitimacy, Exceptionalism, Responsibility’, which is scheduled to take place in University College Cork from March 31st to April 2nd …” (more)
[Letters, Irish Times, 26 January]
“University College Cork has decided to prevent an academic conference debating the legitimacy of the state of Israel from taking place at the end of March and has advised the organisers that they have to come up with special security plans if they want the university to host it at another date …” (more)
[Barry Roche, Irish Times, 20 January]
“The University Management Team at its meeting on the 16th January 2017 considered the matter of the proposed conference entitled ‘International Law and the State of Israel: Legitimacy, Responsibility and Exceptionalism’. Members of the management team expressed their disappointment and concern that this conference came to the University’s attention through public discourse and social media and not in a formal request for approval …” (more)
[UCC, 18 January]
“As I wrapped up a research sabbatical in Canada in March 2015, I started searching for conferences to present my research at. A quick Google search highlighted a shocking number of events and organisations that I had never even heard of – and an even more shocking list of conference fees …” (more)
[James McCrostie, Times Higher Education, 12 January]
