Let's Organise a Conference!

Check the CPD-training system

to enrol and book your place on training & meetings

PROSPECTIVE DATE FOR 2025: FIRST WEEK OF APRIL

This practical course will teach you what it takes to put on an academic conference event with 200+ participants at a major London venue.

The postdoc conference is a unique event that brings Queen Mary postdocs to discuss their experience in our research community, and where relevant offer suggestions on how to improve it. Some of these suggestions have resulted in University action and policy change,

So in addition to learning how major academic events are planned, you also gain insight into and experience with informing decision-making structures at Queen Mary.

By the end of this course you will have:

planned and run a conference-style event for
interpreted a theme and developed a vision for the event
developed interactive conference content
learned how to chair a programme element
gained confidence with finding and approaching potential speakers
engaged with comercial London venues and hiring agents
contributed to decisions on conference logistics and catering
become familiar with institutional finance operations
applied project management principles to ensure delivery of the conference

In addition, conference co-chairs, will have:

met with institutional leaders to discuss conference outcomes
contributed a paper (a conference output) to senior leadership on issues of research culture impacting postdocs

Five meetings monthly Oct - April over MS Teams (up 8 hours)
Additional meetings to discuss other programme elements you may specifically be involved in (up to 5 hours)
Conference date: first week of April 2025 (9 hours)
Additional time spent depending on where you decide to focus your efforts in conference organisation, but this could include content development, promotion and communication, speaker commissioning, logistics and catering planning, session chairing, and conference chairing.