Doctoral College’s first conference brings 150 researchers together to navigate uncertainty

City St George’s, University of London Doctoral College has hosted its first university-wide conference for doctoral researchers and early-career researchers (ECRs) at the Clerkenwell campus.

Around 150 people attended, including staff, academics, researchers, postgraduate researchers (PGRs) and ECRs from across the University, as well as guests from other universities and the local community.

The theme was ‘Research in times of crisis and conflict: navigating uncertainty’. The conference aimed to build a sense of community among researchers and showcase the research taking place across the University.

Professor Carwyn Hooper, Assistant Vice-President (Doctoral College), said:

“The conference, which was partly organised by doctoral researchers, brought together around 150 PhD candidates and early-career researchers from across our six Schools.

“The quality of presentations was outstanding, and the event highlighted the remarkable range of research undertaken at the University.

“Future conferences will aim to build on this excellent foundation and further develop the doctoral and early career researcher community.”

A keynote on sharing knowledge

The day opened with a keynote from Cynthia Enloe, Research Professor at Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts. A prominent feminist analyst of international politics and a leading voice on gender and militarism, Professor Enloe reflected on breaking down silos in research and on the different stages of the academic journey.

“I had the best conversations with doctoral students from Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines and London,” Professor Enloe said. “This conference is important because we all have specialised knowledge and we need to share it with people.”

Research across disciplines

Multidisciplinary panels followed, drawing on all six Schools. PGRs and ECRs presented findings and work in progress, received feedback from leading academics and took part in in-depth discussions.

Knowledge workshops covered academic publishing, digital ethnography research methods and the challenges of teaching in the age of AI. A student-led ‘How to PhD?’ panel then brought together five researchers from different Schools and at different stages of their studies to share their experiences and how they overcame challenges.

Presenters spoke in conversation with researchers from other disciplines. Anusheela Brahmachary, a PhD student at Bayes Business School, said:

“I got to know about the works of the different scholars from the different Schools that gave me a wider perspective to research and methodological approaches.

“Chairing the ‘How to PhD?’ panel further gave me an opportunity of close interaction with colleagues from the other schools and exchange ideas on navigating through the different stages of a PhD without feeling overwhelmed.”

Hope and resilience

The conference closed with a panel featuring Professor Diana Beech, Director of the Finsbury Institute here at City St George’s, and Dr Louisa Munch, influencer and critical theorist whose work explores nostalgia, neoliberalism and contemporary political culture. They reflected on their career journeys and on where to find hope and resilience in times of crisis and conflict. Attendees stayed on for a drinks reception.

Watch the Doctoral College Conference 2026 recap video.

Acknowledgements

The conference was led by a Conference Board of PGR student volunteers, Presidential Fellows and colleagues from the Research & Innovation (Strategy & Development) directorate.

Special thanks go to Professor Carwyn Hooper, Dr Lea Hellmueller, Jonathan Deer, Mariah Loukou and Dr Maria Carbajales Sisto for turning an idea into an annual initiative. Future PGR cohorts can use it to build a community of like-minded people and to strengthen the University’s research environment through innovative ideas and advanced skills workshops.