Attending the 6th EMES Conference offers a myriad of opportunities to young researchers in the field of social enterprise and social and solidarity economy, who are just entering the world of research on these vast topics. The tone of the event is scholarly and highly professional, students are a focus of attention and we provide a special space organized exclusively by PhD students, for PhD students.

Session and social events for PhD

As it is already a tradition within the EMES conferences, there are a special session and a social event for PhD students. The session is conceived and organized by the students themselves as an interactive and small-scale meeting, to serve the needs of persons currently enrolled in a PhD program, or those who have been recently awarded a PhD degree.

Francesca Calò—also an elected representative of PhDs in the EMES Board—explains a motivation for organizing this special session:

The PhD sessions aim to be a moment for discussing about the challenges we face in our research and to share knowledge for overcoming them. There will be a process of knowledge sharing, networking and discussion. The PhD is like a marathon, and like a marathon if we run together side by side it will be easier to arrive at the end.

Best PhD Paper Award

The third edition of the “Best Paper Award” was launched in the framework of the 6th EMES International Research Conference covering ten thematic areas. The goal of this Award is to recognize the work of scholars who help advance social enterprise as a research area with theoretical or methodological contributions. Given the commitment of EMES with emerging scholars, the Award specifically distinguishes a PhD category but it also aims to emphasize the work of researchers who are in the initial phases of their careers. This year we are very proud to announce that Bernheim Foundation has kindly agreed to sponsor award in a PhD category. Deadline for the full paper submission was 5th June 2017. The winners will be selected by an independent evaluation committee.

A few thoughts on conference expectations

This year’s topic is spot on for me, so my expectations are definitely high! I am confident I will meet a very diverse and dynamic crowd, broadening my perspectives on social enterprises. I think it is very positive that the conference has special events for the PhDs. I was one of the organisers of a special session for young researchers at a conference two years ago and I think it is really important to provide young researchers with a platform to connect, as the EMES is doing in July.

Ellen Stenslie, PhD Researcher enrolled at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences

In general, attending a conference can be a professionally rewarding experience for young researchers.  It is clear that 115 students enrolled in PhD programs who submitted their registration have multiple and diverse expectations for the event, also depending whether they have already attended previous EMES events or they are participating for the first time.

The newcomer Andrea Rey—currently a PhD student at the University of Valencia in Spain—describes her anticipations:

I´m in my second year with the PhD and I research about social economy, more concretely, social entrepreneurship. Recently, I started to work with a professor whose research is sharing economy and social economy too. Now we are researching about social insertion enterprises, so I decided to participate in the EMES conference because I think that is the right conference for my research and I hope to learn so much about social enterprises, about literature, scales, news gaps, etc.

There is much more to the conference than science

Although the primary objective of many PhD attendees and emerging scholars is of course to share their research, network with peers and interact with recognized academic scholars in the field; it seems there is more to the conference than science:

I expect to make some people laugh and that some people would make me laugh. I expect that when I say to many colleagues that we will see each other soon that it will really be the case. I as always, I expect to get inspired and learn tremendously.

Danijel Baturina, postdoctoral researcher, University of Zagreb.

Many of the registered PhD students and young researchers will attend for the first time. In our previous feature we’ve talked about several benefits and supporting initiatives for PhD students and emerging researchers at 6EMESconf—a celebration of networking, learning, and fun.

Tomorrow 15 June is the last day for conference registration. We want to make sure that we reach and remind as many interested as possible. Thank you for sharing!