In line with our annual theme on Cultivating Curiosity and Community-Engaged Research, the PhD Network Board has been hard at work trying to bring PhD candidates from across the broader IMISCOE Network closer together. We launched our 2026 activities, as each year, with the PhD Day, which took place on Friday, 27 February 2026. Diving into how curiosity and community help us navigate research and the academic hurdles we may face along the way, the PhD Day hosted Nomkhosi Mbatha (University of the Western Cape), Jasmin Lilian Diab (Lebanese American University) and Kerilyn Schewel (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) to share their views and discuss with us what impact curiosity and community have on our research trajectories. This event wad open to all PhD candidates thanks to its online format, regardless of where PhD candidates may be in the world. As the theme touches on the everyday of research and PhD life, the event appealed to PhD students of all stages.
This first activity will be followed by IMISCOE Spring Conference 2026, taking place at the University of Liège in Belgium and hosted by the Centre for Ethnic and Migration Studies (CEDEM). Local PhD researchers have crafted a solid programme of activities, which will be held on Monday, 16 March 2026 before the official launch of the conference. The activities aim to centre the experiences of researchers conducting migration research in contentious times and invite reflection, discussion and exchange on how to navigate the tensions inherent in this work: between scholarly distance and engagement, between urgency of current events and the pace of rigorous research.
As usual, the morning will open with a panel discussion with three remarkable panelists: Myriam Cherti (Senior Researcher COMPAS, University of Oxford & lead Chair on Forced Displacement, Mohammed VI Polytechnic University), Marco Martiniello (Senior Professor, Honorary Director of the CEDEM, University of Liège) and Xingcheng Wen (PhD Candidate, CEDEM, University of Liège & GID, University of Amsterdam). The panel will be followed by a workshop to allow PhD candidates to exchange experience and strategies on how to engage with civil society and research community, knowledge production under pressure and publication in politically charged contexts.
The PhD Network Board particularly looks forward to this edition of the Spring Conference, as we prepare to host our very own board meeting right after, allowing board members from across the globe to meet face-to-face for the first time since we have started working together. This time will allow us to work on the strategic vision of the PhD Network, and how we can support PhD candidates best in the upcoming years. Thanks to our ‘Joy’ survey that was circulated late last year, we will be able to develop our future activities with PhD candidates’ concerns and wishes in mind. We cannot wait to share more in the upcoming months.