Doing Academia Differently: Professional Development Symposium for Doctoral Students and Early-Career Academics

This one-day symposium on ‘Doing Academia Differently’ will provide inspiration and support for PhD and early-career academics to approach the complex tensions and dilemmas of contemporary academia in new and creative ways.

Guided by experienced speakers and facilitators, we will explore how to think differently about key aspects of academic work and careers, and about being a different kind of academic.

The symposium is generously funded by the Society for the Advancement of Management Studies (SAMS) grant for Developing the Management Studies Community and by The Open University Faculty of Business and Law. As the result of the funding, the event is free to attend, and we also have bursaries available to help those participants who would otherwise struggle to attend.

The symposium is open to early-career academics and Doctoral students based at any higher education institutions anywhere in the world, as well as to independent researchers in the field of management. We welcome diverse perspectives and voices.

Key details

Symposium format

The symposium is a whole-day event and will consist of sessions in the form of talks, discussions, provocations, and hands-on activities. We will cover writing, publishing, and teaching differently, activism and making a difference beyond academia, doing careers differently and wellbeing. Lunch and refreshments will be provided during the day, and there will be opportunities for informal socialising.

Symposium speakers and facilitators

• Prof Sam Parsley, Curious View
• Dr Olivier Ratle, University of the West of England
• Prof Sarah Robinson, IESEG Paris
• Prof Ralf Wetzel, Vlerick Business School
• Dr Fidele Mutwarasibo, The Open University
• Dr Francesca Calò, The Open University
• Dr Alexandra Bristow, The Open University

Travelling to the event

The symposium will be held at The Open University Walton Hall campus, Milton Keynes in the Michael Young Building. Milton Keynes has the advantage of being centrally-located within the UK and, through excellent train connections, easily accessible from both London and Birmingham international airports. The campus map contains car parking and bus stop information. The Michael Young Building is located on the bottom left of the map. Advice for travelling by different modes of transport is available below.

By train

The campus is 4 miles from Milton Keynes Central railway station. Taxis and buses are available outside the station, The Open University is around ten minutes’ drive from the station. View The Open University’s advice for travelling by rail.

By taxi

Please ask to be dropped at the Michael Young Building. The University’s preferred taxi supplier is Skyline Taxis +44 (0)1908 222111

By road

If using a Sat Nav please enter the postcode MK7 6BB.  The nearest parking for the Michael Young Building is the South West Parking area, opposite the building and clearly signposted. Parking is free and open to visitors.

By bus

There are several bus routes serving the Walton Hall campus, more information on bus timetables is available on The Open University’s travel advice page.

Accommodation

There are many hotels in Milton Keynes, including Kents Hill Park and Delta Hotel Milton Keynes, which are within easy walking distance to the Walton Hall campus. 

There are also many Airbnb spaces available for rent in the Milton Keynes area. Please search using the Walton Hall postcode MK7 6AA to determine the distance between each space and campus.