Grad students and postdocs: Concordia has you covered for Acfas
Paula Wood-Adams: “The networking alone is invaluable.” | Photo courtesy of Acfas
Imagine the camaraderie of an all-French conference with thousands of speakers from dozens of countries. Imagine the luxury of choosing from more than 50 separate colloquia per day, for five days — en français.
The 85th edition of the congrès de l’Association francophone pour le savoir (Acfas) — the largest multidisciplinary gathering of research and knowledge in the French-speaking world — takes place at McGill University from May 8 to 12, 2017.
Using the numbers from last year’s conference as a gauge, approximately 4,000 speakers from 42 countries could be in attendance.
“It is a huge opportunity for young scholars to meet with other researchers from our field and beyond,” says Kristell Pothier, a Concordia postdoctoral research associate at the PERFORM Centre.
She organized a symposium on mobility and cognition in the elderly at last year’s conference. “A lot of collaborations began immediately after that specific session.”
The deadline to apply to present a paper is November 28, 2016.
Concordia is covering presenters’ registration fees
This year, Paula Wood-Adams, dean of Graduate Studies, is thrilled to be able to offer a concrete incentive encouraging graduate students and postdoctoral fellows from the Concordia community to deliver papers.
“We’re paying each presenter’s registration fee, which includes Acfas membership,” she says.
The 2017 conference theme, Vers de nouveaux sommets (“Towards new heights”), will highlight the discoveries and research of today and tomorrow, while recognizing the advances of the past. Over five days, academics and other experts will unpack current topics in the fields of science and creativity, nature and culture, imagination and innovation.
Three years ago, Concordia hosted the 2014 Acfas conference, welcoming 5,100 scholars and offering 173 colloquia; in total, more than 3,000 papers explored “Research: Zones of Creativity and Convergence.”
Wood-Adams stresses the importance of attending such a high-level event.
“The networking alone is invaluable, and it’s wonderful exposure for graduate students to get their work out there.”
To register as a presenter, visit the Acfas website and access the Concordia-specific page. Click on the PDF at the bottom of the landing page for instructions. You can also register to present a poster about your research by consulting the Acfas website.
