Building communities and professionalism through student-organised conferences: opportunities and reflections for doctoral education

Doctoral training operates under the backdrop of a neocolonial relationship in higher education governing universities and their students, as reflected in academic regulations and supervision. When professional and academic standards governing doctoral students dominate academia, this article mediates the affordances institutions can provide and the capabilities students can deliver by organising their learning activities such as doctoral conferences. In the first section, this article frames the contextual and professional imperatives around doctoral students’ organisation of their conference. Secondly, the article outlines a range of interdependent activities that have allowed students to facilitate and develop their networks and capabilities in organising doctoral conferences. Preliminary findings from this case study were drawn to understand how student-organised conferences might catalyse the development of communities and solidarities needed to thrive in their studies. Finally, the authors provide reflections on the impact of the neoliberal and multidisciplinary nature of the research that doctoral students encounter during their PhD and the possibilitiesof a transformative learning experience.