CIRCLE Graduate South Asia Conference

CIRCLE Graduate South Asia Conference

September 29 – October 01, 2022 (virtual)

Deadline for abstract submission: June 15, 2022

CIRCLE invites PhD students engaged in research related to South Asia (or one or more countries in South Asia) and/ or the South Asian communities in Canada, to submit paper abstracts and panel proposals for the multidisciplinary virtual conference on September 29-October 01, 2022.

This three-day virtual conference is intended to showcase the cutting-edge research being undertaken in diverse programs in the fields of health, natural sciences and engineering, and social sciences and humanities with a focus on South Asia and/ or the South Asian diaspora as indicated above. The objective of the conference is to increase awareness about such research, facilitate networking, and foster impactful research and collaborations.

We invite proposals from PhD students from all disciplines affiliated to universities in Canada and South Asian countries (We use the SAARC nomenclature to indicate south Asian countries. SAARC countries are Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka). While the conference is open to students in different stages of their PhD, preference will be given to those who have original data, have published as part of their PhD or are in an advanced stage towards completion.

Organizing Committee

Graduate student members

• Jeewan Gamage, PhD candidate in Environmental Sciences
• Rishta Jahan, Master in Public Health
• Poojan Joshi, Masters in Applied Social Psychology
• Deus Mugabe, PhD candidate in Plant Agriculture and International Development
• Yamin Rahman, Masters in Public Issues Anthropology
• Keana Shahin, Masters in Epidemiology

Faculty members

• Dr. Ritu Chaturvedi Computer Science
• Dr. Bharat Punjabi Geography and Political Science, Research Fellow, University of Toronto's Global Cities Institute
• Dr. Glen Pyle Biomedical Sciences

Dilshan Fernando, CIRCLE Student Engagement Facilitator, PhD candidate in Sociology and International Development

Important Dates

Conference  Format

The conference will take place virtually over the course of 3 half-days, synchronously in Eastern (EDT) and Indian (IST) time zones. The daily times of the conference will flip each day of the conference to ensure participants in both time zones can equally take part at convenient times. Information regarding the schedule, themes, and length of each session will be provided after accepted papers/sessions have been confirmed.

There will be one keynote lecture each day focused on health, natural sciences and engineering, and social sciences and humanities (These are inspired by the Canadian Tri-Council that promote and support research across diverse disciplines). The remainder of the conference will be organized around panel sessions. Each panel will have 3-4 presentations followed by discussion. The chair will facilitate the Q&A and discussion. The 3-4 presenters will all have to be affiliated to universities in different countries and preferably from different disciplines.

Abstract submission

You can submit an abstract for an individual presentation or a proposal for a panel using this online submission form.

Eligibility to submit abstracts or propose panels:

While the conference is open to students in different stages of their PhD, preference will be given to those who have original data, have published as part of their PhD or are in an advanced stage towards completion.

PhD candidates

• from any program in the fields of health, natural sciences and engineering, and social sciences and humanities;
• who can demonstrate that their research relates directly to South Asia (or one or more countries in South Asia) and/ or the South Asian communities in Canada

Individual abstract submissions:

• Paper abstract (150-200 words)
• 5-6 keywords (up to two can be geographical)
• Short bio (up to 80 words)

For individual abstract submissions, the organizers will create panels based on the submissions received.

Panel submissions:

A panel must have 3 or 4 presentations, and a chair. The panel organizer could be the chair or a presenter but cannot be both. Each panel presenter should be from a different country and preferably from different disciplines.

Panel organizers should coordinate the required information into a single panel submission.

• Panel title and abstract (150-200 words)
• 5-6 panel keywords (up to two can be geographical)
• Individual presentation titles and abstracts for each presenter (150-200 words each)
• Short bios for each presenter (up to 80 words each)

Inquiries can be sent to circlegradconf@uoguelph.ca