opFest is an annual Population Studies conference for postgraduate students organised by fellow postgraduates. It provides an excellent opportunity to bring together researchers from various Social Science disciplines such as Demography, Human Geography, Urban and Landscape Planning, Sociology, Social Anthropology, Social Statistics, Politics and other related fields.
PopFest not only attracts very talented researchers from across the UK but also from around Europe making it a successful platform for friendly, international networking. Therefore, we highly encourage overseas colleagues to join us and present their research and ideas in front of a very friendly, enthusiastic and open-minded international audience! For those not wishing to present, we also welcome poster contributions plus PopFest provides a great opportunity to keep up to date with ongoing research and meet new colleagues from diverse fields.
Location
PopFest has been successfully organised by various British universities in conjunction with the British Society for Population Studies (BSPS) for the past 23 years.
In 2016, The University of Manchester will be hosting the event for the first time. Located in the heart of the North West region of England with excellent transport links (road, rail and air), the University provides an excellent opportunity to bring together talented researchers from across the UK and Europe.
Furthermore, the University is the home of ‘methods@manchester’; an initiative funded by the Faculty of Humanities which highlights Manchester’s strength in research methods in the social sciences and promotes interdisciplinary plus innovative methodological developments.
Submission
Abstracts for both oral presentations and poster sessions are welcome. Theoretical as well as empirical papers can include—but are not limited to—the following topics:
- Migration/mobility
- Childhood and youth
- Health and mortality
- Ethnicity and religion
- Modelling and simulation
- Small area estimation and survey methodology
- Data management and methodological approaches in population studies
- Life course
- Ageing
- Population policies
- Household and family demography
- Fertility, contraception, sexual and reproductive behaviour
- Urban and landscape planning
Paper proposals should include a title and an abstract length of maximum 300 words.
The submission deadline is 31 March 2016 and notification of acceptance will be by 6 May 2016.
PopFest also gives postgraduates the opportunity to chair sessions. If you are interested in chairing a session, please indicate this during the submission process and we will consider your request.
In addition, renowned keynote speakers and panel members will address the most recent topics in the field of population studies and discuss the policy implications.
These sessions provide great opportunities to learn about current population-related developments.
During the conference, we will also be running workshops on topics such as ‘getting published’ and ‘non-academic careers’ and there will be social events organised in the evenings for participants to enjoy.
Prizes will be awarded for the best poster and presentation and the winners will also have the opportunity to publish their work on Demotrends – an online forum written and curated by population researchers. Please visit https://demotrends.wordpress.com/ for more information on their publications.
We look forward to welcoming you to Manchester in July! If applicable, please don’t forget to email your 300 word abstract to popfest.2016@manchester.ac.uk including “PopFest 2016 poster/presentation (choose one) abstract” in the subject header by Thursday, March 31 2016.
A limited number of student bursaries will be available. To be considered for a student bursary, please add an extra 150 words below your abstract outlining the reason(s) for your bursary application.
Registration deadlines
Early bird registration (£50) ends on Friday, May 20 2016, and standard registration (£60) ends Friday, June 17 2016.
Our partners
- British Society for Population Studies
The British Society for Population Studies (BSPS) is a non-profitable society of persons with a scientific interest in the study of human populations. Its main objectives are to further the scientific study of biological, economic, historical, medical, social and other disciplines connected with human populations and to contribute to the public awareness of them. - Centre for Population Change
The ESRC Centre for Population Change is the UK’s first research centre on population change. Based jointly at the Universities of Southampton, St. Andrews, Edinburgh, Strathclyde and Stirling, in partnership with the National Records of Scotland and the Office for National Statistics, we aim to improve the understanding of the key drivers and implications of population change. - cities@manchester
cities@manchester draws both on the city of Manchester’s unique place at the epicentre of industrial capitalism, as well as its subsequent strategies to set out its post-industrial futures, alongside The University of Manchester’s position as one of the top universities in the world. - Population Geography Research Group
The Population Geography Research Group (PGRG) provides a forum for population geographers to present and discuss the latest findings of research in the sub-discipline through its conference and publication activities, to debate relevant theoretical, philosophical and methodological issues, and to consider policy dimensions, both in the UK and internationally. - methods@manchester
methods@manchester is an initiative funded by the Faculty of Humanities, University of Manchester which aims to: highlight Manchester’s strength in research methods in the social sciences; promote interdisciplinary and innovative methodological developments; and foster further developments, including training, through external funding.
