Event Details:

Date: 24 January 2025 (Friday)
Time: 10:00 am – 4:30 pm
Venue: Portsmouth Guildhall, Guildhall Square, Portsmouth PO1 2AB ↗

---

About the Conference

The South Coast Doctoral Training Partnership’s Final Year Conference (FYC) is a celebration of the hard work and intellectual achievements of our doctoral candidates. This day-long event will showcase and explore the innovative research within the SCDTP community, highlighting the diverse contributions of our scholars. Under this year’s theme, “Embracing Challenges,” we will delve into how research can confront and navigate the complex challenges facing today’s world.

From global crises such as climate change, geopolitical conflicts, and health pandemics, to pressing social issues like inequality, discrimination, and mental health, society is grappling with significant challenges. Economic shifts, labor market changes, and growing disparities further complicate the landscape, while environmental concerns like resource depletion and biodiversity loss call for urgent and collaborative action. These challenges are interwoven, creating new obstacles for individuals, families, communities, and institutions alike.

As researchers and global citizens, we are not only tasked with confronting these issues but also with discovering innovative solutions that can foster positive change. This year’s theme encourages reflection on how these challenges shape both our personal and professional lives—affecting mental well-being, daily decisions, career trajectories, academic pursuits, and industry shifts. Ultimately, “Embracing Challenges” is about building resilience, adaptability, and creativity in the face of adversity, and learning how to navigate the complexities of today’s world.

---

Room Themes:

---

The Evolve room invites a deeper look at how research shapes and evolves as it progresses. With topics like memory distortion in clinical and legal contexts, orangutan rehabilitation, and ideological shifts within Britain’s digital elite, this room highlights the ongoing process of evolution—where ideas, methods, and perspectives continuously adapt and transform in response to new findings, challenges, and evolving questions.

Example topics include:

‘Memory beliefs and memory distortion: The impact of memory misunderstanding in clinical and legal contexts’, ‘Exploring Individuation as a Strategy for Enhancing Recall Accuracy in Intelligence-Gathering Investigation Teams’, ‘How orangutans cope in a rehabilitation environment: Examining attachment and attachment-related behaviours with mothers, caregivers and peers’, ‘Charting Westminster’s Bubble: An Ideological Map of Britain’s Digital Elite’.

---

---

In this room, we examine how researchers are adapting to the ever-changing landscape of their fields. Topics include the intersection of trauma, autism, and psychosis, navigating the impacts of working-time reduction, and exploring lived experiences of LGBTQ+ communities in Lebanon. Adaptation is about responding to the challenges that life presents, finding new ways to approach issues, and turning adversity into opportunity.

Example topics include:

‘The Role of Trauma in the Association between Autism and Psychosis’, ‘Reducing work hours for a ‘better future’? Exploring preferences and experiences of working-time reduction’, ‘Material belongings: Family and nation as lived by members of LGBTQ+ in Lebanon’, ‘Navigating Hospital Operations Through Simulation: A Study of Urban Flooding Disasters and Physical Damage Impact’.

---

---

The Innovate room focuses on ground breaking research that challenges the status quo and introduces new perspectives. From gender euphoria and dysphoria to long-distance relationships, seasonal child health in Bangladesh, and the perception of natural scenes, Innovation is about pushing boundaries, embracing bold new ideas, and discovering new ways to approach problems.

Example topics include:

‘It feels like a lightness, and it feels… happy”: Gender Euphoria, Gender Dysphoria, and Sexual Wellbeing in Transgender and Non-Binary Adults’, ‘Attachment and Support Behaviours in Long-Distance Relationships’, ‘Seasonality and Child Health in Bangladesh’, ‘Perception of Natural Scenes: Colour and Depth in Vision’. “

---

We will be adding more updates on the programme and speaker abstracts as they are finalised. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to the SCDTP directly.

Join the conversation on the day by using the hashtag #SCDTPCon2025. Participants are encouraged to share their photos or live tweets during the event using the hashtag to contribute to the vibrant discussions! Don’t forget to follow our X account*, @SouthCoastDTP, to stay updated.

* We are currently using X as our primary social media platform for updates, but we are actively exploring other platforms to better serve our audience. Please note that at present, X requires users to log in to view updates. We will keep you informed of any changes and provide updates when we transition to or integrate other platforms for greater accessibility.