EASST organizes a doctoral workshop with every conference. The workshop is meant to connect, inspire and motivate early stage researchers. 

The theme for this year’s workshop is Invent your Job. How can we translate STS knowledge, sensibilities and practices to the job market, or how can we create jobs to make place for these capacities? For many students this seems to be a real concern. The question is a hard one to answer, however, because fast-paced changes in society push the definition of work to new frontiers, and STS is a very diverse field. This is why in this workshop for early stage researchers we turn the question upside down and ask how STS knowledge, sensibilities and practices can help us invent/imagine/design jobs for the future! We will explore this proposition in three different settings, starting with:

– A walk shop “Wild Ideas”. During an hour long walk in the beautiful surroundings of Lancaster, we will brainstorm in groups about what our capacities as STS scholars are and how they can be articulated into roles/careers/jobs.  

– A work shop “Prototyping Society”. With the help and guidance of two STS scholars who have developed their own, ‘unconventional’ careers, participants will develop speculative job descriptions and discuss ways of bringing these into reality.

– A social dinner “STS Careers of the Future”. We will end the day with a dinner, where a group of students will be chosen as ‘Future-makers’ for having developed very unconventional and inventive speculative jobs. As a reward, this group’s job descriptions will be published in the EASST Review.

What: A pre-conference workshop for Master students, PhD candidates and other early-career researchers to meet and share ideas, experiences, and enthusiasm. 
When: 11:30 am – 20:30 pm , 24  July.
Why: Brainstorm about the jobs of the future and our place as STS scholars in that future. Network with an international mix of colleagues. Share refreshments and get to know Lancaster.

After receiving a large number of motivated applicants and a careful consideration procedure, we were able to offer a spot to 30 early career researchers. We look forward to welcoming them in Lancaster! 

Preliminary programme 
11.30-12.00   Welcome and registration
12.00-13.30   Wild Ideas
13.30-14.30   Lunch
14.30-15.30   Prototyping Society I
15.30-16.00   Coffee/Tea Break
16.00-17.00   Prototyping Society II
17.00-17.30   Free time/leisure walk to restaurant
17.30-18.30   STS Employees of the Future Ceremony
18.30-End     Dinner

Please contact Dara Ivanova (students(at)easst.net) with questions or suggestions.