Inaugural Public Management and Administration Postgraduate Conference

8^th-9^th May 2013

Aston University, Birmingham

Despite the significance of both public management and public administration for informing policy delivery across a range of contexts, it is arguable that both subjects are suffering from a lack of new blood. This conference aims to make a contribution to the skills and contacts of those who might provide such an infusion of new ideas, expertise and energy into the fields of public management and administration.

This will be undertaken through developing PhD students� academic and transferable skills and their contacts with others in the discipline. The event will also enable the creation of a network which will allow students to retain (and, where necessary, create for the first time) their relationship with academic associations in the fields of management and administration (SAMS and PAC) following graduation, whether or not they remain in academia.

More specifically, the conference has the following supporting aims:

Encouraging networking between UK PhD students and senior staff working on public management and administration;

Imparting careers advice and case studies to UK PhD students hoping to engage professionally, either as academics or practitioners, in the fields of public management and administration;

Exposing students to rigorous, public, examination of presented papers, with feedback being provided both by fellow students and from a range of public management and administration academics, and advice provided about writing technique for both dissertations and peer-reviewed academic papers;

Facilitating students� preparation for their viva voce examinations, through a discussion of the process, common pitfalls and useful tips.

The conference will run over two days at Aston University in central Birmingham. We are very grateful to the Society for the Advancement of Management Studies and the Public Administration Committee of the Joint Universities Council for funding the costs of this conference. Their generous support means that the first 35 successful applicants for the conference can attend the event for free, including all accommodation costs, dinner on the evening of the 8^th May, and refreshments on both days.

If you would like to attend the conference, please email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it with a 250-word abstract for a paper relating to your PhD. The paper could comprise a summary of your PhD project or of one of your chapters. Please send the abstract to us by the 19^th of April. We will aim to respond to you within two working days, so that you have time to book your transport to Birmingham for the event. If you have any queries about this event, please do not hesitate to contact us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .