Mid-Career Workshop: Call for Submissions 

Important dates

January 17, 2025

Applications due

Mid-February 2025

Notifications of acceptance and revisions

June 10, 2025

Mid-Career Workshop

June 10–13, 2025

ISLS Annual Meeting 2025

Workshop Description 

What is the Mid-Career Workshop and who is it for? 

The Mid-Career Workshop is an opportunity for learning sciences researchers to reflect on their existing work and strategically plan for the next phase of their careers. Ideally, participants should be 6–10 years post doctorate (for example, in an academic role having recently obtained tenure; in an industry role often having advanced to managing others or hoping to do so soon; in R&D positions in governmental or private organizations or NGOs). By this stage, researchers have produced a substantial body of impactful research to build on, and yet, they may feel a need to re-orientate and advance their work. Researchers who are more advanced in their career but considering a shift in their work are welcome to apply as well. 

What is special about the Mid-Career Stage? 

The mid-career stage generally occurs after a researcher has accomplished the initial efforts to establish themselves in the field and is considering with a longer view the shape of the professional contribution(s) they want to make. It may be experienced as a new opportunity for risk taking towards more ambitious research agendas, or broadening their scope of work, with the promise of greater impact. Yet, with this newfound freedom often comes greater administrative responsibility and increased frequency of invitations for external professional involvement. These new demands can become overwhelming and cause mid-career professionals to wonder “How does one navigate this new landscape without becoming over-committed?”, and “How does one achieve a healthy balance of pursuing one’s research agenda and providing service to the community?” It is also a time when many researchers need to decide what kinds of leadership roles they wish to pursue. 

What will happen at the Mid-Career Workshop? 

The Mid-Career Workshop at ISLS 2025 will be an interactive event. We will share resources regarding the mid-career research stage and look at varying conditions and challenges for mid-career researchers across countries and contexts (e.g. academy, industry, government). We will first meet online to plan what we would like to discuss in the weeks before the conference. The workshop will feature break-out groups to create, reflect on, and promote individual career plans, workshop-wide discussion with mentors to learn from each other about leadership roles and supervising junior researchers, and sessions dedicated to effective ways to self-organize and manage the competing demands of research, teaching, and service. Workshop participants will share experiences, develop and collect feedback on their own research agendas and plans for a satisfying and successful mid-career, and interactively learn to apply effective knowledge management strategies. Discussions will focus around issues relevant to mid-career professionals, such as: 

• Creating (or re-creating) one’s narrative to have desired impacts; 

• Fostering engagement with local or global communities; 

• Dealing with ambivalence, dissatisfaction, boredom or other inner demons; 

• Conceptualizing and achieving for BHAGs (big hairy audacious goals). 

Application Instructions 

How to apply? 

Applicants should submit one Word document, named according to the applicant’s last name, i.e., “Garcia_MCWS.docx”. 

Please submit: 

1. Up-to-date curriculum vitae (with your email address) 
2. 1 page summary of bullet points regarding your 
   • Theoretical frameworks 
   • Methods 
   • Major contributions to research 
   • 1-3 Questions that you’d like to discuss 

Please submit all papers in one Word file. The application should be submitted via EasyChair at https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=isls2025 by 17 January, 2025, 23:59 AOE. 

Selection criteria include eligibility requirements, potential benefit of the participation to the applicant and to the Learning Sciences community, and the assembly of a productive and diverse cohort regarding institutions, topics, disciplines, and nationalities.