On the 3rd and 4th July, we held our WISERD Annual Conference 2024 at the University of South Wales and welcomed over 140 delegates from across the UK and beyond. Over 100 excellent posters and presentations come together under this year’s theme of ‘Aspiring to achieve a fairer society’.
Professor Martin Steggall, Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research) at the University of South Wales, opened the conference with his welcome address. Following this, WISERD Director, Professor Ian Rees Jones introduced Professor Christina Beatty from the Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research, who joined us to give a fascinating keynote on economic inactivity. Professor Beatty’s presentation considered Britain’s former coalfield areas, older industrial areas and seaside towns, all of which illustrate the persistent geography of economic inactivity over time.
Over the course of two days, a packed programme of presentations tackled different aspects of fairness and equality, in areas such as employment, housing, education, health, environment, crime, transport and social policy, and also addressed wider policy concerns in different sectors. While acknowledging Wales has its own distinct set of challenges, presentations also drew on case studies from wider national and international studies to consider the effectiveness of policy approaches in other contexts.
By addressing topical issues, including the role of artificial intelligence and targets geared towards the net-zero agenda, presentations also highlighted the role of WISERD research in addressing a wide range of climate, environmental and socio-economic challenges. For example, at the University of South Wales, where this year’s conference was held, WISERD continues to play a vital role in developing researchers with key skills in quantitative methodologies and GIS to address real world problems, in addition to the institute’s wider role in mentoring and capacity building within the social sciences.
Day one drew to a close with a roundtable discussion on place-based research and policy with Professor Mike Woods (Aberystwyth University), Dr Tom Avery (Swansea University), Professor Alec Shepley (Wrexham University), Dr Sarah Morse (Senedd Cymru), and chaired by Professor Jonathan Bradbury. The session was organised by Swansea University’s Local Challenges Research Office (LCRO) and Cymru Wledig LPIP Rural Wales, the Local Policy and Innovation Partnership led by Aberystwyth University. The discussion aimed to critically consider how higher education institutions can harness their research capabilities to more strategically contribute to their local places beyond civic mission and business as usual.
On day two, a highlight of the conference was announcing the winners of our PhD Poster Competition:
- 1st place: Ella Rabaiotti, Swansea University. Poster title: Exploring the Potential of Non-Cash Physical Tokens (‘BillyChips’) as a Public Health Intervention.
- 2nd place: Ellie Rogers, Swansea University. Poster title: Combatting Online Extremism: The Algorithmic Amplification of Counter-Speech.
- 3rd place: Emma Wheeler, University of South Wales. Poster title: A Retrospective Window: Into an Inclusive Andragogy for Foundation Year Higher Education Students.
Thank you to everyone who took the time to create a poster and to participate in this year’s competition by discussing their research with our reviewing panel. Many thanks also to our expert competition judges: Dr Barbara Ibinarriaga Soltero from the Learned Society of Wales and Professors Gary Higgs and Mitch Langford from the University of South Wales. Thank you also to the Learned Society of Wales and the Welsh Graduate School for the Social Sciences for sponsoring this annual event.
A special thanks also to all of our exhibitors who supported us with the event and shared their time speaking with delegates: Rural Health and Care Wales, the Welsh Graduate School for the Social Sciences, the Wales Council for Voluntary Action, the Learned Society of Wales, the Social Research Association, ADR Wales, Welsh Government and Policy Press.
The WISERD Annual Conference takes place at a different one of our five partner universities each year (Aberystwyth, Bangor, Cardiff, South Wales and Swansea). It’s a brilliant opportunity to bring together researchers at all stages of their careers, with policymakers and practitioners from many different sectors across the UK and beyond. The event highlights the range of important interdisciplinary work being done in the social sciences and provides opportunities for us to work better together to effect change and achieve a fairer society.