Reimagining Academic Futures: Building Collective Pathways Beyond Precarity
A BSA Early Careers Forum Regional Event
4 June 2026 (10.30am-3pm BST)
Newcastle University Business School, Room 2.03, 5 Barrack Road, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 4SE
About the Event
This one-day event brings together early career researchers (ECRs) from across the North East to explore how more equitable, sustainable, and collectively supported academic futures might be built in a sector shaped by increasing precarity. Building on conversations initiated at the Strengthening Early Career Academic Pathways symposium (April 2026, Newcastle University), this event shifts the focus from individual resilience to structural renewal and shared agency.
All keynote provocations and panel contributions will be delivered by ECR members of the Newcastle University Early Career Network (ECN). By intentionally privileging ECR voices, the event creates space for those directly experiencing precarity to shape the conversation, articulate challenges, and propose alternatives grounded in lived academic realities.
Through short provocations and participatory workshops, the day will combine critical reflection with practical collaboration. Participants will explore how academic pathways
might prioritise community, care, inclusion, and belonging rather than competition and individualised progression.
Themes include moving beyond resilience narratives; regional perspectives on precarity and inclusion; intersectional experiences of early career life (including gender, race, class, disability, and caring responsibilities); and imagining sustainable, values-led futures within and beyond academia.
The event will prioritise accessibility and collaboration, with outcomes including a collective statement and plans for continued regional network activity.
Registration
This event is free to attend but registration is required.