Early Career Researcher Pre-Conference 2026

ECR Pre-Conference

14 April 2026, 2 p.m. – 6 p.m. | University of Konstanz, Y Building

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Registration for the ECR Pre-Conference

Registration for the ECR Pre-Conference is also handled via ConfTool. All Early Career Researchers (ECRs) who are registered for the In_equality Conference are warmly invited to participate in the ECR Pre-Conference as well. Participation is free of charge for conference attendees and can be selected directly during the main conference registration process—no separate registration is required.

Program Overview

2:00 p.m.
Welcome Address (Room Y213)

2:05–3:45 p.m.
Idea Lab – Early-Stage Research Roundtables

Political Science Lab (Room Y311) – moderated by Tim Betz, Marius R. Busemeyer, David Rueda, Gabriele Spilker
Sociology Lab (Room Y310) – moderated by Claudia Diehl, Jonathan Mijs, Merlin Schaeffer
Economics Lab (Room Y213) – moderated by Lena Janys, Florian Kunze, Stephan Maurer

3:45–4:15 p.m.
Coffee Break (Room Y214)

4:15–6:00 p.m.
Publication Strategies for Early-Career Researchers (Room Y213)

Three short input talks offering diverse perspectives and experiences (15 minutes each).
Q&A session (30 minutes).
Informal discussion and networking with early-career researchers and senior scholars.

6:30–9:00 p.m.
Evening Program

About

Idea Lab – Early Research Roundtables

Each lab offers early-career researchers the opportunity to present early-stage ideas or ongoing projects and receive feedback on conceptual, theoretical, or methodological questions. Participants are asked to submit a short abstract in advance outlining their research question, contribution, theoretical framework, methodology, and any current challenges.

Publication Strategies for Early Career Researchers

This session explores key questions of academic publishing, including how to develop an effective publication strategy, choose appropriate journals and formats, and balance visibility with a focused research agenda.

It features three short input talks by senior researchers with diverse publication experience

Halvard Buhaug (Political Science);
Céline Teney Sociology);
Urs Fischbacher (Economics)