Generous with knowledge: supporting early career researchers

We are a flagship programme devoted to fostering research connections, friendship networks, knowledge exchange and collaboration to support the success of early career researchers across all the disciplines of SHAPE in Iranian studies and Persianate world studies internationally.

Building bridges to brighter academic futures

Symposia Iranica is an international network for early career researchers working in any discipline of Iranian studies across SHAPE. Established in 2012, we organise intellectual and social fora to support the advancement of outstanding postgraduates and postdocs worldwide.

About us

Invest in yourself. Get inspired. Grow your potential.

Focus

Our intensive programming aims to deliver a rounded, academically and professionally enriching experience that will have a real impact on your thinking, output and career progression.

Clarity

Test your arguments, receive feedback, and gain a greater awareness of the opportunities available for career progression and a clearer idea of your own personal career pathway.

Support

We work with senior academics, commissioning editors, researcher development specialists, and learned societies to help you address the priorities intrinsic to your development.

Interdisciplinarity

Develop peer and academic networks with dozens of bright minds and established scholars across the full spectrum of the arts, humanities and social sciences.

What participants say

“This is by far the best conference format I have ever seen. The main goal of the conference, to have graduate students and freshly-minted PhD students present their work whilst having incredibly influential Professors critique and offer suggestions is something I greatly enjoyed. Thank you so much Armin, Michael, and Naciem for organizing such a beautiful conference. I look forward to 2019.”
“I was looking for a good venue to present my first paper at an academic conference and I think this was the perfect choice. It was a supportive and welcoming environment, but the quality of the presentations was also very high.”
“The quality of the presentations. The atmosphere. It is an amazing opportunity for students and young scholars to meet and engage with not only each other, but also with the established academics and professors in the field. As a student and young researcher it gives you the feeling that you are being taken seriously.”
“I rarely get a chance to discuss my research with scholars of Iranian studies. Symposia Iranica has been hugely beneficial for sharing my ideas with scholars who are familiar with aspects of my work and hear their views about my research.”
“I always find Symposia Iranica the most friendly Iranian studies community which gives the opportunity to exchange ideas and be inspired by the attendees’ incredibly rich scholarship. Seeing so many people with similar intellectual concerns is really inspiring, and this gets even more inspiring and heart warming when you find most of these people so friendly and nice. This is so unique about the symposia.”
“I cannot constantly repeat my praises, but hats off! and bravo - highly professional, impressive, extremely organised, highest marks - no hitch that I saw - everyone aware of what they were expected to do, room stewards were brilliant.”
“Every minute was so well organized and well-thought out. The extended coffee breaks really helped to encourage discussion and networking, and I felt that the overall environment was very supportive and encouraging. The keynote and Q&A session were great bonuses, and I really appreciated the meals that were included. I am also grateful for the viewing that was offered of special collections materials.”
“Thankful to @aa51_ansari & @SymposiaIranica for organizing one of the best conferences I've been to in a while. At a time when all news out of #Iran seems like bad news, the range & quality of research there reinvigorated my passion for studying Iranian & Persianate civilization!”