GET THE MOST OUT OF AANZCA26 PERTH (and stand a chance to win travel support funding!)

[Dr Caryn Coatney]

*GET THE MOST OUT OF AANZCA26 PERTH (and stand a chance to win travel
support funding!)*
AANZCA Queensland’s regional reps are hosting a free ‘getting the most of
AANZCA26’ event open to all on *Wednesday 10 June at 12 noon *(AEST)
online.
Featuring a Speed Pitch contest for ECR/HDR/MCRs, this exciting event
includes a special keynote conversation with *Communication Research and
Practice *Editor-in-Chief, *Associate Professor Jian Xu, *who is the
co-series editor of *Asian Celebrity and Fandom Studies* (Bloomsbury) and
the Cambridge Elements series *Digital Asia *(Cambridge University Press).
Associate Professor Xu will share insights about how to use AANZCA26 (and
future conferences!) to turbocharge your research opportunities, including
how to publish in journals, convert your PhD thesis into a book, and extend
and deepen your professional networks.
This session will open with the finals of a two-minute *Speed Pitch contest*,
open to all early-career, HDR, and mid-career researchers preparing to
submit their abstracts for AANZCA26. To enter, please submit your written
draft version of your proposed conference abstract for AANZCA26! Eight of
the entries will be selected to go through to the Speed Pitch finals (where
you’ll be asked to present live!) on 10 June.
Judges will award two x *$300 AANZCA Travel Support bursaries* to the
pitches determined to be the most impactful and effective, as well *as two
x $200 bursaries* for each of the two runners-up.
If you would like to enter the speed-pitch contest, please email your draft
abstract to AANZCA QLD rep and event co-organiser, Dr Caryn Coatney, at
*Caryn....@unisq.edu.au* <Caryn....@unisq.edu.au> by *Friday 22
May.*
Dr Samantha Vilkins is also co-organising the event as an AANZCA Queensland
rep.
Contest finalists will be notified by Friday 29 May, in advance of
presenting their two-minute speed pitches at the 'Making the Most of
AANZCA26' online event on 10 June.
*About The Keynote Speaker*
*Jian Xu is an Associate Professor in Communication in the School of
Communication and Creative Arts, Deakin University. He is Editor-in-Chief
of Communication Research and Practice, published on behalf of the
AANZCA. Jian is co-series editor of Asian Celebrity and Fandom
Studies (Bloomsbury) and the Cambridge Elements series Digital
Asia (Cambridge University Press). He convenes the Asian Media, Culture &
Society Research Group at Deakin University. Jian researches Chinese
digital media cultures and politics, wanghong studies and celebrity studies
with critical approaches. He is the lead editor of The Palgrave
Encyclopedia of Digital China (forthcoming), The Sage Handbook of Chinese
Digital Media and Communication (2026), Internet Vulgarities in
China (Routledge, 2026), Asian Celebrity Cultures in the Digital Age (Hong
Kong University Press, 2025).*
- If you have an enquiry about this event, please do not hesitate to
contact Dr Caryn Coatney by sending an email to Caryn....@unisq.edu.au
at the University of Southern Queensland.
We hope to see you soon!