October 3, 2022, by Postgraduate Placements Nottingham

The first time I presented at an international conference

Yohan Rubiyantoro, PhD in Educational Leadership, School of Education, on his experience of presenting at an international conference.

Yohan presenting

My first experience as a presenter at an international conference brought me mixed emotions: Happy, excited, and nervous. Taking part in international conferences can provide us with a lot of valuable opportunities.

It was my pleasure to attend the British Educational Leadership, Management and Administration Society (BELMAS) Annual Conference 2022 held at the Hilton Liverpool City Centre on 8-10 July 2022. This year’s theme is Leadership for Global Citizenship. The conference is a joint effort of BELMAS and the Commonwealth Council for Educational Administration and Management (CCEAM).

When I heard about this conference from the School of Education UoN a few months ago, I was immediately interested in attending. This is a big conference about educational leadership that relates to my thesis topic. In the conference program, I noticed that many internationally recognised scholars are presenting as speakers. These include BELMAS President Professor Tony Bush, Professor Phillip Hallinger, and Dr Mere Berryman from New Zealand.

I immediately sent my paper to the organizer and it was accepted! In my presentation, I present findings that were part of my thesis. It is about Kindergarten Principals’ Leadership During the Covid-19 Pandemic: A Case Study of Public Kindergartens in Indonesia. It was my hope that my paper would be accepted because hardly any attention has been given to kindergarten leader practices during the pandemic, particularly from developing countries.

The School of Education and the Researcher Academy offered me funding to attend the conference. That was awesome.   People from different countries participated, not only from the UK but also from Asia, Africa, the US, the Middle East and other countries.

“…participants had an opportunity to meet editors of two flagship journals”

There was a lot of research presented on educational leadership, some from practitioners. So the speakers brought theory and policy to life. I get two benefits out of this. Since I’m a PhD student in educational leadership, this is useful because this conference related to my thesis. In addition, it is also helpful since I work for the Ministry of Education in my home country. It’s inspiring to hear best practices from speakers that I can possibly apply to my country.

Keynote speech

Additionally, participants had an opportunity to meet editors of two flagship journals, Educational Management Administration and Leadership (EMAL) and Management in Education (MiE)

As this was my first time performing at an international conference, I was a bit nervous before starting the presentation. Nonetheless, my supervisor and friends from the School of Education were there to support me. Consequently, my presentation turned out well. I found the presentation session to be the most effective venue for sharing my findings with researchers and educators. This allows me to receive input from them. I could also provide a different perspective on educational leadership practices in Asian countries to other participants.

> Find out more about the Researcher Academy Conference, travel and training fund

• Share on Facebook
• Share on Twitter
• Share on Google+
• Share on LinkedIn