Call for papers: 4th Astropolitics Working Group workshop
The Astropolitics Working Group (AWG) is hosting its fourth in-person workshop at the Open University on the 15 January 2027 with the support of BISA and AstrobiologyOU. We will open registrations for attendees and presenters on 30 November 2026.
Following on from the success of the previous three workshops in Leicester, Canterbury, and Durham this workshop will
- share members ongoing research,
- hold a sessions on careers in space,
- hold a session on cross-disciplinary network building and how it can help in bidding for funding
Research presentation panels
We are inviting all guests to present their ongoing or recently completed/published research. This could be a book, article, chapter, or a portion of your PhD thesis in progress. It could also be a paper you wish to prepare and practice ahead of the BISA 2027 Annual Conference. You will need to send us an abstract, but no full draft/paper is required for the presentation. The full programme will be confirmed following the end of the registration period. Presenting research is not required for attendance, but it is encouraged. The convenors’ intention is that the workshop should be a safe and specialist environment to try things out and share initial findings if you are not ready to present at a large conference yet, especially for those who have not presented at a conference before.
If you would like to be part of the Research Presentation Panels, please email the AWG email astropolitics.group@bisa.ac.uk with an abstract by 20 November 2026. Abstracts will then be selected and collated according to complimentary themes as far as practicable.
Registration and bursaries
All attendees must register whether or not they are presenting on a Research Presentation Panels. The places for the workshop are limited therefore please do not delay when registration opens on 30 November 2026. It will be linked from this page.
There are a limited number of travel bursaries available from AstrobiologyOU for early-career researchers and graduate students to help cover costs of travel. Please state on the registration form whether you wish to be considered for the bursary.
Registration for all attendees closes on 18 December 2026.
Schedule
The full programme will be confirmed on the event page once research presentations are confirmed. The general schedule is as follows:
9.30-10am – Arrival and coffee
10-10.15am – Welcoming remarks
10.15 -11.45am – Research Presentation Panel 1
11.45-12am Break
12-1pm – Cross-disciplinary networking strategy session
1-1.45pm - Lunch
1.45-3.15pm – Research Presentation Panel 2 (papers and discussant TBC)
3.15pm -3.30pm – Break
3.30pm - 4.30pm – Careers in space
4.30- 5pm – Closing comments and any AWG matters arising
5pm onwards – social and dinner in Milton Keynes
Venue
The workshop will be held at the Open University campus in Milton Keynes, with the kind support of AstropoliticsOU, with the precise location on campus TBC. The workshop lunch will be provided by the Open University. Please note the social and dinner in Milton Keynes on the evening of 15 January 2027 is entirely voluntary and at the expense of attendees.
The Open University campus is located in Milton Keynes, about 50 miles north-west of London, in the centre of England. The MK campus is about four miles from Milton Keynes Central railway station on the West Coast Main Line between Birmingham and London Euston. By road, the MK campus is at Walton Hall, Milton Keynes, MK7 6AA (off the V10 Brickhill Street), about five miles from the M1 (Junction 14). Download the campus map for detailed directions of the venue.