By Sadie Rockliffe
With generous support from the Centre for Environment and Society (CES), I recently attended the RGS-IBG Postgraduate Mid-Term Conference 2025, held in person at the Royal Geographical Society in London. The event brought together over 100 postgraduate researchers from across the UK and internationally, offering a vibrant platform for sharing emerging work and developing new networks.
At the conference, I presented a new conceptual and methodological idea I’m developing—“preparatory participation”—which reimagines the role of pre-fieldwork in inclusive, embodied research. Rather than viewing preparation as a purely procedural step, the concept foregrounds relational, sensory, and skill-building dimensions—especially important when working with underrepresented or disabled communities. In my current PhD project, this approach is being used to explore how visually impaired people engage with coastal blue spaces through non-visual, embodied methods. Following the conference, I developed the presentation into a full academic paper, which has now been submitted and is currently under peer review.
The conference was also a space of professional growth. I chaired a session for the first time—an experience that was both a personal milestone and an excellent opportunity to develop confidence in academic leadership. I also took part in publishing workshops, which enabled meaningful conversations with journal editors about navigating peer review and refining submission strategies.
A true highlight of the in-person event was the behind-the-scenes tour of the Society’s extraordinary archives. Exploring this vast and historically rich collection gave us rare insight into the material foundations of geographical knowledge—a memorable and inspiring experience.
I’m deeply grateful to CES for enabling this experience. The Mid-Term was a rich space for intellectual exchange, practical development, and community building, and I’d highly recommend it to other postgraduates.
