Research nation: Birmingham hosts Bisa 2024

“So this is your first time in the UK and you came to Birmingham? Poor you,” continued the train conversation. Passing my ears from under the carriage, I startled and have no connection with the vast agglomeration which is often proudly referred to by the inhabitants as “England’s second city.” But what I had heard was not an atypical reaction from Brits when thinking of ‘Brum’, a town often harshly regarded as an eyesore.

The West Midlands (as you might guess, the neighboring East Midlands we visited a few weeks ago) is nevertheless a vast and diverse region, home to nearly three million people and a wider metropolitan population of over four million. The response from the visitor, from the United Kingdom of Sweden, was more positive than the resident Englishman would have expected. He’d had a great few days and despite the (predictably) inconsistent early summer weather, he was already thinking about a return to these shores.

An academic at Lund University, (a member institution of the Conversation), the visitor attended the annual conference of the British International Studies Association (BISA). It’s a big gathering that attracts researchers from all over the world, and that’s what drew me to Birmingham. I only managed one day, in and out, but my experience was equally upbeat.

Not Paris

Now, let’s be honest, upon arriving at New Street Station, it’s pretty clear that Birmingham isn’t Paris. There is a jumble of buildings, some that adorn an era of manufacturing and commercial success, many that would incur the wrath of the king. And on a slightly gloomy early summer Friday morning, the hustle and bustle that used to characterize even cities that lack a significant tourist attraction was absent; excluded by COVID, may never return.

But there was still movement, and many of those heading to Central Centenary Square on foot or on the shiny tram were also headed for the Bisa conference. And despite Birmingham’s struggles — the city council filed for bankruptcy last year — it looks like it might have opportunities that other cities don’t. Because this remains a great place for a conference.

Birmingham’s status as a focal point for international events may have been formed at the National Exhibition Centre, near the city’s airport, but it is in the heart of the city that a thriving conference center now resides. There, a cluster of meeting spaces from the city’s stunning library, symphony hall and The Exchange, part of the University of Birmingham (yes, another member of the conversation), hosted Bisa delegates over three days.

Over coffee in The Exchange, Juliet Dryden, director and CEO of Bisa, pointed out to me the scale of the event. They had nearly 1,200 entries and 330 panels, as well as a number of fringe events. I ended up with three, but an event that gave me an insight into the research going on in the associated disciplines.

AI and war

I was able to participate in the Critical Military Studies panel discussions, featuring debates on the concept of “liberal war,” as well as a compelling panel entitled Anticipating the Future of War: AI, Automated Systems, and the Use of Force Decision-Making, which included papers from Toni Erskine of the Australian National University and Nicholas Wheeler of the University of Birmingham.

After lunch, a session entitled Publishing as a PhD Scholar: Do and Don’ts caught my attention for obvious reasons. Chaired by Richard Devetak from the University of Queensland, there was advice and guidance on how and when early career researchers could publish. Naturally, I was keen to hear their thoughts on reaching beyond the academy and getting their work featured on platforms like The Conversation.

Marcus Nicholson, formerly a PhD candidate at Glasgow Caledonian University, duly informed the room that he had written for The Conversation and that this had led to re-publication in the national media as well as interest from broadcasters. Others talked about how blogging and engaging in academic journalism more broadly brought them to much wider audiences and increased the potential for their research to make an impact.

It was a quick swing around the West Midlands for me this time, but my colleague Rachael Jolley, one of our international affairs editors, also dropped by earlier in the week, so you might see the articles published here from this year’s publication. The Bisa Conference.

So it was back to New Street Station for the train to London and I heard the meeting between the Lund researcher and fellow passengers. Like them, Bisa is moving on and next year will gather in Belfast, Northern Ireland. We hope to be there.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.