Supporting the next generation of researchers at the 2025 ADM+S Summer School
Author Natalie Campbell
Date 3 March 2025
The 2025 ADM+S Summer School, hosted by the University of Melbourne Law School, brought together over 120 students, researchers and mentors for a curated program spanning research methodologies, ethics advice, writing and publishing, and more.
Bringing together higher degree research students (HDRs) and early career researchers (ECRs) from all nine ADM+S nodes, the annual Summer School provides a perfect opportunity for community members to ask questions, share concerns, learn from one another, and get the most out of their research journey in the ADM+S community.
ADM+S Manager of Research Training and Development and member of the Summer School working group Sally Storey, said “This event would not be possible without the incredible generosity of our Centre’s research community.”
“I want to say a huge thank you to all our presenters and mentors for sharing your knowledge and expertise with our attendees, and the time leading up to the Summer School preparing presentations, materials, wrangling, scheduling… the effort is outstanding!”
The program encourages PhD students to engage with topics across disciplines, learn about different research methods, and create connections with peers and mentors from across the national ADM+S network – an invaluable experience for all early career researchers.
PhD Student Tace McNamara from Monash University explained, “I’m looking at AI and its capacity to understand art and music as an audience.
“It’s been really interesting talking to people from other disciplines because I think what I’m doing is inherently interdisciplinary, so hearing about law, media, culture, that’s something I don’t do on a daily basis in my lab, and it’s been really valuable.”
Sessions ranged from ‘Ethical uses of GenAI in research’, to ‘Unpacking ideas animating technology governance’, ‘Interviewing with digital trace data’, ‘How to study socio-technical networks’, ‘Harnessing technology for remote research, and more.
“The Transformers Alive session, led by Aaron Snoswell, was such a didactic way of learning more about how generative AI operates and how people can embody the experience of how the information system operates in the background,” said PhD Student Miguel Loor Paredes from Monash University.
“It gave me another understanding of how artificial intelligence works and also how it relates to my research problem, and how to frame it from the humanities perspective.”
A highlight of the program was the closing plenary session hosted by the ADM+S Research Training and Capability Development Committee, inviting input from the HDR community on the design and delivery of the ADM+S Research Training program.
The Summer School also provides an occasion for HDR’s and ECR’s to engage in our formal mentoring program, connecting with senior researchers from within, or outside their discipline, to share their research, ask questions, get feedback, and build their network across ADM+S institutions.
“A real highlight for me is seeing our students and research fellows from across the Centre, building that community spirit, getting involved, making new research connections and friendships that will see them over their career,” said Sally Storey.
Senior Research Fellow Sam Whiting from RMIT University said, “I’m a new Affiliate at the Centre so I’m a bit out of my comfort zone, but that’s been really interesting because I’ve been exposed to a lot of new ideas and meeting people, connecting, and thinking about future collaborations.
“I’m really looking forward to more events like this, opportunities to connect with people outside of my usual networks, opportunities to collaborate on projects.”
Many thanks to all speakers, mentors, and student participants for making this event possible, and especially the ADM+S Research training Committee for their hard work behind the scenes in delivering this brilliant event.
