Thanks to CIfA and the generous bursary from the Hal Dalwood Trust, I was able to attend the 2024 Conference in Chester, with the bursary covering a flight and train ticket. As a UK citizen living in Denmark and a 2nd-year PhD student in Archaeology in Sweden, the bursary was a great asset - a fantastic opportunity to keep in touch with what's currently happening in UK archaeology and to network with people I would otherwise not have had the chance to meet, with lots of nice chats in the breaks with a coffee!
Having the online platform 'Sched' in advance of the conference was great. It gave me the opportunity to read about the sessions, highlight my interests and plan my days in advance. As someone with a non-visible disability, this was invaluable for me to be able to plan my own conference and to schedule breaks for myself.
As my doctoral research centres around the bog body 'phenomenon' and bogs, peatlands, and wetlands as specific spaces/places in general, it was great to hear so many discussions of interdisciplinary work and action related to the environment. Hearing talks from not only archaeologists, but specialists from other areas of the natural environment, heritage management etc was fantastic in highlighting just how diverse, interdisciplinary, and important our work is. There were several sessions regarding public archaeology and engagement too which, as a PhD student, was particularly useful as I begin disseminating my own work.
The conference was extremely friendly, well organised, and enjoyable, and I’d encourage anyone interested to apply for the CIfA bursaries, if it means you could experience it yourself!
