Emerging Scholar Awards

Each year a small number of Emerging Scholar Awards are given to outstanding early-career scholars or graduate students. The Award offers complimentary registration and Network Membership. It provides a robust professional development opportunity for early career academics to meet experts in the field, interact with colleagues from other parts of the world, and create networks and lasting connections. In our model, we have two kinds of Emerging Scholars -- In-Person and Online Only. Across all formats, Emerging Scholars play a critical role in the conference by leading discussions and chairing parallel sessions and are offered a publication pathway for their research. This way, we can provide maximum exposure for this selected group of researchers.

To apply, follow the link below. You may also view further instructions by selecting our "Step-By-Step Guide."

Final Deadline: 2 January 2026

2026 In-Person Recipients

For each conference, a small number of Emerging Scholar Awards are given to outstanding graduate students and emerging scholars who have an active research interest in the conference themes. Emerging Scholars perform a critical role in the online conference by commenting and engaging the parallel sessions, and presenting their own research papers. The 2026 Emerging Scholar Award recipients are as follows:

Pratiksha Ashok

Pratiksha Ashok

Tilburg University, Netherlands

Pratiksha is a Post Doctoral Researcher at Tilburg University for the EU Horizon 2020 project AI4POL and is affiliated with Tilburg Institute for Law, Technology, and Society (TILT) and Tilburg Law and Economics Center (TILEC). She holds a PhD in consumer protection and data rights on collaborative economy platforms from UC Louvain, Belgium. She was also the legal researcher for the PROSECO Project (Platform Regulations and Operations in the Sharing Economy). She has a double degree in Business Administration and Law and a Masters in Corporate and Commercial Law from India. Her second masters is a Master of Corporate Law, University of Cambridge, UK. She is a qualified lawyer in her home state of Karnataka and the Bar Council of India. Her research interests include digital regulation, data and consumer law, AI and regulation, comparative law, and global studies with perspectives from the Global South.

2026 Online Only Recipients

Ray Deng

Ray Deng

National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology, Taiwan

Bo-Yuan Ray Deng is a Research Assistant in the Department of English at the National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology, an advanced English instructor in a private institution in Taiwan and a foreign language education consultant in WenCaiFeng Language and Education Consulting Co., Ltd. He graduated from the Applied Linguistics and TESOL (English Department) at the National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology. His research expertise lens on strategies of reading and writing, theories-incorporated pedagogical approach, psycholinguistic and technology-integrated language learning. He is also recruited as the writing mentor of WriteRight, an AI-powered writing platform.

Jules Vivid

Jules Vivid

Rutgers University, United States

Jules studies marginalized identities and digital subcultures through an intersectional lens. Her current research focuses on how neurodivergent individuals who are also marginalized in gender, sexuality, or race self-identify and find support. Her previous research on gender and sexual minorities draws her toward the intersection of stigma and privilege in these contexts. Before joining Rutgers, Jules spent ten years in the research and nonprofit sectors developing social justice and community healing initiatives. She has an MA degree in sociology from The New School, publications in Sexualities and the Journal of Positive Sexuality, and an interdisciplinary background in the arts.

In Their Words

There was a significant amount of learning as a result of attending and participating in the conference. However, the most important lesson was realizing the significant benefits that can be gained from interdisciplinary collaboration."

Reshma Prashad, 2017 Awardee

I gained unparalleled knowledge from the presentations from other participants while also gaining confidence and encouragement."

Ali Ahmed, 2014 Awardee