The GCU Emerging Scholar-Practitioners Conference: A Bridge to Excellence (GESP) was founded in 2012 with the mission of providing doctoral learners a forum for professional exchange and dissemination of dissertation research.

Goals:

Focus:

As an interdisciplinary event, GESP features scholarly work at three key points in the doctoral journey: theoretical foundations, methodological proposal and completed research. Rather than being organized by theme/topic, scholarly presentations are structured according to the current status of dissertation progress:

• Track 1: Theoretical Foundations
• • Presentations in Track 1: Theoretical Foundations overview the theoretical background and literature review leading up to your research question. Presentations in this track represent the foundational work that supports your research question; the focus is on establishing a firm grounding in the relevant literature to show the value, relevance and importance of your research question.
  • Track 1 is generally appropriate for learners at the end of the first year of the program.
• Track 2: Methodological Proposal
• • Presentations in Track 2: Methodological Proposal highlight the proposed research design. This track is not intended for scholarly work that is currently underway as the focus in on formulating a clear methodological approach that aligns with the research question as well as feedback to help enhance the quality of empirical design. 
  • Track 2 is generally appropriate for learners in the second year of the program.
• Track 3: Completed Research
• • Presentations in Track 3: Completed Research feature projects that have finished data collection and/or analysis. Track 3 presentations do not require a completed/defended dissertation; rather, this track highlights the results of completed research with an emphasis on the process of data analysis and interpretation. The focus of presentations should be on making the data meaningful in relation to the original research question; presentation feedback will help to frame the context of the data analysis and provide discussion about the overall research project.
  • Track 3 is generally appropriate for learners in the third year of the program.

Conference Dates & Times:

Each conference is held in conjunction with the doctoral residencies offering an opportunity for collaborative exchange, critical inquiry and formative feedback of active empirical work. Conferences are held on Monday evenings from 4:00pm to 6:30pm. Poster presentations are scheduled from 4:00pm - 5:00 pm Oral presentations are scheduled in from 5:30 pm to 7:00 pm.

GESP Conference Proceedings & Abstract Publication:

GESP conference proceedings will be published in the CDS issue of the Canyon Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies (a peer-reviewed, empirical journal featuring scholarly activities of GCU faculty and learners). Presenters who elect to submit their presentation abstract for publication consideration in the conference proceedings may submit a 300-500 word abstract that provides a comprehensive overview of the scholarly work. Abstracts submitted for publication in the conference proceedings must be emailed within 2-weeks of the conclusion of the conference to [email protected].

Please Note:  GESP conference presenters are not eligible to receive GCU Scholarly Engagement Grants.