The ANZARME conference is the best first academic conference you can present at as a doctoral student. It is highly supportive and you’ll get gems of advice from a wealth of collective knowledge from attendees. Any feedback you get is done so to build you up and help you make your research even better. Lots of chances for connections with other like-minded music education specialists during the breaks between sessions. The breath of topics of the presentations is always wide, and even if it is not in your interest area, you’ll get valuable presentation and research tips. I strongly encourage every doctoral student to present early-on in your studies.

For my first ANZARME conference, I was awarded a travel bursary which went towards some of the cost of travelling up to Invercargill. This travel bursary was very helpful as I’m an international student who has not been confirmed, and I do not qualify for other bursaries available at my university. A travel bursary like this for future ANZARME conferences will definitely benefit students in my position in future. Thank you! 

The bursary provided me with some measure of financial assistance which made my stay at Invercargill pleasant, especially when traveling from the other side of the globe. I am very indebted and grateful for all support I’ve received from ANZARME.

Being a part-time graduate research student whilst working full time in a school can feel quite isolating; I tend to not be very physically connected with other research students because I am ‘off campus’ – especially over the last few years during COVID-19 interruptions. Conferences like ANZARME have often been my only opportunity to connect with other researchers throughout my candidature. ANZARME is such a wonderfully supportive community of scholars, and the travel bursary made a big difference for me to be able to travel to Invercargill and present this year. Not only did I benefit greatly from the thoughtful and supportive questions and feedback about my research, but also from the many social and informal connections made with like-minded colleagues. I am very thankful for ANZARME’s ongoing support, inspired by three days of engaging research sharing and conversation, and looking forward to continuing to attend conferences in future.