The First Edition of the Winter/Summer School was convened by Prof. Rosalind Dixon (former co-president of ICON•S) and jointly organized by ICON•S through its Committee on Community and Engagement, UNSW Gilbert + Tobin Centre of Public Law, NUS Law Centre for Asian Legal Studies, The University of Hamburg and ICON•S Aus-NZ. The program was held at the UNSW Gilbert + Tobin Centre of Public Law in Sydney from June 21 to June 30, 2023. In this first edition, 44 junior scholars from 21 different nationalities participated.

Check the program of the first edition here or its call for applications here for more details about the winter/summer school.

The ICON•S winter/summer school will offer the opportunity for approximately twelve to fifteen junior scholars with a unique platform to enrich their sense of connection and community within ICON•S.

The program offers a multifaceted experience that encompasses informative sessions, collaborative workshops, and valuable mentorship opportunities. At the program’s core are introductory sessions conducted by leading scholars in the field focused on methodologies, writing and publishing, select skills, and career planning.

One of the standout features of the Winter/Summer School is the opportunity for participants to workshop a draft article or chapter. This interactive component allows junior scholars to refine their research under the guidance of experienced mentors and receive feedback from peers and instructors.

The program encourages engagement, collaboration, and the cultivation of lasting connections among junior scholars, fostering an environment where knowledge is shared, skills are honed, and a supportive network for future academic endeavours is forged.

Applications for the ICON•S winter/summer school are open to all junior scholars.

A junior scholar is defined as an aspiring career academic who self-identifies as such and/or whose terminal degree for entering the profession has not yet begun, is in the process of being completed, or was earned within the previous five years (excluding career breaks).

A limited number of travel bursaries may be available to assist in travel to Sydney for those who have not been able to access funding from their home institution, or third-party organizations/foundations. Kindly specify in the relevant box in your application whether you would wish to be considered for a travel bursary and whether your participation in the winter/summer school is contingent on availing a travel bursary. Priority will be given to scholars from the global south.

Accommodation for ICON•S Winter/Summer School will be provided by the organizers, offering individual rooms with shared bathrooms. A limited number of participants with medical needs or special circumstances can request rooms with private bathrooms, subject to availability. In addition, the organizers will cover visa fees and some meals in Sydney.

There is no application fee to apply. To apply, applicants must submit the following:

1. A CV
2. Cover letter
3. Abstract of a paper/chapter you intend to workshop at the winter/summer school.
4. Financial aid statement (optional)

Submissions are made via Oxford Abstracts, a web platform we use to receive and manage all submissions. When you click on the below link, you will be directed to the Oxford Abstract website, where you will either need to create an account or log in via Google or LinkedIn. This is the same platform used for submissions for the 2023 ICON•S Annual Conference.

Kindly submit your application at this link. Complete details regarding the application process are provided in the form.

The deadline for submitting applications is February 15, 2024, 11.59 pm EST.

Notification of decisions will be provided at the end of February 2024.

Notifications will be communicated to the name and email account associated with your Oxford abstract account.

Participants will be selected by a special ICON•S sub-committee, by reference to principles of racial and geographic diversity and gender parity.

For those who will need visas for the winter/summer school, invitation letters will be provided promptly after the notification. The process to request a visa letter will be provided in acceptance notifications. Whether you require an invitation letter for a visa will depend on your nationality and the type of visa you apply for. For more details, see here.

Visa applications for Australia for most nationalities are completely online, and the median processing time (See, for example, here and here) provides sufficient bandwidth to arrange for travel to Sydney. To facilitate the swifter processing of an invitation letter for visa purposes, we have asked you in the application form to specify whether or not you would require such a letter.