Koli Calling 2025 will organise a two-day pre-conference doctoral consortium (DC), from Tuesday 11th (morning) until Wednesday 12th (afternoon) EET, November 2025 at Joensuu, Finland. 

Participants

The consortium is designed primarily for students who are currently enrolled in a doctoral program and have a research focus within computing education research. We welcome submissions from participants at any stage of their doctoral studies. Participation in a prior doctoral consortium, whether at Koli Calling or otherwise, does not necessarily prohibit participation in this doctoral consortium. The number of participants is limited to 12.

Objectives

• To further the research agenda of the participants by providing supportive feedback within a friendly forum
• To provide a space where the participants are able to practice their communication skills by interacting and giving constructive feedback to their peers
• To create and strengthen a solid network and research community among doctoral students working on similar topics, as well as between the doctoral students and the broader Koli community
• To foster interesting collaboration ideas/opportunities among the participants
• To support young researchers with the necessary advice regarding research and career paths

Tentative Schedule

The DC is held face-to-face at the University of Eastern Finland Joensuu campus (Joensuu, Finland). Unfortunately, previous experience with remote participation has shown that it has limited value for this kind of activity. Successful applicants are expected to arrive in Joensuu on 10 November and then move with the main conference group to Koli until the end of the face-to-face conference. All main activities of the DC will take place between 9am – 8pm Finnish time (GMT +2). The schedule is tentative and subject to change according to the schedule of the Koli Calling 2025 conference.

Day 0: Monday 10th November

• Students arrive in Joensuu

Day 1: Tuesday 11th November

• Doctoral consortium starts: Introductory remarks
• Presentation of individual research
• Group and individual work
• Evening program

Day 2: Wednesday 12th November

• Summary of Day 1.
• Working with expert facilitation
• Q&A panel
• Doctoral consortium wrap-up

During the Koli Calling conference (13th – 16th of November)

• Participation in the poster session at Koli Calling Conference (compulsory)
• Special doctoral consortium activities during the conference with input from the conference participants

Accommodation, Meals and Fees

There is no participation fee for the Doctoral Consortium. Free accommodation and meals are preliminarily arranged in shared rooms at Joensuu, within a walking distance to the DC venue at the UEF campus. For private rooms at the participant’s cost, there are several hotels in Joensuu; please contact the organizers for a list of nearby options. Travelling to Finland is necessary for participation–there will not be means for remote participation for the DC. The DC participants will also get a free registration to the conference starting immediately after the DC. 

The participants are expected to cover their travels to and from Joensuu,  and the three-nights conference hotel package for the main conference at Koli hotel (three nights, full board). The expected cost for the conference package will be 550 – 650 € / person depending on the hotel room selection, but prices may vary should participants choose to share a room. More information about the conference package will be published soon on the conference website.

Proposal Submission

Each candidate should submit:

1. A two-page abstract of their research using the poster submission template from Koli Calling website (see https://www.kolicalling.fi/call-for-papers/)
2. A brief 1-page bio including information about previous studies, previous research topics, publications if any, and possible teaching experience or pedagogical studies 
3. A max 1-page list of questions and topics related to your own study that you would like to discuss with the other participants and get feedback on during the doctoral consortium

Submissions will not be anonymized, given the nature of the materials. 

Submission Deadline and Procedure                                        

All deadlines are Anywhere on Earth (AoE), which is UTC-12.

• Submission deadline: August 20 
• Notification of acceptance: latest by September 08 but hopefully earlier.
• Contributions should be submitted in PDF format to the EasyChair submission system. Please select the Koli Calling DC track when making the submission. If necessary, you can make a zip package of the separate files.

Review Process

The review and decision of acceptance will take into account the following factors:

• Novelty of the proposal/work
• Quality and clarity of the contribution
• Potential value of the work to other members of the doctoral consortium

Abstracts from all accepted DC participants will be published in 2025 Koli Calling proceedings under a special DC section. 

For more information please contact Dr. Miranda Parker (miranda.parker@charlotte.edu) with the subject “Koli DC question”.