Scholarships & funding

JMS Annual Conference 2026

Our fourth Annual Conference will take place on 8-9 July 2026 in the James McCune Smith Lecture Theatre, University Memorial Chapel and University Concert Hall.

The JMS Annual Conference is a high-profile event led by current JMS Scholars which features inspiring speakers from the Black community who are experts in their respective fields, as well as providing an opportunity for the Scholars to share their research. The Conference is programmed over two days, with Day 2 taking an 'Unconference' format which challenges traditional ways of presenting academic research.

In this year’s conference, we explore the power and responsibility of Black scholars, artists and other truth-seekers around the theme 'Every Story I Create, Creates Me: Learning, Leadership and Legacy'. We have borrowed here a quotation from Octavia Butler, whose words remind us that storytelling is bound up with the pursuit of knowledge and shapes the way we see ourselves and the world.

Schedule

+++

Day 1: Wednesday 8 July

09.00	Registration
09.30	Conference opens
09.45	Welcome Address: Prof Chris Pearce is Vice Principal for Research and Knowledge Exchange, and Professor of Computational Mechanics
10.00	Scholar Presentations: Christopher Reid, Martin Kalemba, Michelle Amoah, Emmanuel Leo
10.20	Guest Speaker: Dr Dayne Beccano-Kelly is a neuroscientist and Group Leader at the UK Dementia Research Institute at Cardiff University. His research focuses on how synaptic dysfunction contributes to the earliest stages of neurodegeneration, particularly in Parkinson’s disease.
10.50	Break
11.10	Scholar Presentations: Françoise Uwase, Ifunanya Nduka, Isra Abdi, Justin Espoir Machongo
11.30	Professor Lisa-Dionne Morris (LDM) is Professor of Public and Industry Understanding of Capability-Driven Design, Director of Internationalisation, and a member of the Institute of Design, Robotics and Optimisation within the School of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Leeds, UK. She is also Founder and CEO of Black Female Academics’ Network (BFAN), a Community Interest Company dedicated to empowering Black female academics and professional services staff.
12.00	Lunch
13.00	Scholar Presentations: Nkechi First, Augustina Ugwu, Paul Gordon, Owolona Ogbe
13.20	Dr Josie Gill is an Associate Professor at the University of Bristol in the Department of English. Her research to date has focused on the intersections between contemporary literature, science, and ideas of race, and her first book, Biofictions: Race, Genetics and the Contemporary Novel, won the British Society for Literature and Science Book Prize for 2020.
13.50	JMS Scholar Presentations
14.10	Break
14.30	Professor Hakim Adi is currently a Visiting Senior Fellow at the Department of International History at the London School of Economics and Professorial Research Associate at the Centre of Pan-African Studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies. Hakim was the first historian of African heritage to become a professor of history in Britain.
15.00	Guest Speaker Panel Discussion hosted by Dr Farai Chipato
16.00	Drinks Reception in Glasgow University Union's Dining Room

---

+++

Day 2: Thursday 9 July

09.30	Registration
10.00	Welcome Address: Dr Hayes Mabweazara, Chair of the JMS PhD Scholarship Steering Board
10.15	Making Good Trouble: Briana Pegado FRSA is an award-winning social entrepreneur, writer and cultural changemaker. Named one of Scotland’s 30 under 30 Inspiring Young Women in 2017, she has led work at the intersection of creativity, equity, and social impact over the last eight years. She is the founder of the Edinburgh Student Arts Festival (ESAF) and has held leadership roles across Scotland’s creative and cultural sectors, including the National Theatre of Scotland, Custom Lane and Creative Lives. A graduate of the University of Edinburgh with an MA (Hons) in Sustainable Development, Briana later studied for an MBA at Central Saint Martins.
11.00	Break
11.30	2022 Cohort Panel Talk hosted by Steveen Ulysse, a JMS PhD Scholar and researcher of Afro-diasporic religious traditions with a focus on Vodou and its development in Brooklyn, NY.
12.30	Lunch
13.30	Freedom & the Social Life of Age with Season Butler and Gracie Mae Bradley in the University Memorial Chapel. In collaboration with UofG Creative Writing: a talk by award-winning writer, artist and dramaturg Season Butler, followed by a discussion with writer and JMS scholar Gracie Mae Bradley.
14.30	Break
15.00	Classical Music Performance in the University Concert Hall with Adam Heron (piano), Cristina Dimitrova (violin) and Katy Bell (cello)
16.15	Closing remarks: Steveen Ulysse

---