PhD Community

Shaping the future of experimental research 

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The IGL PhD community aims to lower the barriers to experimental research by bringing together early-career researchers looking to enhance their skills in experimental research and creating spaces for skill-building, peer exchange and direct mentorship.

By offering both structured workshops and one-on-one mentoring opportunities, this initiative helps cultivate the next generation of experimental researchers. It also contributes to a more diverse and connected research field by engaging students across institutions, disciplines, and backgrounds.

The main activity of the PhD Community will be a workshop series led and curated by PhD students and early-career researchers.

The goal is to create a space for early-stage researchers to learn directly from field experiment scholars about the practical, sometimes invisible, decisions that shape experimental research in organisations and management, while getting feedback from both peers and senior scholars. 

The workshop series will be divided into two main session types, starting in September 2025:

• Behind-the-Scenes -Talks by senior researchers, focused on the practical, sometimes invisible, decisions that shape experimental research in organizations and management.These sessions follow the rough timeline of a typical journal publication process for field experiments, starting with experimental design and pre-registration, then moving toward implementation, recruitment, funding, revision, and publishing. Sessions will run every other month, with each session focused on a concrete stage of the research process. 

• Idea Pitch Sessions – Spaces for PhD students to present early-stage research ideas and trial designs, and receive feedback from both peers and senior researchers. These sessions are inspired by the CFXS idea pitch sessions, and will run roughly every other month depending on interest.

Workshop series schedule

Behind the Scenes

📅September 16, 2025 – 2:00-3:00 pm BST / 9:00-10:00 am EST –
Pre-registration and Trial Design

📌 Topic: Pre-registration and Trial Design

👤 Discussants: David McKenzie –  Lead Economist, World Bank; Amisha Miller – Assistant Professor, NYU Stern.

Pitch the Idea

📅September 29, 2025 – 2:00-3:00 pm BST / 9:00-10:00 am EST –
Pre-registration and Trial Design

👤 Discussants: Solène Delecourt- Assistant Professor, Berkeley Haas; Stefan Dimitriadis – Assistant Professor, University of Toronto.
⏰ Deadline submission of Expression of Interest form: 16th of September, 2025.

We invite PhD students to share their research ideas or trial designs and receive feedback from peers and senior researchers. Each pitch is a 5-minute presentation, followed by 5 minutes of feedback. These quarterly sessions are designed to be a supportive space to test ideas, sharpen research designs, and get useful, targeted input.

How it works:

1. Expression of interest
 3–4 weeks before each session, interested students submit an Expression of Interest form (see button below with instruction). If there are more pitches than slots, we prioritise time-sensitive projects, while others get priority in the next round.
2. Selection & pairing
 We select up to four presenters per session to keep the conversation focused. Each presenter is also paired with another as a feedback partner – reviewing their canvas in advance and offering constructive comments.
3. Preparation & session
Canvases are uploaded to a shared folder 48 hours ahead of the session. Feedback partners highlight strengths and questions during the session, and may also provide written notes if they wish.