IPSA Newsletter - February 2024

CALL FOR PROPOSALS FOR THE IPSA CONFERENCE ON DEMOCRATIZATION AND AUTOCRATIZATION

OPENS ON 27 FEBRUARY

To mark its 75th anniversary in 2024, IPSA will host an international conference with the support of the Gulbenkian Foundation and in partnership with the Portuguese Political Science Association (APCP) on the theme Democratization and Autocratization from

11-13 September 2024.

The conference webpage is now live! The page provides comprehensive information about the theme, important deadlines, registration fees, venue details, and sponsorship opportunities.

Mark Your Calendar: Call for Proposals Opens on 27 February

The call for proposals (closed panels and individual papers) for the conference will open on 27 February. See the full list of potential panel topics here.

Reduced Fee for IPSA and APCP Members

Registration will open on 15 May 2024. IPSA and APCP members will benefit from a reduced registration fee to attend the conference. IPSA student members from Country Group C and Group D can register FREE OF CHARGE.

THE 2027 IPSA WORLD CONGRESS HOST CITY BID SUBMISSION DEADLINE EXTENDED TO 15 MARCH

IPSA has extended the host city bidding process for the 2027 IPSA World Congress of Political Science. The extended bid period will run until 15 March 2024. In accordance with IPSA Rules and Procedures, a national or regional political science association that is a collective member of IPSA or any other body recognized by IPSA as an appropriate host organization (university campus, faculty or department) can submit an application to host the Congress. For more information and to download the documents required to make a bid proposal request, please visit the IPSA website.

TEH-KUANG CHANG IN MEMORIAM (1925-2024)

The IPSA family is saddened to learn of the passing of Teh-Kuang Chang, the founder of the IPSA Research Committee on Asian and Pacific Studies (RC18), who passed away on 15 January at the age of 98. We extend our deepest condolences to his family and loved ones on behalf of IPSA and the global political science community.

Prof. Chang founded RC18 on Asian and Pacific Studies at the 1976 IPSA World Congress in Edinburgh with the objective of expanding IPSA’s reach beyond Western states. A panel on Asian Studies was held at the 1979 IPSA World Congress in Moscow to formally recognize the Committee on Asian Studies. The IPSA Executive Committee went on to recognize the expansion of the Committee on Asian Studies to the status of IPSA Research Committee on Asian and Pacific Studies at the 1991 IPSA World Congress in Buenos Aires.

1. Artificial intelligence is transforming several fundamental aspects of academic life, including bibliographic search and review activities. These tasks now make use of applications that can monitor large volumes of texts, generate lists, extract key information and conclusions, and more. AI tools include Iris.ai, which has collaborated with universities such as Helsinki University for more than a year; ResearchRabbit, developed in 2021 to visualize research landscapes, now works with PubMed and Semantic Scholar (among others) to increase its offer; Elicit, already present in the library guides of an increasing number of universities, such as Arizona, Penn State and Singapore (Thematic Networks on the IPSAPortal).

2. ChatGPT's introduction sparked a debate in academia focused mainly on the problem of plagiarism and the potential for student misuse. After a year of development and extensive experimentation, universities are now engaged in an internal discussion on how to regulate and enhance the use of artificial intelligence tools in teaching practices. Arizona State University in January became the first university to institutionalize experimentation downstream of a definition of privacy terms. The university has since announced an agreement with OpenAI to use generative intelligence (Institutions on the IPSAPortal).

3. Internationalization of the student body is another hot topic for universities around the world. The recently released “Diversification and Strengthening International Recruitment Practices” report, based on a survey of the Universities UK’s membership, reveals that almost the totality (90%) of respondents are actively working to increase and diversify their international student base. Initiatives have been undertaken to streamline application processes and align acceptance with international student timelines. Universities have been accused of engaging in bad practices, however, by lowering admission standards for international students who pay far higher tuition fees than UK students (The Guardian), effectively subsidizing their education and research activities (Media Sources on the IPSAPortal).