Virtual Student Forum 2026

Tuesday 1st December (10am – 4pm), Online

Following the positive response to our annual in-person Student Forum, we’re pleased to offer a virtual version for those who were unable to attend and for those wishing to connect further with fellow students. This one-day online forum will feature keynote presentations, student talks, and virtual poster sessions, providing an opportunity to share research and connect with others across the entomological community, and the globe.

Speakers

Thomas Hall

Entomology in the Wikispace

Thomas is a PhD Student at Charles University in Prague. He currently studies host-parasitoid coevolution and community ecology in the oak gall wasp system. Thomas has lived many lives from public health research to fashion merchandising, and strives to find ways to coalesce all of his different interests and pet projects. Thomas will provide an introductory look into the wikispace (Wikipedia, Wikimedia Commons, Wikidata) and how entomologists can contribute to the open information movement. Although the Wiki community continues to grow in membership, many projects related to biodiversity and the environment have suffered from turnover of their founding and early members. The objective of this session will be to inspire entomologists to join the movement and to outline the main ways that entomologists can contribute. During the workshop, we will go through the outline of writing Wikipedia articles and best practices therein. No prior experience editing is necessary (though we are sure most attendees will have experience reading Wikipedia). 

Dr. Catherine Scott

Twists and turns and tangled webs: an arachnologist’s unconventional career journey 

Dr. Catherine Scott is a Canadian arachnologist, behavioural ecologist, and natural historian whose research has focused primarily on the communication and sexual behaviour of black widows and the foraging ecology of candy-striped spiders. A former arachnophobe and now arachnophile, they are passionate about dispelling myths and misconceptions about spiders through public outreach. Dr. Scott completed a BSc in mathematics at Queen’s University, an MSc in biology at Simon Fraser University, and a PhD in ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Toronto. They subsequently held NSERC and Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships at McGill University. Dr. Scott is currently a research administrator in the Faculty of Medicine at Memorial University in Newfoundland and Labrador. You can find more information about their research at spiderbytes.org. 

Abstract submission

We are delighted to invite abstract submissions for the Virtual Student Forum. Submissions are welcome from all areas of entomological research, and can be presented as a talk, flash talk, or poster presentation. Deadline: Friday 23rd October, 5pm.

Registration

Registration Deadline: 17:00 (BST), Friday 27 November 2026