ItAIS Junior Faculty and Doctoral Consortium 2026

The ItAIS Junior Faculty and Doctoral Consortium (JFDC) aims to support doctoral students and researchers at the early stage of their careers in the fields of Business, Management, and Information Systems in order to develop effective career plans based on their personal and professional goals. More specifically, the JFDC has three primary objectives:

• to provide students and early-stage researchers with networking opportunities with peers and faculty members,
• to support students and early-stage researchers in strategising about their research, dissertation, teaching, and career plans,
• to reflect on academic career aspirations and dynamics

The program includes parallel panels, workshops, and plenary sessions. Students and early-stage researchers will be split into small groups according to the nature of the research strategy they are adopting and their career stage in order to promote collaboration. Each panel will involve at least two/three faculty members and two/three students.

Co-Chairs

• Roberta Cuel (University of Trento, IT)
• Stefano Za (University of Chieti-Pescara, IT)

Faculty members

• Petros Chamakiotis (ESCP Business School, ES)
• Edoardo Ezio Della Torre (University of Milan, IT)
• Margaret Heffernan (Dublin City University, IE)
• Alessandra Lazzazara (University of Milan, IT)
• Luigi Moschera (University of Naples “Parthenope”, IT)
• Aurelio Ravarini (LIUC University Carlo Cattaneo, IT)
• Terry Torre (University of Genoa, IT)
• Robert Winter (University of St. Gallen, CH)

Programme

Venue: Università degli Studi della Tuscia, Viterbo (VT)

October 22, 2026

• 02:30-03:00 PM Registration
• 03:00-03:30 PM Opening session
• 03:30-05:00 PM PhD Students’ and Junior Faculty Presentations and Coaching Roundtable with the Faculty (PART 1)
• 05:00-05:30 PM Coffee break
• 05:30-07:00 PM PhD Students’ and Junior Faculty Presentations and Coaching Roundtable with the Faculty (PART 2)
• 07:00-07:30 PM Closing session
• 08:30 PM Self-financed dinner

October 23, 2026

• 09:00 – 10:30 AM Public Speaking in Academic Context
• 10:30 – 10:45 AM Break
• 10:45AM – 01:00 PM Teaching and Researching with AI

Fee

The JFDC is free of charge for all doctoral students and junior faculty (within 5 years of PhD completion) registered for the ItAIS 2026 Conference. Doctoral students and junior faculty not registered for the Conference will be given the possibility to participate in the JFDC (including panels and plenary workshops) by paying a registration fee of 50 €. This fee is for the JFDC only and does not include participation in the ItAIS 2026 conference sessions and coffee breaks.

Application Criteria

Doctoral students wishing to participate in the ItAIS 2026 JFDC should be involved in dissertation projects investigating Business, Management and/or Information Systems related topics.

Junior faculty wishing to participate in the ItAIS 2026 JFDC should be at the early stage of their career (within 5 years of PhD completion) in the fields of Business, Management, and Information Systems.

The consortium chairs will review each application (DUE DATE: September 6^th, 2026 – see application requirements below). The review process will emphasise applicants’ accomplishments and potential. Multiple students applying from the same doctoral school are allowed.

Application Process

Please submit the following documents via email (jfdconsortium@itais.org) by September 6th, 2026, by creating a SINGLE PDF file that includes all of the following three documents. Insert your name and surname in the PDF file name.

1. Completed application form (download attachment)
2. Extended abstract of your dissertation [for doctoral students] or current research project (or draft paper – even if it has already been submitted to a conference/journal or is still in progress – ) you would like to discuss (you can also provide a statement of research interests) [for junior faculty]. The text should not exceed two single-spaced pages.
3. Curriculum vitae

Each student (or junior faculty) is required to read in advance the contribution(s) of the other student(s) (or junior faculty) participating in his/her presentation to provide feedback. Faculty members will be responsible for stimulating and managing the discussions. Details on the organisation of each panel will be provided before the workshop.

Each student and junior faculty member should also be prepared to deliver a short presentation (15-20 minutes) summarising the key points of his/her research. An additional 20/30 minutes will be dedicated to the discussion with the faculty members for each participant.

The number of participants in the Junior Faculty and Doctoral Consortium is limited to enable effective participation and discussion opportunities.

Applicants will receive confirmation of acceptance to attend the Junior Faculty and Doctoral Consortium by September 15th, 2026.