Meet the postgraduate researcher: Tonghua Li

Posted on Friday 11 September 2026

The York Graduate Research School connects more than 2,000 PGRs across all disciplines at York.

For our September edition, we wanted to showcase the incredible achievements PGRs make outside of their already impressive research. Here, we spotlight Tonghua Li - a passionate PhD researchers from the Department of Politics and International Relations, and one of organisers of the Global China Studies Early Career Researcher Network.

We asked Tonghua to tell us more about what drew him to starting the network, what the process of organising the annual conference was like and his top tips for anyone interested in organising a conference of their own. 

Tell us about the conference you organised

I lead and organise the Global China Studies Early Career Researcher Network (GCS), an interdisciplinary and international network supported by the University of York, bringing together more than 200 PhD and early career researchers working on Global China. It provides a space for researchers from different institutions, disciplines and research traditions to share their work, build connections and explore opportunities for collaboration.

Our interests are not limited to studying China domestically. Instead, we are interested in the relationship between China and wider political, economic and social changes around the world. Our members therefore come from a range of disciplines, including Politics and International Relations, Sociology, History and Cultural Studies.

Building on this network, I organised the GCS 2026 Annual Conference, which took place at the University of York on 17 July 2026 under the theme Rethinking China in a Changing Global Order: Governance, Justice, and Social Change. The conference was held in a hybrid format, with 12 thematic panels and a keynote speech. Participants joined us from the UK, China, the US, France, Austria, Australia, Singapore, India, Pakistan etc. We also invited senior researchers to join each panel as a discussant and provide constructive feedback to the presenters.

What drew you to this topic?

I originally started the network because I noticed that PGRs and ECRs working on Global China are often scattered across different universities and disciplines. Researchers at this career stage often have the greatest need to build academic connections, receive feedback on their research and find opportunities for collaboration, but they may also have fewer opportunities to participate in stable and sustained networks across institutions. GCS was therefore created to bring these researchers together, and the Annual Conference was our first opportunity to turn these online connections into a more extensive academic exchange.

As PGRs, we have many opportunities to attend academic conferences, but organising one ourselves is a very different experience. We had to think beyond our own research and consider how different topics could be brought together into panels, how researchers from different disciplines and countries could engage with each other, and how we could make sure PGRs received useful feedback on their work. My own research also focuses on international political economy, China and global politics, so organising an interdisciplinary conference on Global China fits closely with my academic interests.

What was the process of organising it like?

The whole process took several months and was much more complicated than I initially expected. In the early stages, the main tasks were deciding on the conference theme, launching the call for abstracts, reviewing proposals and promoting the conference on social media. We then organised the selected papers into different panels, invited chairs and discussants, and stayed in regular contact with participants to confirm timings, modes of participation and other requirements.

As the conference approached, the focus shifted much more towards practical arrangements, including finalising the programme, booking rooms, communicating with participants, arranging catering and dealing with various last-minute changes. Because the conference was hybrid, we also had to think about the experience of both in-person and online participants. The process made me realise that a conference may ultimately last only one day, but there is a huge amount of small-scale coordination behind it.

What was a highlight or your favourite moment from the process?

My favourite moment was seeing the whole programme actually come to life on the day of the conference. During the months of preparation, what we mainly saw were emails, spreadsheets, names and presentation titles. On the day itself, all of these turned into real academic discussions. Seeing researchers from different countries presenting their work, exchanging ideas during the panels and continuing those conversations afterwards was probably the most rewarding part of the whole process.

Another highlight was the positive feedback we received afterwards. Some participants told us that they had met new researchers through the conference and received useful feedback on their work. That made all the time we had put into organising the event feel worthwhile.

What advice would you give to other PGRs considering organising something similar?

First, I think the most important thing is to start early and not underestimate how much time communication and coordination will take. Organising a conference is not only about coming up with an interesting academic theme. A lot of the time actually goes into answering emails, confirming participation, adjusting the programme and dealing with last-minute changes. It is therefore useful to establish clear responsibilities and a timeline early on, and to keep important information organised in one place.

Second, I don't think you need to wait until you feel you have enough experience. Organising a conference is itself a learning process. There are many things you only learn how to deal with once you actually start doing them.

Third, I would encourage PGRs to be bold about reaching out to researchers, whether they already know them or not. You should not be afraid to email someone simply because you have never met them before. You can invite researchers to participate as speakers, discussants, chairs or in other roles. Many academics are very willing to support activities organised by PGRs and ECRs. Even if someone is ultimately unable to participate, making that initial contact can open the door to future conversations. Organising a conference is also a very good opportunity to build your academic network.

Fourth, make use of as many different channels as possible to promote the event rather than relying on a single platform. We had some good results from promoting the conference on LinkedIn, and we also contacted departments and research centres at other universities and asked them to circulate our call for abstracts. This not only helped us reach a wider pool of potential participants, but also allowed us to connect with researchers who were not already part of our network.

Finally, I would recommend finding a reliable team to work with. This is especially important on the day of the conference, when one person simply cannot manage panels, online participants, registration and unexpected issues at the same time. Good teamwork was one of the most important factors in making the conference run smoothly.

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Could you be our next spotlight? Contact our newsletter team at student-communications@york.ac.uk for more information on taking part in upcoming ‘Meet The PGR’ features.