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ep.journalhosting.ucalgary.ca 

 
Foreword 

Doctoral Seminar 2017: An International Journey 

Gina Ko, Jon Woodend, and Lena Barrantes 

University of Calgary 

Gina 

Welcome readers to the Emerging Perspectives Special Issue on the International Doctoral 
Seminar. The International Doctoral Seminar (IDS) is a collaborative project involving three 
universities, one each in Australia (Queensland University of Technology—QUT), Canada 
(University of Calgary—UC), and China (Beijing Normal University—BNU). This Special Issue 
idea began serendipitously on a beautiful evening in Brisbane after a meal of delicious Vietnamese 
and Chinese food, shared amongst the doctoral seminar participants during the 2017 cycle, at 
which I was a student participant. We were standing outside the restaurant chatting and saying 
goodnight when one of the faculty mentors and one of the student participants approached me. 
They told me that they had been discussing publishing opportunities for international graduate 
students. The faculty mentor knew I was one of the editors of EPIGREP and exclaimed, “wouldn’t 
it be neat to publish a Special Issue of our IDS 2017 experience?” We continued to talk about the 
possibility and let it sit. The next day, we headed to a market and beach. While we were loading 
the bus, the faculty mentor asked me to pick up the microphone and introduce EPIGREP to 
everyone, where I asked if they would be interested in collaborating for a Special Issue. Thinking 
back, the ride was bumpy, and I had to think organically to represent our journal positively. There 
were some questions and excitement in the air, despite it being a long and somewhat tiring day 
already. 

Upon returning to our respective homes, our Canadian group met, and we decided to pitch 
the Special Issue idea to the EPIGREP team. First, we invited Jon Woodend, also an EPIGREP 
editor, to assist, as he was part of IDS 2015. Jon showed enthusiasm and the EPIGREP team invited 
Lena, another EPIGREP editor, to edit the special issue since we wanted to mentor and work with 
her to become a full editor. At the time, she was a guest editor and this seemed like a good fit as 
she was considering joining the IDS at a later cycle. 
 
Jon 
 When Gina presented the idea of a special issue covering the learning discovered through 
the doctoral seminar to the EPIGREP board, I was excited to join and assist in this project. I had 
also participated in the doctoral seminar during the inaugural cycle, including UC, and I knew 
firsthand how the seminar advances doctoral work. For me, a critical insight from my experience 
of the 2015 seminar was that, often, we are not aware of our biases or gaps in knowledge until we 
are exposed to them. The seminar provides that exposure by bringing together international 
scholars and reciprocally expanding perspectives, regardless of one’s research topic. A Special 
Issue could then allow participants to only consolidate and continue their learning, as well as 
provide an opportunity to share the wealth of experience with students who were not able to take 



Foreword – Emerging Perspectives Special Issue (2019) i-ii ii 

 
 

part in the seminar. As a proponent for the seminar, I also hoped that this Special Issue would 
inspire future participants.  
 
Lena 
 

As well as Jon, when I was invited to be an editor in this special issue, I was really excited 
to join the team. In my journey as an international student, I have witnessed and lived cultural 
processes that provided me with unique opportunities to immerse myself into other cultures; 
immersions that could not be done otherwise. Participating as an editor in this Special Issue granted 
me an additional opportunity to closely live the authors’ initiatives in their search for making sense 
of their own transcultural experiences. Similar to my journey, authors in this Special Issue were 
exposed to a large and diverse pool of people and ideas. Their papers show how this event in their 
lives has strengthened their knowledge creation, enhanced their diversity of knowledge, and raised 
their awareness of new outlooks and cultures. Overall, authors in this issue are opening their 
understandings to the readers, who will encounter distinctive analysis on the authors’ transcultural 
experiences. 
  

Using this special issue as an opportunity to highlight the remarkable quality of the 
experience, we would like to thank the organizers and participants who made the 2017 
International Doctoral Seminar possible. The seminar’s contribution to the students’ lives is 
exemplified in the articles of this Special Issue. 
 


