The I EPER Connect

The online conference welcomed early-career criminology researchers, with participants joining from Belgium, Germany, Italy, Lithuania, North Wales, Portugal, Spain, and Romania. Its core aim was twofold: to create a meaningful space for scholarly debate and to build bridges between researchers. Over the two days, five parallel sessions were held covering a diverse range of criminological topics, from cybercrime to gender-based violence, and two thematic poster sessions complemented the program. Throughout the event, sessions drew close to 30 attendees, which is a promising start, but a number we hope to grow. The conference was further enriched by a plenary opening session delivered by Fernando Miró-Llinares, entitled "Building Successful Research Projects in Criminology: From a Good Idea to a Fundable Project", and what a great idea it was to bring Fernando to the I EPER Connect! Fernando was simple without being simplistic, centering his talk on the importance of knowledge sharing at a time when individualism and competition too often dominate academic life.

The I EPER Connect has made one thing clear: this is not a one-off occasion. EPER Connect is here to stay, and the next annual meeting already has a date on the calendar. See you in May 2027.