Dr Emily Bradfield Practitioner Research Associate: Collections and Wellbeing (Older Adults) at The Fitzwilliam Museum, University of Cambridge shares her experience of the ERA 2025 conference at Surrey as one of our ERA bursary recipients.

Because my role is part-time and fixed-term contract, I have to be strategic about the conferences I attend, where I present, and the networks I invest in. However, since discovering the BSG and ERA during my doctorate, I felt immediately at home – joining numerous people who delightfully describe themselves as an ‘accidental gerontologist’! Since then, I’ve continued to engage with ERA, and in 2019 I founded the BSG Creative Ageing SIG. Both communities are supportive, kind, and fun.

So, what about the bursary?!

With my three-day week, the BSG’s three-day conference already meant giving up my whole working week. Adding the ERA pre-conference on top felt a bit out of reach, both time wise and budget wise. Then, returning from the ERA writing retreat in Stockholm (in a prison – but for research not residency!), Lisa, ERA’s outgoing chair, invited me to present my research “Cultivating care and connection: rethinking museum practices to address inequalities in ageing”. Great, I thought – but, could I afford two extra days and nights? But then, Lisa told me that I could apply for a bursary to cover the fee. The decision was made! Even better, I then discovered that we could access a for bursary for the additional night(s) accommodation too!

Support and Sharing

ERA is different. It doesn’t just feel like a network, it feels like a community. After connecting with members through the networking event at the University of Stirling, and the Sweden writing retreat, the pre-conference felt like coming back to friends. The ERA pre-conference itself was really well run – an energetic mix of presentations, training, and networking. While I opted for a traditional presentation style to share Take a Walk in My Shoes and Museums for Life, I loved the Pecha Kucha (Japanese for ‘chit-chat’) sessions which were short, sharp, and full of energy. Emilie McSwiggan’s talk on “later life” as a lens for injustice in ageing was a standout.

New connections

ERA’s scale makes real connection possible. The pre-conference gave me time to meet my Creative Ageing SIG co-chair, Ezinma Mbeledogu, in person at last. Her sharp chairing and incisive questions shone in the presentation sessions. Then there were “the Emilies” – a lunch-time coincidence that turned into a full-conference companionship. Those serendipitous connects are what ERA does so well.

Learning together

One highlight was Dr Tatiana Rowson’s session on ‘Crafting Impactful Narrative CVs’. Honest, practical, and thought-provoking, it created space for early career researchers to share challenges around navigating traditional research paths. Add to this, ERA’s inclusive publishing opportunity with the Journal of Global Ageing, the pre-conference reflected what I value most about ERA: support, sharing and connection.

Thanks to the bursary, I had the privilege of being part of it. I left with new perspectives, connections, and a renewed energy for my work in ageing research.

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