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This paper aims to focus on the undergraduate research conference as its sphere of study and investigate the impact of significance of participation and socialisation in such activities on student attitudes and professional development. Using situated learning to theoretically position the undergraduate research conference as an authentic learning context, connection is also made with the concept of graduate attributes.

The Vitae (2014) Researcher Development Framework (RDF) is used to provide a template for charting the experiences and development of undergraduate students as researchers. This can be applied to short-term activities and programmes and to long-term career plans. The insights from 90 undergraduate students participating in three national undergraduate research conferences were obtained through interviews, and thematically analysed to map the students’ skills development against the RDF criteria.

Three main aspects of undergraduate research conference participation were considered particularly important by the students: the value of paper presentations, the value of poster presentations and the value of the overall conference experience. Within these themes, participants identified a wide range of skills and attributes they felt they had developed as a result of either preparing for or participating in the conferences. The majority of these skills and attributes could be mapped against the different domains of the RDF, using a public engagement lens for comparing actual with expected developmental areas.

This research helps undergraduate research conference organisers construct programme content and form it in such a way that students’ skill development can be maximised prior to, and during, the course of an event. Learning developers can also use these findings to help understand the support needs of students preparing to deliver papers at such conferences. So far, little empirical research has examined students’ skills development within the undergraduate research conference arena.

The outcomes of this study show the diversity of the skills that students developed and the value of the conference format for offering networking practice and enhancing the communication skills which employers value.

This chapter argues for the unrealised potential value of methodologies derived from a critical realist research philosophy in the field of entrepreneurship studies. Critical realism offers methodological alternatives that, through the generation of new insights into social relations, social structures and key generative mechanisms, can offer significant value for entrepreneurship researchers. Reflecting on their personal experiences researching from a critical realist perspective in entrepreneurship studies, the authors explore how this research philosophy can extend the field of inquiry and promote new perspectives. The chapter explores this in relation to the specific topic of enterprise policy and demystifies some aspects of critical realism by setting out some of its basic principles to demonstrate their potential to develop new insights. Further, this approach can create significant impact, for example, through the development of effective interventions. The chapter concludes by identifying implications for enterprise policy development, implementation and evaluation.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the experiences of belonging and wellbeing among temporary migrant agricultural workers (TMAWs) in a rural setting in the interior of British Columbia, Canada.

A qualitative narrative approach informed by participatory action research principles was employed. In total, 12 migrant workers participated in two to four one-on-one interviews and/or focus group conversations.

The analysis revealed an over-arching theme of Marginal Living encompassing stories of always on the outside, mechanisms of isolation and exclusion; struggling for the basics, realities of worrying about daily bare necessities; and “nothing but a worker’s,” experiences of being reduced only to one’s labor. These storied experiences each impacted workers’ wellbeing and typically limited their ability to feel a sense of belonging. Yet, workers exerted agency and resilience through storied experiences of “one family and for those who come next.” Their efforts contributed to building a sense of community through mutual support and advocacy.

Very few studies have focused on the day-to-day experiences of this population and its influence on their sense of belonging and wellbeing. This study is also the first to examine this topic within this particular region (the rural BC interior). These findings can provide a starting point for improved program planning to address challenges faced by TMAWs in rural Western Canada. Further, they expand the understanding of concepts such as partial citizenship and structural exclusion as they apply in the day-to-day realities of migrant workers in rural BC.