Horizons Program
2026 Horizons Program
About Horizons
Horizons is the Melbourne Centre for Cities’ flagship doctoral and early career researcher (ECR) capacity‑building program. The program is designed for approximately 20 PhD candidates and post‑PhD early career researchers working on urban, cities and place‑based research across disciplines, including geography, planning, architecture, urban policy, sociology, and related fields.
In 2026, Horizons will be delivered as a six‑month, cohort‑based program that combines early career research (ECR) capacity building with progressive exposure to academic leadership and convening practice. Horizons 2026 also aims to strengthen the wider Australasian urban research ecosystem, accepting EOIs from across Australia and New Zealand.
Why Horizons
Horizons recognises that contemporary doctoral training requires more than disciplinary excellence. Increasingly, doctoral candidates benefit from opportunities to observe, participate in, and help shape the academic spaces in which knowledge is produced, shared, and debated, particularly under climate-changed conditions. In 2026, Horizons is delivered by the Melbourne Centre for Cities in partnership with the Australasian Early Career Urban Research Network (AECURN), who promote, support, and advocate for early career agendas in urban research, in close alignment with the Australasian Cities Research Network (ACRN).
The Horizons opportunity is open to PhDs and ECRs. Early Career refers to a PhD or a colleague who is typically up to 7 years post-PhD, accounting for personal circumstances and varying career trajectories. This includes colleagues who: don’t currently work in academia; are on teaching and research tracks; are employed in professional roles; and are in precarious, temporary, casual employment (not ongoing or full time).
Core Components
The 2026 Horizons program will run from July to November 2026 and is organised around three phases:
Phase 1: Monthly online capacity‑building and sector‑literacy sessions (July–September)
The first phase of Horizons will focus on building a strong cohort, developing a shared language and understanding of the urban research sector, and supporting participants to reflect on their own skills, aspirations, and roles within that sector.
Each session will combine short provocations from senior and mid‑career scholars and practitioners, facilitated cohort discussion, and reflective and practical activities that link individual development to collective capacity building. Sessions will address topics such as urban research practice, career trajectories, writing and publishing, grants and partnerships, wellbeing, and engagement beyond academia.
All sessions will be held online to support participation across Australia and New Zealand.
Phase 2: Leadership through Symposium co-design (October–November)
A defining feature of Horizons in 2026 is the integration of planning for Melbourne Centre for Cities Annual Symposium. Throughout late October to early November, Horizons will shift to a series of shorter, weekly online sessions focused on event skills.
These weekly sessions will focus on activities such as developing and working with run‑sheets, facilitation and chairing techniques, supporting speakers, time‑keeping, managing discussion, and responding to challenges during live events.
Phase 3: Symposium delivery and Horizons participants event
26 November: Melbourne Centre for Cities Annual Symposium
Horizons program participants will play a leading role at the Melbourne Centre for Cities Annual Symposium, linking learning to a major scholarly convening.
Roles and responsibilities will be determined by the cohort throughout the monthly Horizons sessions. Involvement will be self-determined and involve working closely with the Horizons Convenor, the Melbourne Centre for Cities team, and the AECURN Committee.
27 November: Horizons participants event
The Horizons participants event on 27 November will bring together the outgoing Horizons cohort, Horizons alumni, and incoming participants, include short presentations or reflections from the 2026 cohort, and connect participants into ongoing ACRN- and AECURN-linked networks.
In addition to the Melbourne Centre for Cities Symposium, the Horizons cohort will be supported to design and deliver an ECR-focused day to reflect on learning and implications for future Horizons iterations and create an agenda for ECR-focused leadership in urban research.
This will be supported by AECURN and may include senior mentoring sessions, presentations, workshops, and co-authored reports or manifestos. This will also include presentations, feedback, and networking with ACRN and AECURN communities, and a celebration with Horizons alumni.
Expressions of Interest for the 2026 Horizons Program are now closed. Those who have submitted EOIs will be contacted with the outcome in coming weeks.
If you have any questions regarding the program, please contact connected-cities@unimelb.edu.au.
Past Programs
Previous Horizons programs have been run in partnership with RMIT University's Centre for Urban Research for doctoral candidates from across metropolitan Melbourne, with our University of Melbourne urban scholars joined by representatives from RMIT University, La Trobe University, Swinburne University, Victoria University, Monash University, BITS Pilani, and Zhongnan University of Economics and Law.
In 2025, the cohort took part in a series of Masterclasses with esteemed urban scholars and practicioners. Following each session, participants developed content collaboratively as part of an emerging urban scholars dialogue piece, in a format and outlet determined by the cohort.
