10-11 September 2024
University of Sussex, Brighton
The 2024 Business and Modern Slavery Research Conference will take place on Tuesday 10th & Wednesday 11th September in-person and will be hosted by the University of Sussex Business School, Falmer, Brighton, East Sussex, BN1 9RH. This conference is co-organised by Hult International Business School.
Submissions to the conference have now closed.
Abusive labour practices and the business systems that produce, accentuate, and shelter them are increasingly exercising policymakers around the world. As this trend has grown, both scholars and industry experts have undertaken research which is broad in scope, transcending disciplinary boundaries, and offers insights into management practices and working conditions. This conference brings together researchers in the growing research community from across business disciplines to develop ongoing work and build links with peers towards future endeavours, offering a mixture of in-depth analysis and a platform to discuss alternative paths on topics related to modern slavery.
The conference will address the following themes:
The conference programme will be shared at the beginning of July 2024.
Authors are invited to submit a 500 - 1,000 word abstract, excluding title, authors, figures, tables, and references on any aspect of business and modern slavery. Abstracts can be summaries of completed papers, works in progress, or proposals for future projects.
Authors are required to send their abstract by email to the conference dedicated inbox; modernslaveryconf24@sussex.ac.uk, adhering to the submission guidelines*. More information on the submission guildlines.
*If you are submitting as a PhD student, proof of your student status should also be emailed to the same address when you submit your abstract.
The deadline for abstracts submission is the end of the day on Friday 31 May 2024. Submitted abstracts will be reviewed by the Conference Committee.
Decisions will be communicated to authors on Friday 14 June 2024. Authors participating in the conference Paper Development Workshop will be required to submit a full paper of approx. 5,000 - 10,000 words by Wednesday 17 July 2024.
We will also host workshops on Wednesday 11 September for anyone interested in submitting to the special issue in Supply Chain Management: An International Journal and for Early Career Researchers. The workshops will be held in parallel from 14:00 - 17:00.
The paper development workshop is an amazing opportunity for those interested in more in-depth feedback on their work on a one-to-one basis with senior scholars, possibly for submission to the special issue on Modern Slavery and Supply Chain Management.
Find out how to apply.
The Early Career Researcher workshop is perfect for early career scholars seeking to build their research skills and connections in the area of business and modern slavery. Early career scholars, defined as PhDs, post-doctoral researchers, and faculty at Lecturer (Assistant Professor) level can apply for the workshop by including a request for involvement in the email to which they attach their abstract.
Please let us know, in your email, what your discipline is, what you would like to get from the workshop, and the identities of any senior faculty with whom you have already worked (so that we can try to build your network by not pairing you with people with whom you already have a working relationship).
Friday 31 May – Deadline for submission of abstracts
Friday 14 June – Notification of decisions & Early Bird Registrations opens
Sunday 30 June – Early Bird Registrations closes
Wednesday 17 July – Deadline for submission of full papers & for the Paper development workshop
Friday 16 August – Registrations closes
Tuesday 10 September– 09:00 - 17:00 Main conference
Wednesday 11 September – 09:00 - 14:00 Main conference; Paper development workshop & Early Career Researcher workshop running in parallel from 14:00 - 17:00
There will be a conference dinner on Tuesday 10 September. The cost of this is included in the conference fee.
Registrations to the conference are now open. Please register here and take advantage of the Early Bird fee.
| Registration Type | Dates | Fee (£) |
| Early Bird | 14/06 - 30/06 | 150 |
| Standard Registration | 01/07 - 16/08 | 200 |
| PhD Student | 14/06 - 16/08 | 50 |
Attendance of 2 main conference days
Attendance of the Paper development workshop OR Early Career Researcher workshop (if accepted)
Conference dinner
Lunches and coffee breaks at the conference days
Travel costs
Accommodation costs
Transfers from Brighton to the University of Sussex, Falmer campus
Pre-conference drinks for early arrivals (optional)
Brighton will be busy at the beginning of September. We recommend that you book your accommodation ASAP.
We recommend the following hotels, near Brighton train station:
1. The IBIS hotel Brighton Station. The hotel is located a couple of minutes away from the Brighton train station. The address is 88-92 Queens Rd, East Sussex, Brighton BN1 3XE, (tel +44 1273 201000), email here: H6444@accor.com.
2. The Leonardo hotel Brighton station (Formerly Jurys Inn) close to the train station. The address: 101 Stroudley Rd, Brighton and Hove, Brighton BN1 4DJ and a phone is: +441273 862121, email here: Brighton@leonardohotels.com.
Alternative accommodation at many Brighton hotels for all budgets, at a preferential rate, for a certain period of time is curated by Visit Brighton, please check here https://book.passkey.com/go/usms2024
Getting to the campus
The campus, located in Falmer, is well-served by public transport, with Falmer train station on the south side of campus, and frequent buses to and from Brighton. Please find below detailed instructions about Travelling to campus – for detailed information on how to reach the campus by train, bus, car or taxi.
By train
If travelling by train from Brighton, getting to Falmer Station is a 10-minute train ride from Brighton Station, where trains to Falmer depart from platforms 7 and 8 usually every 10 minutes (please check train times in advance).
From Falmer train station, follow the signs to the University of Sussex campus.
By bus
The number 25 and 25X bus brings you from central Brighton all the way to University of Sussex campus.
By car
If you intend to drive to the event, a “Car Parking Permit” PDF will be shared with registered attendees closer to the event.
Transfer from the airport
If your flight arrives in Heathrow Airport, kindly check which Terminal it lands on. A very easy way to come to Brighton would be by coach (National Express).
Gatwick Airport train station is located at the South Terminal, just a short walk from both departures and arrivals. The station is easily accessible from the North Terminal by a free shuttle. You can buy train tickets at the station, online or by using your contactless payment card at the ticket gates. There are very frequent trains to Brighton and the duration of the journey is about 30 minutes. More information www.nationalrail.co.uk.
For more information about the conference, please get in touch.