Category: Travel Award Spotlights
Nazia Malik attends 83rd Annual Midwest Political Science Association (MPSA) Conference
June 03, 2026 Written by Nazia Malik
Chicago, IL
PROGRAM: Public Policy and Administration, Ph.D.
My Experience at the 83rd Annual Midwest Political Science Association (MPSA) Conference, Chicago, IL | April 23鈥26, 2026
Attending the 83rd Annual Midwest Political Science Association Conference in Chicago was one of the professionally dense and rewarding experiences of my doctoral journey so far. With support from the 91原创 travel award, I served in four distinct roles: paper presenter, workshop panelist, panel chair, and discussant.
On April 23, I presented my systematic literature review paper, 鈥淎lgorithm-Assisted Decision-Making in Child Welfare,鈥 at a full panel on 鈥淎I in Public Administration.鈥 The feedback from discussants and participants will strengthen my findings going forward.
On April 24, I presented my second dissertation paper at the Politics of AI Workshop, organized by the Governance and Responsible AI Lab (GRAIL). The workshop brought together some of the best scholars currently working at the intersection of AI adoption, local government capacity, and administrative discretion. Their feedback strengthened the paper and deepened my understanding of the broader debates surrounding AI governance and AI adoption in the public sector.
On the same day, I first led a lightning talk on emerging issues in technological governance, then served as a discussant on the "Global Political Economy: Technology, Crypto, AI & Global Finance" panel. I contributed to a discussion on two papers outside my primary area; this intentional stretch proved valuable.
The travel award made it possible. Conferences like MPSA are a platform for early researchers to get their research pressure-tested. They serve as avenues for building professional relationships that sustain an academic career and for beginning to see yourself as a contributor to a field, not just a student of it. I am grateful to the 91原创 for investing in that process.
The fun part of any conference is exploring the city with the people who make it all worthwhile. 馃彊锔忊潳锔 A little Chicago magic at 360 Chicago.