Scholarly conferences are one mechanism by which doctoral students can enter into their profession as practitioners and scholars. Unfortunately, research about the effectiveness of this career development strategy is limited. This paper explores learning experiences of doctoral students at a scholarly conference. Theories about learning communities, communities of practice, and knowledge creation frame student experiences. Special attention is given to how legitimate peripheral participation describes interactions of students with the scholarly community of practice during the conference. Recommendations for students, faculty, other scholars, and program planners are given in order to promote improved access to and participation in the scholarly community. Such changes can provide doctoral students with a smoother transition from academic learning to learning in the scholarly community of a professional conference.

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PurposeThe study presents preliminary findings from research begun at the 2005 Academy of Human Resource Development International Research Conference held in Estes Park, CO, USA. The qualitative case study captures what new learning occurred as a result of the conference and how the new learning at the conference occurred.Design/methodology/approachThe qualitative case study used conceptual foundations grounded within critical theory and focused on learning organizations, communities of practice (CoP), and knowledge generation.FindingsParticipant reactions documented on approximately 1,000 data forms were categorized for this preliminary study as critical perspectives on HRD where typically underrepresented voices critiqued the conference, CoP as relationships between theory and practice where participants reported that theory to practice was a rich research topic, and learning organizations where results indicated that the academy benefits through conferences in terms of creating a learning organization.Research limitations/implicationsPreliminary results were based on preliminary analysis of data forms only. Future reports will include in‐depth analyses of data forms, and results of interviews and other collected data such as journals and observations.Practical implicationsFindings are important to conference planning and evaluation that seeks to create and sustain new learning.Originality/valueThe study is the first of its kind addressing the way conferences can influence the creation of new learning and how learning occurs.

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