The ICTMD Early Career Scholars Network (ECSN)—established in July 2023—brings together ethnomusicology students and graduates from around the world. The network, stirred by the ICTMD Early Career Scholars Committee (ECSC), aims to foster connections and engagement between early career scholars as well as serve as a focal point for emerging scholars by representing their interests within the ICTMD to ensure the organization is better equipped to support scholars at all stages of their careers. The 48th ICTMD World Conference 2025 in Wellington turned out to be a remarkable scholarly gathering for the ECSN. It convened its second general meeting in the conference after its establishment. It also successfully organized three workshop sessions.

The group’s meeting took place on January 10, 2025 in person and via Zoom. The meeting was chaired by Kendra Stepputat (ECS committee chair) and Meri Haami (ECS committee member). Including Kendra and Meri, two other ECS committee members Mark Lenini Parselelo and Subash Giri, twenty graduate students and early career students (eighteen in person and two on Zoom) were present in the meeting. On behalf of the committee, Meri called on us to remember and acknowledge Alexandra Leonzini, our recently, untimely passed ECS committee member. 
In addition to sharing information about recent activities and details about the upcoming workshops, the meeting focused on hearing about the wishes and needs of the early career scholars present, and how the ICTMD ECS committee might further help and support. Topics raised by the meeting participants included questions about how and where to publish, how to better network and connect with other scholars, how to talk to your advisor, and how to write a research grant proposal. We hope to address these queries in upcoming online workshops and events organized by the ECSC. As a first step towards helping early career scholars engage with ICTMD, the committee decided to develop a step-by-step guide for early career scholars to connect with ICTMD, ECSN, and Study Groups. This guide is in the process of being developed. 

Among the three workshops in the ICTMD Wellington conference, the first session was held on January 11, 2025, facilitated by Tina Frühauf from RILM. In that workshop, participants, especially graduate students and early career scholars, learned research techniques focusing on bibliography, historiography, online databases, and other research tools. The next two workshop sessions occurred back to back on January 13, 2025. In the first half, the ECS committee member Meri Haami facilitated an “Abstract 
 writing Workshop for Early Career Scholars” that focused on the essentials of crafting effective academic abstracts. In the second half, Kendra Stepputat and Mayco Santaella gave insights into “Navigating Academic and Alternative Career Pathways” that offered strategies and insights for early career researchers seeking both academic and alternative career trajectories. 

Overall, the 48th ICTMD World Conference 2025 in Wellington proved to be a great success for the ECSN. Both the meeting and workshop sessions attracted a significant number of participants, particularly early career scholars and graduate students and generated very rich and insightful discussions. The ECSN meeting and workshop sessions have engendered excitement and energy among the ECSN members, and the committee aspires to continue working towards achieving its goals.

In the months since the conference, the composition of our committee has changed. Meri Haami and Pablo Rojas have both stepped down from the committee, while Xiaotong Yang from Victoria University of Wellington, Aotearoa has joined the committee in March 2025. We wholeheartedly thank Meri and Pablo for their contributions over the last years and welcome Xiaotong as a new member.

– Subash Giri and Kendra Stepputat, on behalf of the ICTMD Early Career Scholars Committee