Sigma European international PhD virtual connect event: fostering a community of practice

Background: Virtual scholarly events have become commonplace in contemporary nursing education. The Sigma European regional PhD Virtual Connect is such an event, which has increasingly been informed by the Theory of Communities of Practice (CoP). The theory of CoP proposes that learning occurs inevitably from our participation in the world (Wenger, 2010b). A CoP can be defined as a group of people with shared interests and motivation who engage in the process of joined learning with and from each other, and who do better due to the group's sustained interaction (Wenger, 2010b). A CoP can therefore take the form of a learning network, which in the context of the current study is a virtual scholarly event. The aim of this study was to explore the perception of PhD candidates about their participation in this event.

Method: An open-ended qualitative survey was conducted with the participants from the PhD Virtual Connect event. Data were analysed through thematic analysis.

Results: Twelve participants from various countries answered the online survey anonymously. Four themes were identified: 1) “connectedness with peers and sharing expertise”, 2) “developing ourselves as nursing researchers”, 3) “a learning ecosystem that expands horizons”, 4) “leadership and engagement”.

Conclusion: The results reflect the good experience of participants and reveal the alignment of the pedagogical structure with the CoP theory.