For all competition law enthusiasts – we encourage you to mark your calendars for:
4th Early Career Scholars Conference
“Competition Law as a Guiding Discipline for Digital Economy”
12-13 November 2026
(Registration will open in early September)
The economic and technological developments of recent decades increasingly require multi-disciplinary assessment to support well-functioning markets and deliver societal benefits. Competition law can guide such a multi-disciplinary assessment by performing three distinct functions. First, it can act as a “signpost at the crossroads” by identifying market segments that require regulatory intervention. Next, where markets require multi-disciplinary solutions, it can complement other areas of law by providing an avenue for circumstance-tailored interventions. Finally, it can protect both market competition and related non-competition interests where additional regulation is considered counterproductive to beneficial market outcomes.
4th international conference – “Competition Law as a Guiding Discipline for Digital Economy” – explores the three functions listed above from the ECR perspective. Our speakers will address a wide variety of issues, including (but not limited to):
- utilisation of competition law to safeguard media independence and corporate sustainability;
- reimagination of enforcement to support competition in digital, AI and hybrid ecosystems;
- deployment of competition law to enhance regulatory sandbox design and operation;
- utilisation of unconventional tools (such as IP mapping) in ‘classic’ competition assessment.
We invite all interested parties to mark their calendars for the conference, which will take place on November 12-13 at the Centre for Regulation of the Creative Economy (CREATe), University of Glasgow.
A brief synopsis of the conference:
- An introductory keynote speech by Spencer Weber Waller (Loyola University Chicago) on the evening preceding the conference (November 11)
- Presentation of 10 academic papers from both the UK and international Early Career Researchers on various aspects of competition law as a guiding discipline for digital economies
- A practitioner panel about the relationship between competition law and AI
- A closing keynote speech by Viktoria Robertson (WU Vienna, the Competition Law Hub)
Additional Information:
The registration for the conference will open in early September. For those who would like to receive a reminder and the registration link, please email ECR-CLC-2026@glasgow.ac.uk
The registration will be free of charge. However, places are limited, and we operate the system on a “first come, first served” basis.
If you have any general inquiries about the conference registration, travel to Glasgow to attend the conference, or any related issues, please contact us via ECR-CLC-2026@glasgow.ac.uk
Organising Committee:
Liana Japaridze, CREATe/University of Glasgow
Eva Fisher, University College London
Lena Hornkohl, University of Vienna
We look forward to seeing you in Glasgow!
