4th Early Career Scholars Conference in Competition Law: Competition Law as a Guiding Discipline for the Digital Economy, University of Glasgow (12-13 November 2026; Free Attendance)

The 4th Early Career Scholars Conference in Competition Law (also called the Young Competition Scholars Conference, or ECR Conference in Competition Law) will be held at the University of Glasgow on 12 and 13 November 2026, after earlier editions in Munich, Vienna and Florence. This year's theme is “Competition Law as a Guiding Discipline for the Digital Economy”.

The conference is organised by CREATe and the University of Glasgow School of Law, in partnership with the Faculty of Laws, University College London (UCL), and the Department of European, International and Comparative Law, University of Vienna. The Society of Legal Scholars (UK) also lists the event on its events calendar.

The conference looks at the wider roles competition law can play in shaping the digital space for the benefit of society. The organisers suggest that, as a guiding discipline, competition law can:

• act as a “signpost at the crossroads”, identifying market and ecosystem failures, or segments, that need regulatory intervention;
• complement other areas of law where digital challenges call for multidisciplinary solutions, offering interventions tailored to the circumstances;
• protect both market competition and related non-competition interests where other fields of law cannot reach, or where more regulation would harm market and societal outcomes.

Presentations cover competition law and the (digital) press and media sector, fair and inclusive digital marketplaces for creators and publishers, open and competitive markets and ecosystems in the age of AI, competition law in the design and running of regulatory sandboxes, conventional and non-conventional enforcement tools for digital markets, and competition law as a support for democracy in the digital space.

Day 1 (Thursday, 12 November 2026):

• 08:00 to 08:45: Registration and coffee; 08:45: Opening of the conference
• 09:00 to 10:30: Opening keynote by Professor Viktoria Robertson (The Competition Law Hub)
• 10:45 to 13:00: Panel I, Media, Publishers and Competition Law
• 14:30 to 16:00: Keynote panel on Competition Law and AI, with practitioners
• 16:15 to 17:45: Panel II, Digital and AI Markets

Day 2 (Friday, 13 November 2026):

• 08:00 to 08:45: Registration and coffee
• 08:45 to 11:00: Panel III, (Un)conventional Tools in Competition Law
• 11:15 to 12:45: Panel IV, Sustainability, Enforcement and Limits
• 12:45 to 13:00: Closing remarks, followed by a farewell lunch

All times are UK time. The full programme (PDF) can be downloaded from the conference page on the CREATe website.

The conference is open to students, early career researchers, academics and practitioners with an interest in (digital) competition law. It is designed mainly for early career researchers, but the organisers say it will interest anyone working on competition law who wants to explore interdisciplinary approaches to digital and AI markets. The registration page says “All are welcome!”, and it sets no nationality restriction.

This is an attend-only listing: the speakers and presenters have already been selected.

Attendance is free of charge, but you must register. The organisers do not mention travel, visa or accommodation support, so participants from outside the UK should plan to cover these themselves.

Register through the official booking page on Bookitbee (linked below). Places are limited, and the organisers ask participants to register as early as they can and no later than 1 November 2026.

Room 237BC (ground floor), Advanced Research Centre (ARC), University of Glasgow, 11 Chapel Lane, Glasgow G12 6EW, United Kingdom. The venue is on the University's Gilmorehill campus. Doors open at 8:30 AM on 12 November, according to the booking page.