Call for papers
Our Call for Papers invites higher education researchers, practitioners, and postgraduate students to reflect on the theme: Future Ready Higher Education
Universities are known for their cutting-edge research. How can that ethos be harnessed to enhance their educational offer, pedagogical approaches, technological innovation and approach to academic life? Future Ready Higher Education invites researchers, practitioners, and professionals across the sector to explore visionary and imaginative futures for universities.
This conference seeks to explore the multiple imaginaries of higher education looking ahead: how universities might evolve, what values could and should guide any changes, and how those who work (and study?) within it can help to shape what the future looks like so that it benefits them. It will provide the opportunity to share insights on developing cultures of lifelong learning; embracing and critiquing the role of digital technologies in teaching and research (including AI); and different conceptions of innovation and entrepreneurship for staff and students. Questions arise around the opportunities for and the impact of mobility of staff and students, principles of sustainability, and the future knowledge, skills and attributes needed by and expected of students. Fascinating research opportunities emerge through making connections between data sources, harnessing and integrating generative AI productively and responsibly, developing partnerships across disciplines and introducing methodological innovation.
Through critical, creative, and research-informed dialogue, this conference aims to move beyond reaction to technological and political trends to authentic change, to a more proactive envisioning. What questions need to be asked now to enable students, researchers, teachers and universities to create a future higher education they want to inhabit and which benefits everyone? The conference calls on participants to share research, theory, and practice that sees higher education as an ongoing space of creativity, inclusion, and purpose. By reflecting on what it means to be “future-ready,” we seek to collectively shape what higher education can become.
The SRHE conference aims to advance the understanding of higher education, support and disseminate research and practice, and provide a platform for the perspectives and knowledge offered by systematic research and scholarship. With an international membership which spans a broad range of the humanities and social sciences, the SRHE community includes researchers, students, policymakers, educational developers, professional services staff, and others with an interest in higher education. The SRHE conference acts as a space for broad-ranging knowledge exchange, exploration of productive pathways for collaboration, and dissemination of ideas in a variety of formats, across a range of research domains. In line with this, conference submissions that do not directly address the conference theme are also eligible for inclusion, and will be considered in full by staff and reviewers.
Abstract Submission
Deadline for submissions is Friday 15th May 2026 (23:59 GMT+1)
The Oxford Abstracts submission portal will be available via the SRHE website very soon.
Please read all the information below before submitting an abstract:
- You must submit your abstract before the deadline; any requests for late submissions will not be considered.
- You must submit an abstract AND a paper.
- The abstract word limit is 150 words, and the paper word limit is 750 words.
- Please do not submit the same paper more than once or in more than one format.
- Co-authored papers are welcomed. Ensure you use the relevant tick-box on the submission form to indicate whether a co-author intends to co-present the paper or is a non-presenting co-author. A co-authored paper/abstract should be submitted by only one of the authors.
- Only the individual submitting the paper will receive notification regarding accepted papers.
- Speakers are asked to indicate their mode of presentation (online OR in-person) at the point of submission. If online presentation is selected, the presentation will be scheduled for the online conference on Friday 27th November 2026. If in-person presentation is chosen, the paper will be timetabled for the in-person conference which will take place from 1st to 3rd Dec 2026 at the East Midlands Conference Centre in Nottingham, UK.
- Speakers are, like all delegates, welcome to attend the online day, the in-person days, or both. Please note that attending both formats will require two bookings.
- We are unable to accommodate timing requests. If a paper is submitted and accepted for the online conference, the submission will be scheduled on Friday 27th November 2026. If a paper is submitted and accepted for the in-person conference, this will be timetabled any day between Tuesday 1st and Thursday 3rd Dec 2026.
- Make sure to proofread your submission; you can edit your submission details at any time prior to the closing date for submissions.
- You must acknowledge the use of Gen AI in the ‘Declaration’ section when you have used it to assist you with conference submission. The submitter is fully responsible for the accuracy of any information and correctly referencing any citations. You must ensure that application of AI-based tools does not lead to plagiarise, misrepresent or falsify content, or infringe third party rights.
- Please do not use ALL CAPITALS in the title of your paper; capitalise only the first letters of words in the title.
- Ensure that you have completed your submission form by 15 May 2026, any incomplete forms or late submissions will not be considered.
Papers are invited for presentation under one of 10 broad research domains. This aids the organisation of a thematically coherent programme. Although many papers have the potential to fall under a number of domains, we ask that authors indicate their first preference. The research domains are:
- Academic practice, Work, Careers, and Cultures (AP)
- Digital University and New Learning Technologies (DU)
- Employability, Enterprise, and Graduate Careers (EE)
- Higher Education Policy (HEP)
- International Contexts and Perspectives (ICP)
- Learning, Teaching, and Assessment (LTA)
- Management, Leadership, Governance, and Quality (MLGQ)
- Postgraduate Scholarship and Practice (PGSP)
- Student Access and Experience (SAE)
- Technical, Professional and Vocational Higher Education (TPV)
All submissions are subject to rigorous peer review and the selection of papers for presentation is based solely on quality. There is no strict requirement for submissions to directly address the conference theme. Empirical and scholarly research from a wide range of perspectives is welcome.
All submissions will be judged by the following criteria:
- Originality of the question(s) addressed
- Effective use and clear explanation of research methodology
- Clarity of the research aims and objectives and outcomes
- The extent to which the work is rooted in the relevant literature
- Significance of the research and the (potential) contribution to what is known about the area researched
- The quality of the any data presented, and the reliability and significance of the conclusions
- The quality of the argument/evidence presented, whether derived from empirical work or scholarly analysis of literature/evidence
Presentation Formats
You are invited to contribute to the conference in a variety of ways; the same paper must not be submitted in more than one of these formats:
Research papers may be:
- Papers which are advanced or complete, and where research findings/analysis can be fully reported.
- Work in progress empirical/data-based studies. The work can be newly underway, and presenters may focus on theory, methodology, and conceptual framework rather than reporting on preliminary/final findings and analysis.
Authors are required to submit:
- A 150-word abstract which will be made available online via the conference website.
- A maximum 750-word paper which will be available to download via the conference website. The submission form has a separate field for references and figures, which are not included in the word limit.
- Individual Papers will be grouped into coherent sessions of up to three papers in a 90-minute slot. These sessions will have the discussion at the end of each presentation. Individual presenters will be allocated 20 minutes for their paper followed by 10 minutes for Q&A; this will be led by an assigned chair.
Submission guidelines and directions to the submission portal
Symposia provide the opportunity to present 3-4 related research papers on a single theme (please note that a symposium submission with less than 3 or more than 4 papers will not be accepted). Each symposium will be programmed into a 90-minute slots. An individual proposing a symposium (the symposium convenor) will be responsible for:
- Providing the title and description of the session
- Ensuring the symposium has an overall clear focus and each paper therein is clearly related to the overall focus/theme of the symposium but also offer distinct perspectives.
- Inviting colleagues to contribute their papers.
- Communicating with the symposium contributing presenters and approving their papers before these are submitted.
- Ensuring that that symposium include a minimum of 3 papers and no more than 4 papers.
A Symposium proposal submission must include:
- A 400-word rationale for the symposium
- The names of the symposium chair
- If applicable, the name(s) of the discussant(s)
- The names and details of all contributing presenters
Once the Symposium proposal has been submitted, invited contributors will receive an e-mail from Oxford Abstracts prompting them to submit a paper and attach it to your symposium.
To Contribute a Paper to a Symposium
Only those invited by a Symposium Convenor can submit a contribution to a symposium. You will receive an e-mail from Oxford Abstracts prompting you to submit your paper and abstract once your Symposium Convenor has completed their symposium proposal.
Your paper will be individually reviewed for its own contribution and how it relates to the symposium rationale. A symposium will not be accepted unless all papers are rated to a high standard during peer review.
Contributing authors are required to submit:
- A 150-word abstract which will be available online via the conference website.
- A maximum 750-word paper which will be available to download via the conference website. The submission form has a separate field for references and figures, which are not included in the word limit.
Submission guidelines and directions to the submission portal
Please note that poster submissions will only be available for presentation at the in-person conference. All accepted posters will be entered into the SRHE annual poster competition.
Poster authors are required to submit:
- A 150-word abstract which will be available online via the conference website.
- A maximum 400-word outline (excluding references and figures) of the poster’s research question, key ideas, methodology/techniques, and where applicable, preliminary, or final results/conclusions.
- You are not required to submit your finalised poster at this stage. If accepted, you will receive guidelines on producing your physical poster in advance of the conference.
Submission Guidelines and directions to the submission portal