Submit an abstract

A Showcase of research, practice, leadership and policy submissions can be on any aspect of research and development in higher education. Showcase presentations will be evidence-based and not only outline the research, initiative or practice being showcased but, equally, provide clear evidence of its outcomes or its effectiveness. Quantitative and qualitative evidence of effectiveness are equally acceptable.

An abstract (maximum 300 words) must be submitted for review for showcase presentations. The abstract should be submitted as text and typed directly into the text box provided in the submission portal and NOT contain any information that might identify the author/s. The abstract must include the below headings (the bolded words only): 

• Focus of the Showcase (e.g. presentation of research outcomes, provision of a practical application related to research, industry focused perspective)
• Background/context, including relevant literature
• Description of the research, initiative or practice
• Method(s) of evaluative data collection and analysis
• Evidence of outcomes and effectiveness
• Contribution to scholarship and/or practice
• Engagement, identify how you plan to engage your audience. For example: the use of a reflective question or conversation prompt.

There will be a separate text box provided for references. All references (maximum 300 words) should be typed directly into this text box and follow the APA7 referencing guide. 

The abstract will be published in the conference program. If accepted for presentation, you may be asked to make edits to the abstract before it is published. Each showcase presentation will run for 25 minutes including a 5 minute Q&A session.

In addition to the abstract, you must submit a statement (maximum of 200 words) demonstrating the relevance of your topic to research and development in higher education.

Formatting guidelines

• Abstracts must be typed directly into the text box provided in the submission portal and not exceed 300 words
• Do not include the author names and affiliations in the abstract (these details will be captured during the online submission process)
• Do not include the abstract title in the abstract (this will be captured separately during the online submission process)
• All text should be entered in sentence case (do not type in CAPITAL LETTERS)
• Do not include any tables or images in the abstract
• APA7 referencing is required (guide) and must be typed directly into the text box provided and not exceed 300 words.

Review criteria 

Abstracts for Showcase presentations will be reviewed against the following criteria:

• Relevance
• Description of the research, initiative or practice
• Contribution to scholarship and/or practice
• Clarity and standard of writing
• Engagement: how you plan to engage your audience

Submissions for a Poster can be on any aspect of research and development in higher education. Posters will be evidence-based and make appropriate reference to the literature. A Poster allows participants with similar interests to interact by using the poster as a discussion point.

At this conference, all poster authors will be encouraged to provide both a hard-copy printed poster for onsite and a digital poster for the online portal.  

An onsite poster should consist of one single A0 size page in PORTRAIT format (poster must not exceed 841mm wide x 1189mm high).

A digital poster will consist of one slide (the poster) including a recorded presentation of up to three minutes, provided as a mp4 file. 

An abstract (maximum 300 words) must be submitted for review for poster presentations. The abstract should be submitted as text and typed directly into the text box provided in the submission portal and include the below headings (the bolded words only). 

• Aim
• Background/context, including relevant literature
• Description of the research, initiative or practice
• Method(s) of evaluative data collection and analysis
• Evidence of outcomes and effectiveness
• Contribution to scholarship and/or practice.

There will be a separate text box provided for references. All references (maximum 300 words) should be typed directly into this text box and follow the APA7 referencing guide. 

The abstract will be published in the conference program. If accepted for presentation, you may be asked to make edits to the abstract before it is published.

In addition to the abstract, you must submit a statement (maximum of 200 words) demonstrating the relevance of your topic to research and development in higher education.

Both onsite and digital posters will be available for viewing during a dedicated interactive poster session, where authors can discuss their poster with other delegates. Onsite poster presenters must be available to attend the onsite poster session on the afternoon of Tuesday 8 July 2025. 

Prizes will be awarded for the best poster in the digital format and the best poster in the printed onsite format as voted by conference delegates.

Formatting guidelines

• Abstracts must be typed directly into the text box provided in the submission portal and not exceed 300 words
• Do not include the author names and affiliations in the abstract (these details will be captured during the online submission process)
• Do not include the abstract title in the abstract (this will be captured separately during the online submission process)
• All text should be entered in sentence case (do not type in CAPITAL LETTERS)
• Do not include any tables or images in the abstract
• APA7 referencing is required (guide) and must be typed directly into the text box provided and not exceed 300 words.

Review criteria

Abstracts for Posters will be reviewed against the following criteria:

• Relevance
• Description of the research, initiative or practice
• Contribution to scholarship and/or practice
• Clarity and standard of writing

Submissions for a Roundtable discussion can be on any aspect of research and development in higher education. A Roundtable session is a dialogue focused on a particular topic. While the proposer of the topic hosts the roundtable session, each person has an equal right to participate in the dialogue. The proposed topic does not need to be based around any particular research; it may come from observation, the lived experience or society in general.

As the title suggests, the dialogue occurs in a small group (maximum of 10 participants), seated around a table at the conference venue. Your audience will be small but focused. Please note other roundtable discussions will be taking place simultaneously, which may result in a lot of noise due to the volume of conversations happening at once.

Each Roundtable discussion will run for 25 minutes. Roundtables do not require PowerPoint Presentations or projections.

At this conference, a Roundtable discussion can take one of three forms – Point for Debate, Work-in-Progress, or Birds of Feather.

The Point for Debate format is an opportunity for delegates to engage in a robust debate about an issue or challenge that the proposer has identified as worthy of further exploration. The discussion may lead to the identification of ways to expose the issue or challenge to a wider audience with a view to addressing the issue or challenge through new collaborations and/or research.

The Work-in-Progress format is an opportunity for the proposer to briefly share their work-in-progress, be it research, a new initiative or merely an idea and seek feedback and input on the work with the view of shaping, refining and progressing that work.

The Birds of a Feather format is designed to provide an opportunity for informal, but guided, dialogue about topics that are timely and important to the field of higher education. The dialogue is driven by the participants and is intended to promote meaningful interaction between participants to share ideas and strategies and to learn from each other.

An abstract (maximum 300 words) must be submitted for review for roundtable discussions. The abstract should be submitted as text and typed directly into the text box provided in the submission portal including the below headings (the bolded words only). 

• Format of the roundtable (ie Point for Debate or Work-in-Progress or Birds of a Feather)
• The point for debate or the focus of the work-in-progress or the topic for discussion
• Context/background to the proposed session
• Description of research/initiative or practice
• Intended outcome and contribution to scholarship/practice
• Engagement how you plan to engage your audience.

There will be a separate text box provided for references. All references (maximum 300 words) should be typed directly into this text box and follow the APA7 referencing guide. 

The abstract will be published in the conference program. If accepted for presentation, you may be asked to make edits to the abstract before it is published.

In addition to the abstract, you must submit a statement (maximum of 200 words) demonstrating the relevance of your topic to research and development in higher education.

Roundtable discussions will only be included in the on-site program.

Formatting guidelines

• Abstracts must be typed directly into the text box provided in the submission portal and not exceed 300 words
• Do not include the author names and affiliations in the abstract (these details will be captured during the online submission process)
• Do not include the abstract title in the abstract (this will be captured separately during the online submission process)
• All text should be entered in sentence case (do not type in CAPITAL LETTERS)
• Do not include any tables or images in the abstract
• APA7 referencing is required (guide) and must be typed directly into the text box provided and not exceed 300 words.

Review criteria

Abstracts for roundtable discussions will be reviewed against the following criteria:

• Relevance
• Potential to engage delegates in a rigorous discussion/debate
• Potential to advance our understanding of higher education
• Clarity and standard of writing