Global Institute for Students as Partners - Global Institute for Students as Partners

Co-design through partnership

Shaping Relationship-Rich Higher Education in an AI World

Join a global community of students, educators, professional staff and leading scholars to explore how partnership can shape more inclusive, relationship-rich learning and teaching in an evolving AI world.

The 2027 Global Institute for Students as Partners is a unique opportunity to connect, share experiences, challenge assumptions and learn with and from one another. Through two concurrent pathways, the Institute brings together international expertise, collaborative learning and practical approaches to educational change.

Two pathways. One shared purpose.

Choose the experience that matches your interests and goals. Both streams come together for shared keynotes and opportunities to connect.

Pathway 1: Institute Conference

Explore · Exchange · Challenge

Explore the ideas, research and practices shaping student–staff partnership and relationship-rich education. Engage in thought-provoking keynotes, interactive workshops, research and practice presentations, panels and facilitated conversations, with opportunities to share experiences and build international connections.

Format: Three-day conference with in-person participation at the University of Wollongong and selected sessions available online.
Who it is for: Students, academics, professional staff and educational leaders, whether new to partnership or experienced in its practice and scholarship. Individuals and student–staff pairs are welcome.
What you will gain: Fresh perspectives, practical insights, meaningful connections and new possibilities for advancing partnership in your own context.

Pathway 2: Change Institute

Co-design · Plan · Act

Bring an institutional partnership initiative from idea to action. Working in teams of 4–6 students and staff, participants engage in three days of collaborative project development, guided by experienced international student and staff mentors.

Format: Three-day, in-person, facilitated program combining team-based activities, critical reflection, mentoring and action planning.
Who it is for: Institutional teams of 4–6 participants, including at least two students and two staff members, seeking to develop a strategic Students as Partners initiative for implementation at their university.
What you will gain: A shared vision, a more developed project and a practical pathway towards implementation, informed by expert mentoring and insights from other institutional teams.

Share your work or develop a new intitative

Applications for conference proposal and Change Institute teams will open soon!

Pre-Institute workshops

Optional workshops on Sunday 11 July offer additional opportunities to explore ideas and deepen practice.

International facilitation

Learn alongside experienced academics, practitioners and student partners from the international Students as Partners community

Community and celebration

Connect through keynotes, social activities, posters and the 10th anniversary celebration of the International Journal for Students as Partners.

The 2027 Global Institute for Students as Partners is proudly presented by:

Meet the international team

Learn with leading scholars, experienced facilitators and student partners. The broader student–staff facilitation team will be announced as arrangements are confirmed.

Professor Alison Cook-Sather

Bryn Mawr and Haverford Colleges

Alison Cook-Sather, Ph.D., is the Mary Katharine Woodworth Professor of Education at Bryn Mawr College and Director of the Teaching and Learning Institute at Bryn Mawr and Haverford Colleges in the United States. She has developed internationally recognized programs that position students and teachers as pedagogical partners, most notably Students as Learners and Teachers (SaLT), which has served as a model for numerous other institutions around the world.

Author or co-author of over 200 articles and book chapters and 12 books, including Pedagogical Partnerships: A How-To Guide for Faculty, Students, and Academic Developers in Higher Education and Co-Creating Equitable Teaching and Learning: Structuring Student Voice into Higher Education, Alison has spoken or consulted on pedagogical partnership work in 18 countries, served as a visiting scholar at a number of institutions, including University of Cambridge in England, and is a 2026-2027 Fulbright U.S. Scholar. Alison is founding editor of Teaching and Learning Together in Higher Education, founding co-editor of International Journal for Students as Partners, and the recipient of a number of awards, including the Alumni Excellence in Education Award from the Graduate School of Education at Stanford University.

Learn more about Alison's work
Professor Peter Felton

Center for Engaged Learning, and Elon University

Peter Felten is professor of history, executive director of the Center for Engaged Learning, and assistant provost for teaching and learning at Elon University, USA. He has published ten books about higher education, including Connections are Everything: A College Student’s Guide to Relationship-Rich Education (2023) and The SoTL Guide: (Re)Orienting the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (2025). Both of those co-authored books have an open-access online version free to all readers. His next book, Scaling Relationship-Rich Education: How Institutions Build Cultures Where Students Thrive, will be published in April 2027 by Johns Hopkins University Press, also open-access. He is on the advisory board of the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) and is a fellow of the Gardner Institute.

Find out more about Peter on LinkedIn
Emeritus Professor Mick Healey

University of Gloucestershire

Mick Healey is an HE Consultant and Researcher and Emeritus Professor at the University of Gloucestershire, UK. He is an experienced presenter. Since 1995 he has given over 600 educational presentations in more than 25 different countries. He has presented at two-thirds of Australian universities. He has written and edited over 250 papers, chapters, books, and guides on various aspects of learning and teaching in HE, and has over 19,000 citations. He is the inaugural Senior Editor of the International Journal for Students as Partners.

Mick's publications include: (2014) Engagement through partnership: Students as partners in learning and teaching in higher education. HE Academy (Healey, M., Flint, A. & Harrington, K.; over 2,000 Google Scholar citations); (2020) Writing about learning and teaching in higher education: Creating and contributing to scholarly conversations across a range of genres. Center for Engaged Learning Open-Access Books, Elon University (Healey M, Matthews K E, & Cook-Sather A; 404pp); (2025) The research-education nexus: Engaging students in research and inquiry. University of Westminster (70,000 words & 450 references). Each is available on open access. He co-founded ISaPI in 2016 and has co-led each of the subsequent Institutes.

Learn more about Mick's work
Associate Professor Alyce Mason

University of Wollongong

Bio to come.
Professor Kelly Matthews

Pro Vice-Chancellor (Teaching & Learning), University of Wollongong

Kelly Matthews is an internationally respected scholar whose research spans student voice and partnership, the scholarship of teaching and learning, and most recently students’ experiences of AI in higher education. She has authored more than 150 publications and is a frequently invited speaker with over 100 keynote and invited addresses.

Kelly is the Pro Vice-Chancellor, Teaching & Learning at the University of Wollongong. She has served as Vice-President of the International Society for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning and held editorial roles with Higher Education Research & Development, The International Journal of Chinese Education, and as founding editor of the International Journal for Students as Partners.

Her leadership has been recognised through Principal Fellowship of Advance HE, an Australian Learning and Teaching Fellowship, commissioned work for the Higher Education Standards Panel, and multiple teaching and leadership awards. Kelly holds a PhD in Higher Education, has worked across professional staff and academic roles in student support and teaching, and is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Her work is guided by a commitment to higher education as a public good and to building institutions where students and staff can thrive through trust, partnership, and shared purpose.

Key dates

Plan your participation

1 February 2027: Change Institute applications close
1 March 2027: Institute Conference proposals close
17 May 2027: Early bird registration closes
28 June 2027: Regular registration closes
11 July 2027: Pre-Institute day. Optional workshops and activities
12 - 14 July 2027: Institute program. Two concurrent pathways and shared events.

Conference venue

University of Wollongong

The University of Wollongong (UOW) is situated in the coastal city of Wollongong, just 80km south of Sydney.

Regarded as one of Australia's most beautiful university campuses, UOW Wollongong boasts a stunning location nestled amidst native Australian bushland and offers a vibrant and enriching learning environment.

About the campus

Getting to Wollongong Campus

Wollongong campus interactive map

Sunlit park scene featuring a curved wooden boardwalk beside a tranquil pond, surrounded by lush trees and tropical plants.