UK&I EERN Annual Symposium 2026

Building on the success of our previous events, colleagues are invited to submit abstracts for presentation on the Symposium theme of: Education vs Training: Redefining Engineering Formation for the Future. 

Engineering education is increasingly shaped by rapid skills demands; new tools, platforms, and immediate workforce readiness, alongside enduring educational purposes: professional judgement, ethical responsibility, societal impact, and lifelong capability. This symposium seeks research and practice that clarifies what should be educated versus trained, and how programmes can deliver both without narrowing engineering to short-term technical proficiency. 

Call for papers

Colleagues are asked to submit abstracts of up to 500 words (references not included in the wordcount). All abstracts will be independently and anonymously reviewed by two colleagues. Please cite the appropriate literature as necessary. Newer researchers & PhD Students are particularly welcome to submit a paper or poster.

We welcome contributions across (but not limited to) the following strands: engineering and society (sustainability, ethics, public value); AI and digital learning/assessment (integrity, trust, new baselines of practice); work-integrated and community-engaged learning; assessment and accreditation in a post-GenAI landscape; equity, belonging, and student success; open/online/hybrid engineering education; lifelong learning, micro-credentials, and university-industry ecosystems; and strengthening engineering education research methods and educator development.We encourage scholarship studies, theoretical and conceptual papers, case studies, design-based research, and reflective accounts that offer actionable insights for curriculum, pedagogy, assessment, and partnership.

Important dates

Abstract Submission Deadline: 6 February 2026

For all details see the symposium website.

Symposium strands

• Engineering and society (sustainability, ethics, public value, social responsibility)
• AI, digital tools, and learning/assessment (GenAI literacy, integrity, trust, human judgement)
• Work-integrated, industry-linked, and community-engaged learning (authentic projects, entrepreneurship, research/service learning)
• Assessment, standards, and accreditation in a post-GenAI landscape (capability, evidence, programme-level coherence)
• Equity, belonging, and student success (inclusive teaching, transitions, retention, engineering identity)
• Open, online, and hybrid engineering education (scalable pedagogy, labs/makerspaces, parity of experience)
• Lifelong learning and micro-credentials (CPD, reskilling/upskilling, stackable pathways, education–training continuum)
• Engineering educator development and engineering education research practice (methods, evaluation, ethics, translation to change)

Colleagues are asked to submit abstracts of up to 500 words (references not included in the word count). All abstracts will be independently and anonymously reviewed by two colleagues. Please cite the appropriate literature as necessary.

Newer researchers & PhD Students are particularly welcome to submit a paper or poster.

If you would like to act as a reviewer, or if you have any questions regarding publication etc., please contact Mo Zandi.

Types of submission

Please submit an abstract in one of the following categories:

• Research Paper/Poster: A 500-word abstract describing your research, including work-in-progress. We actively welcome research beyond discipline boundaries
• Concept Paper/Poster (conceptually and theoretically grounded papers which focus on one or more of the themes). A 500-word abstract should include a reflection of how engineering education research could be conducted in the area discussed.
• Practice Paper/Poster: Doing something innovative in the classroom? Found a new way of assessing? Send us a 500-word abstract to tell us about it.
• Workshop: Workshops of between 60-90 minutes are invited in any area you feel aligns with the EERN, including innovation in learning, teaching, management and design. Please submit a short (500-word) description of the proposed workshop to include timings, number of participants etc.
• Panel: Got an idea for a ‘Discussion Panel’?: Panel presentations of three or four papers are invited. Please submit a short (250-word) abstract for each paper plus an overall abstract. Cross-disciplinary, multi-institutional panels are particularly welcome. Each paper presented can be submitted individually for the conference proceedings.

Review and submission process

We intend to publish extended abstracts as the symposium proceedings before the conference. As a result, we will have a two-stage submission process. Abstracts will be submitted by 6th February 2026 with peer review decisions and feedback by 23rd February 2026. A second submission of extended abstracts (1,500-2,500 words, including tables and figures, but not references) for inclusion in the proceedings will follow for submission by 29th May 2026. The Symposium Proceedings will be given an ISBN and Creative Commons licence and disseminated via our website hosted by the Engineering Professors’ Council. We are also actively exploring additional publication formats and options.

Initial Abstract submissions will be via a Qualtrics Form which can be found here.