SEDA Spring Conference 2025

Home > Events > SEDA Spring Conference 2025

Empowering Voices: Innovations in Student Engagement for Higher Education Success

15 May 2025 - 16 May 2025
Location: Liverpool John Moores University


Empowering Voices: Innovations in Student Engagement for Higher Education Success
15th & 16th May 2025 | Hosted by Liverpool John Moores University

The SEDA Spring Conference 2025 will focus on “Empowering Voices: Innovations in Student Engagement for Higher Education Success.” The event will bring together educators, practitioners and researchers to explore innovative strategies and best practices in enhancing student engagement as institutions, organisations and individuals strive to create inclusive and supportive environments that empower all students.

The conference is being hosted by Liverpool John Moores University and will take place over 15th & 16th May:
Thursday 15th May: Full day and evening reception
Friday 16th May: Half day

THE CALL FOR PROPOSALS IS NOW CLOSED

Empowering Voices: Innovations in Student Engagement for Higher Education Success
15th & 16th May 2025 | Hosted by Liverpool John Moores University

Call for Proposals

SEDA is delighted to announce the call for proposals for the upcoming conference, “Empowering Voices: Innovations in Student Engagement for Higher Education Success.” This conference aims to bring together educators, practitioners and researchers to explore innovative strategies and best practices in enhancing student engagement as institutions, organisations and individuals strive to create inclusive and supportive environments that empower all students. We welcome proposals that address the following areas:

• Innovative Engagement Strategies: fostering active participation and belonging among diverse student populations.
• Technology in Student Engagement: enhancing student interaction, communication, and community building through using digital tools and platforms.
• Collaborative Learning Experiences: models and practices that promote peer-to-peer learning and collaborative projects among students.
• Supporting Underrepresented Groups: Enhancing engagement and success of marginalised student populations.
• Assessment and Evaluation: Measuring the impact of student engagement initiatives on retention, achievement, and overall success.
• Students as partners, students as leaders: Empowering students to take active roles in their education and campus life, including advocacy for their peers.
We particularly encourage proposals in which student participants form part of the presenting team.

We invite proposals in any of the following formats:
• Interactive Workshops (45 or 60 minutes): Active involvement of delegates in exploring a related theme through group discussions, case studies, or practical exercises.
• Practice Papers (15 minutes): These presentations should focus on practical experiences, successful initiatives, or innovative practices that have proven effective in addressing educational challenges.
• Research Papers (20 minutes): These presentations should contribute new insights and findings in educational research, providing evidence-based approaches connected with the conference theme.
• Lightning Talks (10 minutes): These concise presentations offer an opportunity to share thoughts, ideas, or projects in a brief and engaging manner, encouraging dynamic discussions and networking.

Submission Guidelines:

  • Proposals should be submitted here via MS Forms
  • Please ensure that you specify the preferred presentation format (practice paper, research paper, or lightning talk) in your submission.
  • Submissions must be in English.

Important Dates and Deadlines:

  • Proposal Submission: No later than noon on Monday 3rd March
  • Notification of Acceptance: by 24th March
  • Final Presentation submission: by 5th May

We look forward to receiving your proposals and welcoming you to this in person conference which promises to enrich our understanding of the new challenges in educational development.

THE CALL FOR PROPOSALS IS NOW CLOSED

Day 1: Keynote Small things that make a big difference in embedding a culture of student agency, partnership, and voice, Tansy Jessop, PVC Education and Students at the University of Bristol

This talk will outline strategies that create the conditions for student agency to thrive in universities. It will draw on evidence from the sector-leading research project on programme approaches to assessment (TESTA) and on broader approaches to embedding co-creation and partnership to support student agency in universities. Informed by theories of alienation and engagement, I will share practical ideas that enable students to exercise their agency, play to their strengths, develop a sense of ownership, and surprisingly, have more fun. By shifting our focus to more authentic and relational educational practices, I will argue that we can empower students to succeed in ways that equip them with skills and knowledge for increasingly uncertain and challenging futures.  

Biography

Tansy Jessop is PVC Education and Students at the University of Bristol, where she has led a programme of curriculum enhancement to re-imagine the design of programmes and assessment. Her experience of leading  ‘Transforming the Experience of Students through Assessment’ (TESTA) is the inspiration for her recent book which offers fresh perspectives about the relationship between assessment and feedback and students’ experience of alienation, agency, and engagement.  Tansy worked at the universities of Solent and Winchester before joining Bristol.

UoB – Management Team

Venue
The conference will be held in Liverpool, hosted by Liverpool John Moores University.

Conference Tickets
Tickets are available on the SEDA Eventbrite page.

SEDA members: Whole conference (inc eve reception)£230.00
SEDA members: Day one only (Thursday)£145.00
SEDA members: Day two only (Friday half day)£90.00
Non SEDA members: Whole conference (inc eve reception)£260.00
Non SEDA members: Day one only (Thursday)£170.00
Non SEDA members: Day two only (Friday half day)£110.00
Evening reception on Day one (Thursday)£35.00
Students: Whole conference (inc eve reception)£210.00
Students: Day one only (Thursday)£125.00
Students: Day two only (Friday half day)£70.00

Please note accommodation is not included and a list of hotels can be found below.

Hotels
The venue is very close to Liverpool Lime Street Train Station and there are several hotels nearby including:
Holiday Inn Liverpool City Centre
Delta Hotels by Marriott Liverpool City Centre
Radisson Red Liverpool
Premier Inn Liverpool City Centre (Lime Street)
Liverpool Central Travelodge

View conference PowerPoint presentations: DAY 1 & DAY 2

Download PDF Version of Programme
PROGRAMME DAY ONE – THURSDAY 15th MAY
09:15 – 09:45Registration and tea and coffee
09:45 – 10:00    


10:00 – 11:00		Welcome, Prof Phil Vickerman, Pro Vice Chancellor for Student Experience, Liverpool John Moores University followed by
Keynote:  Small things that make a big difference in embedding a culture of student agency, partnership, and voice, Prof Tansy Jessop, PVC Education and Students at the University of Bristol
11.00 – 11.25Tea and coffee
11.25Practice Papers (15 minutes each paper)
 Practice Papers 1Practice Papers 2Practice Papers 3
11.25Supporting Positive Outcomes for Contextual Offer Students – Early Intervention, Lynda Jones, University of South WalesIt’s not magic but it can be useful!  Annette Naudin & Meera Darji, Birmingham City UniversityMaking Pedagogies, Dr Chris Mitchell, Royal College of Art
11.40Empowering students to partner with academic developers: The Student Learning Consultants Programme at the University of Chester, Prof Ruth Healey, University of ChesterActively engaging students: A staff-student partnership project at the University of Glasgow to create an academic development resource for active learning, Vicki Dale, University of GlasgowReady Steady Collaborate, an alternative approach to traditional classroom based learning, Wendy Johnston & Sally-Ann Starkey, Liverpool John Moores University
11.55Showcasing the Student Success Programme, Amy Blanchard & Gabriella McGrogan, Teesside UniversityEmpowering Students with Transparent Communication: The ‘Trigger Point Pathway’ Approach, Hannah Wakefield, De Montfort UniversityStudents as Research Partners for the Co-Creation of Peer Learning Resources, Maria King, University of Leeds  
12.10Co-Creating Theories of Change with Students Using ChangeBusters Framework, Jasmin   Burnage, Christine Khalil & Yi Fen Tan, University of East LondonEvaluating the Effectiveness of Analytic Rubrics in Enhancing Self-Regulation and Collaborative Skills among Postgraduate Design Students in a Hybrid Learning Environment, Dr Dilusha Rajapakse, Royal College of ArtsA Manifesto for a Compassionate Curriculum,  Phil Carey, Liz Clifford, Wendy Johnston, Phil Rothwell, Liverpool John Moores University & Wendy Garner, University of Chester
12.25Institutional Approaches to Addressing the Awarding Gaps: Reflections from De Monfort University, Hardeep Basra, De Montfort UniversityEvaluating the impact of technology innovation in enhancing collaborative group work and student group engagement to build community among a diverse student population, Oyetola Emmanuel-Ebikake, University of HertfordshireEmpowering Students through Meaningful Partnerships: Co-Designing Curriculum, Co-Teaching, and Embedding Employability, Dr Marloes Spreeuw, University of Westminster
12.40QuestionsQuestionsQuestions
12.55Lunch
13:45Parallel Sessions – various
13:45Workshop 4 (60 mins)Workshop 5 (45 mins)Research Papers (20 mins)
 Digital Maturity Conversations for Digital Development, Alison Purvis, Sheffield Hallam UniversityHow can we empower students and increase engagement in peer mentoring schemes?  Elizabeth, Freeman Sheffield Hallam UniversityEmpowering multilingual potential: Drawing on multilingual repertoires to support learning in higher education, Dr Melike Bulut Albaba, Sheffield Hallam University
Student-staff partnerships, academic development, and the influence of AI on student-staff relations, Prof Mick Healey, Healey HE Consultants and University of Gloucestershire
14:45

15:00		Tea & Coffee, followed by

Lightning Talks (10 mins)
15:00COIL – a practical case study in learning internationally- enhancing transferable skills, Prof Patricia Perlman-Dee, University of Manchester
15:10Transformative or Transactional? Student Behaviour in STEM subjects, Darryl Morgan & Shane Galvin, University of South Wales
15.20Staff as an under-represented group: Second career academics marginalised in academia, Chloe Courtenay, Canterbury Christ Church University
15.30Building a learning community on a PGCAP to model enhancing engagement and belonging, Dr Kate Richardson & Victoria Taylor, University of Leeds
15.40How to facilitate effective collaborative projects … first, step into your students’ shoes, Victoria Taylor, University of Leeds
15.50Enhancing student engagement in group work through a digital group review tool, Noeleen O’Keeffe, Dublin City University
16:00Closing comments
16:10Workshop 7 (60 mins)
The rapidly changing face of Higher Education Sally Brown, Independent consultant, Emerita Professor Leeds Beckett,
17.10Day One Close
17.30            Drinks and canape reception
PROGRAMME DAY TWO – FRIDAY 16th MAY
09.00Coffee and registration
09:30Workshop 1 (60 mins)Workshop 2 (60 mins)Workshop 3 (60 mins)
 Engaging through online debates: Kialo as a branching software for arguments, Jessica Hancock, University of LondonCollaborative, power sharing micro-communities for teaching, learning and empowerment in Higher Education, Sally-Ann Starkey & Wendy Johnston, Liverpool John Moores UniversityTurning AI Challenges into Learning Opportunities: Empowering Students to Use GenAI Effectively, Critically, and Ethically, Tadhg Blommerde & Chaturrya Krishnamurthy, Northumbria Univeristy
10:30Tea and coffee
10:50Research Papers 1 (3 x 20 mins)Research Papers 2 (3 x 20 mins)
10.55 – 11.15Student partnership impact awards, Gemma Mansi, University of Greenwich & Jo Peat, University of RoehamptonStudent Transitions: an innovative research approach to working with students on transition experiences, Fiona Hartley & Amy Palmer, University of Bristol
11.15 – 11.35I wish I’d known then what I know now’ the use of participatory action research and photovoice to evaluate students experiences of peer mentoring over the lifecycle, Emma Ball, Liverpool John Moores UniversityIntroducing and Developing Familiarity with Viva Voce Assessment in Higher Education, Fabio Arico, University of East Anglia
11.35 – 11.55The Impact of Belonging on Educational Gain: an empirical investigation across dimensions of equality, diversity and inclusion, Ritchie Woodard, University of East Anglia‘[T]here were actually some individuals speaking within those groups […] who have never, ever put their hand up in class before’: Unpacking NTU’s Team-Based Learning pilot project. Anita Love & William Carey, Nottingham Trent University
12:00Closing Workshop (60 mins) Student Success Snakes and Ladders, Lucy Panesar, University of KentClosing workshop (60 mins) Belonging at University: To what and to whom?  Eddie Corr, Maynooth University
13.00Summary and Conference close

A member of the International Consortium for Educational Development