SEDA Spring Conference 2026

Collaborative futures – sustainable, equitable and compassionate educational change

21 May 2026 - 22 May 2026

Location: Liverpool John Moores University

Event Details
Call for Proposals
Keynote Speaker
Venue, Price & Booking
Programme

Collaborative futures – sustainable, equitable and compassionate educational change
21^st & 22^nd May 2026 | Hosted by Liverpool John Moores University

The international higher education sector continues to navigate profound shifts in policy, practice and purpose. Collaboration within and across institutions, disciplines and communities is increasingly recognised as central to building sustainable futures. With growing emphasis from government and sector bodies on collaboration as a driver of financial sustainability and innovation, universities are being challenged to reimagine how they lead, partner and adapt.

The conference is being hosted by Liverpool John Moores University and will take place over 21st & 22nd May:
Thursday 21st May: Full day and evening reception
Friday 22nd May: Half day

THE CALL FOR PROPOSALS IS NOW CLOSED

Collaborative futures – sustainable, equitable and compassionate educational change
21^st & 22^nd May 2026 | Hosted by Liverpool John Moores University

Call for Proposals

SEDA is delighted to invite colleagues from across the sector – academics, educational developers, professional services staff, students, leaders and policy-makers – to explore how collaborative leadership and partnership working can be harnessed to create resilient, compassionate and future-focused institutions. The conference will provide a space to explore how a focus on collaboration, equity and compassion might underpin new models of education, enabling institutions to thrive in challenging times.

We are particularly interested in contributions that address the following themes:

Collaborative transformation: collaborative and sustainable models for curriculum design, staff-student partnership working, research, scholarship and pedagogic innovation or that re-imagine the ways in which collaborative transformation can be achieved.
Compassionate collaborations: examples of empathy, wellbeing and resilience as essential dimensions of leading educational change.
Equitable futures: collaborative strategies to eliminate inequities, promote inclusive practice and enhance student belonging as well as staff well-being.
Collaborative leadership: cross-institutional, cross-sector (e.g. tertiary) and global collaborations that expand educational reach and impact for a sustainable future.
Staff development in the context of academic collaboration: exploring strategies for professional growth and capacity building among colleagues at partner institutions, fostering shared learning and sustainable partnerships.

Submission Guidelines

Submission here https://forms.office.com/e/XNPA1Mmexk
Deadline for Abstracts: 12noon 26^th January 2026
Notification of Acceptance: week commencing 9^th February 2026
Conference Dates: 21^st and 22^nd May 2026
Please ensure that you specify the preferred presentation format (interactive workshop, practice paper, research paper, or lightning talk) in your submission.
Submissions must be in English.

Presentation Formats

Research Papers (20 minutes): These presentations should contribute new insights and findings in educational research, providing evidence-based approaches connected with the conference theme.
Practice Papers (15 minutes): These presentations should focus on practical experiences, successful initiatives, or innovative practices that have proven effective in addressing educational challenges.
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.
Interactive Workshops (45 or 60 minutes): Active involvement of delegates in exploring a related theme through group discussions, case studies, or practical exercises.

We look forward to receiving your proposals and to engaging in discussions on how we might collaborate to realise a more sustainable, equitable and compassionate future for higher education.

Day 1 Keynote: Compassion in higher education: Unrealistic ambition or achievable goal for active hope and sustainable scholarship? Dr Kathryn Waddington, University of Westminster

Session Summary: We are witnessing a ‘compassion turn’ in higher education, but is this an academic fashion and flavour of the month fad? Or does it forecast the future for people who really care about learning and care about the planet? The keynote will draw upon principles of active hope to show how compassion and coaching lead the way sustainable futures in higher education.

Session Outline: The keynote will weave a narrative of scholarship, creativity, care and compassion, based around SEDA’s value of practising in ways that are scholarly, professional and ethical. It will outline a framework of active hope based on practice, intention, values, and action as a blueprint for the compassionate university of the future. Practical coaching tools and techniques from narrative, and climate-conscious coaching are included to reinforce the transformative potential of coaching in higher education.

Biography: Dr Kathryn Waddington is an Emerita Fellow in Psychology at the University of Westminster and Chartered Coaching Psychologist with wide-ranging higher education experience as a researcher and leader. She has published widely in the field of organisational compassion, and creation of compassionate cultures and practices in higher education. Her other area of research and scholarship is gossip, which is now emerging as an important constituent component of organisational communication and knowledge. Kathryn values practice-first approaches to research and relational scholarship, and cares deeply about promoting and developing coaching as a learning and development approach and mindset.

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

Conference Tickets
Tickets are available on the SEDA Humanitix 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)	£25.00
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 approx. a 10-15 min walk from 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

*Download a PDF Version of Programme* PROGRAMME DAY ONE – THURSDAY 21^st MAY
08:45- 09:30	Collect passes & register: Ground Floor Exchange Station, Tithebarn St, Liverpool, L2 2QP Welcome tea and coffee: 4^th Floor, City Square, 40 Tithebarn St, Liverpool L2 2BW
09:30 – 09.45	Welcome, Prof Phil Vickerman, Pro Vice Chancellor for Student Experience, Liverpool John Moores University, Room 4.05, 4^th Floor, followed by
09.45 – 10.45	Keynote: Compassion in higher education: Unrealistic ambition or achievable goal for active hope and sustainable scholarship? Dr Kathryn Waddington, University of Westminster
10.45 – 11.10	Tea and coffee, 4.Z12, 4^th Floor, City Square Building
11.10	Practice Papers (15 minutes each paper and 5 minutes questions)
	Practice Papers 1 Room 4.09, 4^th Floor	Practice Papers 2 Room 4.04, 4^th Floor
11.10	*Feedback emPower Tools: An inclusive approach to developing feedback literacy* Naomi Winstone, University of Surrey	*Co-creating institutional guidance for inclusive curriculum design, through compassionate collaboration with staff and students* Dr Anna Hunter FSEDA, The University of Law
11.30	*An academic development community of practice using transformative pedagogies for Education for Sustainable Development* Vicki Dale, University of Glasgow	*Collaborative Outreach for Equitable and Sustainable Futures: Engaging Primary School Learners through Science, Sustainability and Creative Storytelling* Elvia Sciullo, Kingston University
11.50	*From Workshop to Worldwide: Making mandatory assessment training equitable through digital asynchronous design* Chloe Courtenay, Canterbury Christ Church University	*A Decade of Student Partnership: The History, Impact, and Future of UCL ChangeMakers – One of the Largest & Longest-Running Student Partnership Initiatives in the UK* Ashley Storer-Smith, UCL
12.10		*Embedding the student voice into academic development programmes at Manchester Metropolitan University: Engaging in, and advocating for, staff-student partnerships.* Craig Morley & Nicola Grayson, Manchester Metropolitan University
12.30	Lunch, 4.Z12, 4^th Floor, City Square Building
13:30	Workshops 3 x 45 minutes
13:30	Workshop 1 (45 mins) Room 4.09, 4^th Floor	Workshop 2 (45 mins) Room 4.04, 4^th Floor	Workshop 3 (45 mins) Room 4.02, 4^th Floor
13.30 – 14.15	*Are you being (ob)served? Reframing the Peer Review Scheme at the University of Plymouth.* Dr Helen Bowstead, University of Plymouth		*Building Sustainable and Equitable Collaborative Assessment Practices in Higher Education* Prof Muhammad Wakil Shahzad, Northumbria University
14.20 – 15.20	Workshop 4 (60 mins) Room 4.09, 4^th Floor	Workshop 5 (60 mins) Room 4.04, 4^th Floor	Workshop 6 (60 mins) Room 4.02, 4^th Floor
14:20 – 15.20	*Collaborative Leadership for Whole-Institution Curriculum Redesign: Lessons from the University of Chester* Dr Claire Stocks & Dr. Katharine Welsh, University of Chester	*Educational Leaders as Brokers of Change* Dr Cathy Minett-Smith, University of the West of England	*Language Matters: Understanding and Addressing International Students’ Perceptions of Academic Language Challenges* Alison Breen, Galina Gabriel & Natallia Novikava, Northumbria University (London Campus)
15.20	Tea and coffee, 4.Z12, 4^th Floor, City Square Building
15:40	Lightning Talks (10 mins each) Room 4.05, 4^th Floor
15.40	*Fostering Pedagogic Research Engagement: A Journey from Local Initiatives to International Partnership* Vienne Lin, Chinese University of Hong Kong & Dr. Mark Warnes, Anglia Ruskin University
15.50	*“Stacking Success: Micro Credentials for Collaborative Staff Development”* Helen Boulton, Nottingham Trent University
16.00	*Beyond Institutional Boundaries: Collaborative Partnership Models for GenAI Critical Literacy* Sue Beckingham, Sheffield Hallam University
16.10	*Assembling Affirmative Ethics through Compassionate Assessment* Vikki Hill, Queen Margaret University
16.20	*The ‘PGCAP Conversations’ – Working together for a fairer future for all* Victoria Taylor & Dr Kate Richardson, University of Leeds
16.30 – 16.40	Questions and Closing comments
16.40 – 16.55	Day One Panel: Conference summary and Takeaways, Room 4.05, 4^th Floor
17.30	Drinks and canape reception, 4.Z12, 4^th Floor, City Square Building

PROGRAMME DAY TWO – FRIDAY 22^nd MAY
09.00	Coffee and registration, 4.Z12, 4^th Floor, City Square Building (Collect passes if 1^st Day: Ground Floor Exchange Station, Tithebarn St, Liverpool, L2 2QP)
09:30	Workshop 1 (60 mins) Room 4.09, 4^th Floor	Workshop 2 (60 mins) Room 4.04, 4^th Floor		Workshop 3 (60 mins) Room 4.02, 4^th Floor
	*Leading With Compassion in Digital Change: Supporting Staff Through AI‑Related Anxiety and Uncertainty* Alison Purvis, Sheffield Hallam University	*‘We’re not hard to reach, we’re right here’…’Working with underrepresented students to build inclusive and effective student-staff partnerships.* Libby Johnstone, University of Leeds		*Class-Conscious Practice: Centring voice, visibility and care in higher education* Stacey Mottershaw, Rachael O’Connor and Nadine Cavigioli, University of Leeds
10:35	Research Papers 1 (20 mins and 5 mins questions) Room 4.09, 4^th Floor	Research Papers 2 (20 mins and 5 mins questions) Room 4.04, 4^th Floor		Practice Papers 1 (15 minutes each paper and 5 minutes questions) Room 4.02, 4^th Floor
10.35 – 11.00	*Designing for variability: teaching practices that support students with mental health challenges* Dr Elizabeth FitzGerald, The Open University	*Mobilising Staff Expertise: A collaborative model for Access and Participation through BRIDGE,* Andy Doyle & Casey Beaumont, Liverpool John Moores University		*Co-Designing an Active Curriculum for Future Skills* Dr Aybige Yilmaz, Kingston University
11.00 – 11.25	*Listening to Learn: How Student-Led Conversations Reveal the Hidden Costs of Group Work for Marginalised Students* Dr Jim Turner & Lauren Bundu, Liverpool John Moores University	*AI in Academia’: An audit of educational developers’ use of, and attitude towards, Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) in Higher and Further Education* Dr Rehan Shah, Queen Mary University of London		Institutional transformation through the co-creation of a university education framework Lisa O’Regan and Dr Tazila Ramputh, Centre for Teaching and Learning – Maynooth University
11.25 – 11.50	*Collaborative Transformation through Scripting: Reimagining Dialogic Education for Inclusive, Sustainable Partnership* Jen Hayes & Magdalena Olchawska, London Metropolitan University	*More than Tech Support: The Teaching Experiences of Technicians* Dr Helen Hooper & Dr Nathan Pellow, Northumbria University		*Amplifying Education Innovation Through Distributed Leadership: The Innovation Scholar Scheme* Mâir Bull, Manchester Metropolitan University
11:50	Tea and coffee, 4.Z12, 4^th Floor, City Square Building
12:10	Closing Workshop 1 (60 mins) Room 4.09, 4^th Floor		Closing workshop 2 (60 mins) Room 4.04, 4^th Floor
12:10	Closing Workshop (60 mins) *Blueprints for Better Learning: A collaborative approach to beyond blended curriculum design* Sheila MacNeill, Jisc		Closing workshop (60 mins) *Student Development Pathway: A collaborative approach to supporting holistic student development through curriculum integration* Cameron Graham, Edinburgh Napier University
13.10 – 13.30	Panel: Conference summary and Takeaways, Room 4.05, 4^th Floor Conference close