Higher Education Research and Development Society of Australasia
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* HERDSA Blog Post: Belonging to your University Discipline Tribe
* TATAL Webinar 2026
* HERDSA PRESIDENT/PRESIDENT ELECT NOMINATIONS
* HERDSA SoTL SIG -- Next Friday! -- Designing SOTL research for impact
* 2026 AAUT & HERDSA National Webinar Series: Indigenous Knowledges in Action: Transforming Higher Education from the Ground Up
* CRADLE Seminar Series: 'Preparing graduates for an AI-evolving world (of work)'
* Shaping The Future Of Teaching: In Conversation Professor Barney Glover, Interim Chief Commissioner, ATEC
* AAEE2026 Call for Paper Abstracts and Workshop EOI
* CRADLE Seminar Series: ‘Is it time to move beyond grades?’
* 2026 round of CAULLT grants now open
* New articles in Higher Education Research and Development
To submit an announcement for this list complete the online form at http://herdsa.org.au/herdsa-notices
A full list of HERDSA Notices is online at http://www.herdsa.org.au/latest-news
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HERDSA Blog Post: Belonging to your University Discipline Tribe
Patsie Polly & Cristan Herbert, 11 March 2026
Patsie & Cristan encourage us to revive discipline tribes to strengthen student belonging and success.
Read more: https://herdsa.org.au/herdsa-connect/belonging-your-university-disciplin...
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TATAL Webinar 2026
Thursday 12th March 2026 12-1pm (Australian Eastern Standard Time).
Would you like to learn about what the HERDSA Teaching about Teaching and Learning (TATAL) is about? Are you interested in joining the supportive and nurturing TATAL community? Would you like to see what TATALes are up to? Join us for an exciting online event where you meet HERDSA executives and fellow TATALers, and have a taste of TATAL activities.
Date: Thursday 12th March 2026
Time: 12-1pm (Australian Eastern Standard Time).
Location: Online
Join from PC, Mac, Linux, iOS or Android: https://jcu.zoom.us/j/87876519861?pwd=5pnvfq2QpJOLGBFKlb5OEBb1hZyG4B.1
Password: 350198
For more info please email Mei via mei.li1@jcu.edu.au
Looking forward to seeing many of you there!
Further information: https://jcu.zoom.us/j/87876519861?pwd=5pnvfq2QpJOLGBFKlb5OEBb1hZyG4B.1 Password: 350198
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HERDSA PRESIDENT/PRESIDENT ELECT NOMINATIONS
20th March 2026
Nominations for the position of HERDSA President are now open. The position of HERDSA President requires a three year commitment. For the first year, beginning at the 2026 conference in July, the successful candidate serves as President-elect. This one-year position enables the full induction of the incoming president into the current practices and systems of the Society before the full role of President is assumed at the conclusion of the 2027 conference in July.
The President of HERDSA is an important voluntary role which has major responsibility for governance of the Society and effective leadership of the Executive Committee. The role includes strategic guidance of the various Executive portfolios (Secretariat, Publications, Professional Learning, Networks, Communications, Memberships), chairing of Executive meetings and oversight of the various society activities. The President represents HERDSA at international and national forums and liaises with senior leaders. The nurturing of collaborative alliances with government authorities and other higher education societies forms a further part of the role.
HERDSA is seeking an individual who has a strong association with the Society, experience in leadership and effective communication skills. An understanding of higher education and its development is an advantage. Sponsorship from the candidate’s institution is recommended, as the position requires considerable time commitment and requires a dedicated leader who takes strong responsibility for the role. Potential candidates are welcome to speak with the current President Professor Christy Collis. (office@herdsa.org.au)
The nominee, proposer and seconder must be HERDSA members.
If more than one nomination is received, an election will be held.
The current President Professor Christy Collis is eligible to serve another term as President.
The Nomination Form can be requested from HERDSA by emailing office@herdsa.org.au.
Nominations should be in the following format.
• Name, Email and signature of Nominee
• Name, Email and signature of Proposer
• Name, Email and signature of Seconder
The nominee should also provide a single page statement outlining:
• Name, role and institutional affiliation
• Short biography (100 words maximum)
• Personal statement
Please forward to office@herdsa.org.au by 20th March, 2026
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HERDSA SoTL SIG -- Next Friday! -- Designing SOTL research for impact
Friday, 20 March 2026 - 12–1pm AEDT (NSW/VIC); 11am–12pm AEST (QLD time)
This SIG will introduce a conceptual framework to guide you in designing sustainable, collaborative SOTL research for your teaching. It includes interactive elements that will support you in identifying opportunities to embed a scholarly approach to your teaching practice. It also provides templates and guidelines for planning data collection over time to ensure a strong evidence base of impact on students' learning and engagement resulting from innovation or quality improvements in curriculum design and delivery.
Presenter: Dr Jo-Anne Kelder
Register here: https://unisq.zoom.us/meeting/register/LCd16NSwTD2N9ecfXKWzOg
*Register for one or all our SIGs this year!*
Join our LinkedIn group: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/14343410/
Further information: Contact the SoTL SIG at herdsa.sotl.sig@gmail.com
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2026 AAUT & HERDSA National Webinar Series: Indigenous Knowledges in Action: Transforming Higher Education from the Ground Up
Thursday, 26 March 2026, 1pm – 2pm AEDT
The 2026 AAUT & HERDSA National Webinar Series launches with a panel discussion exploring Indigenous Knowledges in action within higher education. The series celebrates and amplifies the outstanding contributions of the 2024 Australian Awards for University Teaching (AAUT) recipients, providing a national platform for award-winning educators to share their innovative teaching practices, insights, and impact.
Chaired by Prof Corrinne Sullivan (Western Sydney University, 2017 AAUT Citation recipient), the panel features A/Prof Jessica Russ-Smith (Australian Catholic University – 2024 Citation), Dr Cat Gutsy (Charles Darwin University – 2024 Citation), and A/Prof Benjamin Wilson (University of Technology Sydney – 2022 Teaching Award).
Panelists will discuss how educators move beyond simply including Indigenous content to meaningfully embedding Indigenous Knowledges in curriculum, pedagogy, and institutional practice. The discussion will include examples from teaching and program design, reflections on respectful engagement with Indigenous communities and Knowledge Holders, and considerations of the roles and responsibilities of academics in supporting institutional transformation.
This 1-hour lunchtime webinar will feature a 45-minute interview-style panel discussion followed by a 15-minute live audience Q&A. The session forms the first in a five-part national webinar series designed to foster dialogue, share practice, and strengthen collaboration around teaching excellence across the Australian higher education sector.
Date: Thursday, 26 March 2026
Time: 1pm – 2pm AEDT
Location: Online (Microsoft Teams)
Further information: Register: https://tinyurl.com/9ut2hx3t
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CRADLE Seminar Series: 'Preparing graduates for an AI-evolving world (of work)'
Wednesday 18 March - 2.00 pm - 3.30 pm (AEDT)
Register now for the next CRADLE seminar on 18 March. You'll hear from Deakin's Dr Danni Hamilton, A/Prof. Lauren Hansen and Prof. Phillip Dawson as they share six curriculum-wide recommendations to prepare graduates for the AI-evolving world (of work).
AI is reshaping professional work, creating ethical, technical, and creative challenges that higher education must address or risk leaving graduates unprepared. Curricula need to go beyond safeguarding assessments to actively develop the capabilities students will need to succeed in the AI-evolving workplace. To address this challenge, six curriculum-wide recommendations are proposed. These recommendations respond pragmatically to sector and employer needs and offer a roadmap for curriculum transformation, ensuring higher education fulfils its core purpose while preparing graduates for an unknowable future world (of work).
To learn more about the recommendations and how they can help us prepare graduates for increasingly unknowable futures, join us at 2.00 pm (AEDT) in person at Deakin Downtown or online.
Further information: https://cradle-seminar-preparing-graduates-for-an-AI-evolving-world.even...
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Shaping The Future Of Teaching: In Conversation Professor Barney Glover, Interim Chief Commissioner, ATEC
Thursday, 19 March — 12pm - 1:30pm AEST
As the teaching-focused and education-focused community of academics grows across our tertiary sector—reaching a critical mass of expertise and dedication—we are seeing a long-due recognition of our central role in serving the public good. In many of our institutions, the acknowledgement of teaching as a core mission still feels like it is in competition with the prestige of research. There is an opportunity through the Australian Tertiary Education Commission (ATEC) to shift this culture. Join the conversation about ATEC with EF and TF academics from across Australia.
The Teaching and Education-Focused Academic (TEFA) Network was created to connect across institutions. Our next session is a special conversation with Professor Barney Glover AO —the interim Chief Commissioner of ATEC.
Registration is required: https://events.humanitix.com/tefa-atec
More on TEFA: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/14440884/
Further information: https://events.humanitix.com/tefa-atec
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AAEE2026 Call for Paper Abstracts and Workshop EOI
6 April 2026, 11:59 PM Anywhere on Earth
The 37th Australasian Association for Engineering Education Annual Conference (AAEE 2026) is now accepting abstract and workshop expression of interest submissions via the conference website. Held at UNSW Sydney, AAEE2026 brings together educators, researchers, students and industry partners to share evidence-based ideas and innovations that strengthen engineering education across Australasia and beyond.
The AAEE2026 theme, ‘Making the Impossible, Possible’ recognises the urgency of transformation in engineering education. It calls us to envision ambitious futures that might seem impossible, to think creatively and expansively, and to take the practical steps that bring those visions to life. It is about imagining new realities and equipping future engineers with skills and tools for a better future.
HERDSA members are invited to submit abstracts for a conference paper, with a particular emphasis on the following topics: Academic Development; Engineeering Accreditation; Artificial Intelligence; Assessment and Feedback; Course/Curriculum Design and Development; Education Technology and Digital Learning; Engineering Ethics; Equity, Diversity and Inclusion; Indigenous Knowledge; Industry Partnerships; Interdisciplinary Learning; Engineering in K-12 Education; Laboratories and Makerspaces Pedagogies; Pedagogical Innovation; Professional Practice; Problem/Project Based Learning; Social-Technical Integration; Student Mobility; Sustainability; Teamwork; Transitions to University; Work Integrated Learning and Wellbeing and Belonging.
Further information: For more information, please visit aaee2026.org or email aaee2026@unsw.edu.au
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CRADLE Seminar Series: ‘Is it time to move beyond grades?’
Wednesday 15 April – 2.00 - 3.30 pm (AEST)
Is it time to move beyond grades? Register for CRADLE's seminar on 15 April to find out! CRADLE's Dr Juuso Nieminen will critically discuss why higher education systems continue to use grades, despite plenty of evidence on how they don’t work, and whether we should now move on.
Despite widespread historical criticism, grades continue to be awarded in most universities while gradeless courses and programs remain at the margins. Although recent years have seen extensive attention to assessment redesign, grading policies have not undergone systemic change. Why do universities – harbingers of knowledge, truth and critical thinking – keep using grades? This presentation will argue that perhaps it is time to move beyond grades, proposing a post-critical approach to research and practice on grades that moves our attention from ‘what doesn’t work’ to understanding and shaping the work that grades do in education.
To hear more about why it might be time to move beyond grades, join us at 2.00 pm (AEST) in person at Deakin Downtown or online.
Further information: https://cradle-seminar-time-to-move-beyond-grades.eventbrite.com.au/?aff...
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2026 round of CAULLT grants now open
22/4/2026
The 2026 round of CAULLT grant applications is now open and will close on 22 April 2026. For detailed information and to access the application form, please refer to the Grants webpage https://www.caullt.edu.au/grants/.
If you have any questions regarding the application requirements and process, please contact us https://www.caullt.edu.au/contact-us/
Further information: https://www.caullt.edu.au/contact-us/
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New articles in Higher Education Research and Development
Strengthening responses to sexual and/or intimate partner violence against women international students: Australian stakeholder perspectives, Mandy Mckenzie, Ly Thi Tran, Helen Forbes-Mewett & Laura Tarzia, https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2026.2634269
What motivates academics to act as reviewers? Exploring Chinese academics’ motivations to review for international journals, Pengjuan Wang & Hugo Horta, https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2026.2627871
Finding their way: becoming a researcher in higher education studies, Flora Petrik, Franziska Lessky, Sabine Weiß, Larissa Bartok & Magdalena Fellner, https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2026.2634267
Managing academics vis-a-vis the university’s third mission: continuity and change in the literature, 2002-2022, Ricardo A. Ayala, Karol W. Leja & Teresa Carvalho, https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2026.2627876
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In the spirit of reconciliation HERDSA acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australasia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their Elders past, present and emerging.