HERDSA Notices 22 April 2026

* HERDSA Connect: Beyond the List: Reimagining Graduate Attributes for Dynamic Futures
* HERDSA Community: HERDSA Queensland Professional Development & Networking Day,
* HERDSA Assessment SIG Event on Students as Partners in Co-Designing Assessments
* Join us for the second HERDSA Academic Development SIG meetup of 2026!
* Voting for HERDSA PRESIDENT/PRESIDENT ELECT closes this Friday at 5.00pm AEST
* SoTL for career-building: An online kōrero for education-focussed academics in Aotearoa New Zealand
* ASRHE Developmental Writing Workshops May 22
* Call for Proposals - Cognitive Offloading or Effective Practice? Exploring the Future of Learning with GenAI Symposium
* Design For Learning Symposium
* CRADLE Seminar Series: ‘Entangled intelligence? Distributed cognition, AI agents, and assessment validity’
* CRADLE Seminar Series: ‘Voice-First Written Assessment: Evidence, access, and ecological authenticity’
* Invitation to participate in doctoral career development learning research — HASS PhD supervisor & HDR staff survey
* Implementing Interactive Oral Assessments - Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for Subject Coordinators
* 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 Connect: Beyond the List: Reimagining Graduate Attributes for Dynamic Futures
Rowena Ulbrick, 22 April 2026

Rowena explores how many universities are now reimagining graduate attributes and the importance of the capabilities students require.

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HERDSA Community: HERDSA Queensland Professional Development & Networking Day
Queensland Branch | 20 March

HERDSA Queensland's annual Professional Development & Networking Day opened with a keynote by Professor Kelly Matthews set a thoughtful tone by inviting participants to reconsider scholarship beyond outputs, as relational, evolving, and grounded in practice. It was followed by diverse program of roundtables, showcases, and workshops highlighted current priorities and challenges in the sector. Sessions explored academic identity, translanguaging pedagogies, integrity in the context of generative AI, and student experiences of learning, placement, and assessment. Equity and inclusion were key themes, with a number of contributions focusing on intersectionality, neurodiversity, and first-year student success.

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HERDSA Assessment SIG Event on Students as Partners in Co-Designing Assessments
22/04/2026

Dear HERDSA Assessment SIG members,

A reminder about tomorrow's session (12:00-1:00 pm AEST) on co-designing assessments with students led by Thomas Wanner. Here's the link and QR Code: https://lnkd.in/gDyzBrQg The link includes Padlet as well - please do fill in any questions, comments or experiences on co-design that you'd like to share.

Further information: https://lnkd.in/gDyzBrQg

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Join us for the second HERDSA Academic Development SIG meetup of 2026!
12.00pm (AEST) Friday, 24th April, 2026

Our first 2026 event brought together academic developers from across the sector for networking and connecting, and we're back for more. The February session led to practical sharing of resources and ideas, proof that these meetups are worth your time! Whether you joined us last time or this is your first, come along for meaningful conversations with people who understand the work you do.

Format
We'll kick off with two "research bites", short, sharp 3–5-minute presentations on recent papers to get the conversation flowing:

AI chatbots and self-regulated learning. What does a systematic review of 78 studies tell us about how AI chatbots shape student learning? Can they empower students to become more autonomous learners, or do they risk undermining that goal, and what does this mean for how we design and support learning experiences?
What makes for good peer review of teaching? Research reveals indicators for a quality peer review (observation) of teaching program. The top 10 factors will be revealed!

From there, we'll move into breakout rooms where the real magic happens: meeting colleagues, sharing what's working (and what isn't), and exploring ideas together, whether sparked by the papers or by your own questions.

Why attend?
Academic development can be isolating work. Connecting with peers who get it helps us all to gain new perspectives, feel supported, and open doors to collaboration. Whether you're after inspiration, practical ideas, or simply good conversation, please join us.

This SIG is open to everyone, regardless of HERDSA membership, so please share this invitation widely.

Further information: olga.kozar@mq.edu.au or k.shoecraft@griffith.edu.au

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Voting for HERDSA PRESIDENT/PRESIDENT ELECT closes this Friday at 5.00pm AEST
Closes 24 April 2026

Voting for the next HERDSA President/President Elect will close at 5.00pm AEST on 24 April 2026.

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, or the current President when already holding that position. From July 2027 the nominee elected as President for 2027-2029 has two years as President before another election is required. The maximum a President can serve is 6 years.

All HERDSA members are encouraged to vote.

You must log into the HERDSA web site and be a current HERDSA member to be eligible to vote.

Vote online at https://herdsa.org.au/president-elect-election-2026

Please email the Returning Officer at office@herdsa.org.au if you have any questions about voting.

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SoTL for career-building: An online kōrero for education-focussed academics in Aotearoa New Zealand
2 May 1pm

This online workshop invites teaching-focused academics to pool their concerns, experiences and advice to explore how scholarship in teaching and learning can be fostered, demonstrated and embedded within transparent career pathways.

https://auckland.zoom.us/j/99949875429

Although this session is targeting teaching-focussed academics, anybody interested is welcome to attend. Please feel free to share with your networks.

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ASRHE Developmental Writing Workshops May 22
May 22 and at HERDSA Conference

Have you been accepted to present at HERDSA or another Higher Education Learning and Teaching Conference?
We encourage you to work in developing your presentation into a research paper.

ASRHE (Advancing Scholarship and Research in Higher Education), HERDSA’s developmental journal is hosting a series of developmental activities to support authors of the HERDSA Conference showcases, roundtables, and Poster Lightening Talks to develop their presentations into full papers to submit to ASRHE and other outlets.

In preparation, we are hosting a webinar in May, and this will be followed up with one-on-one sessions with the authors and ASRHE editors around the conference. We will guide you from concept to full written draft that you can refine and submit post-conference! This is an ideal opportunity for time-poor HE authors who need some guidance and a ‘bootcamp’ structure.
Initial webinar/workshop Title: Translating your abstract into a research paper: A Hands-On Workshop
May 22, 2026, 11AM-1:00PM (AEST)

Further information: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/r/23mswLHfQB

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Call for Proposals - Cognitive Offloading or Effective Practice? Exploring the Future of Learning with GenAI Symposium
Submissions close Monday 27 April 2026

As generative AI tools become embedded in everyday academic practice, they are reshaping how students learn, communicate, problem-solve and think. This Symposium will explore the implications of cognitive offloading for higher education. We invite proposals for the presentation of research aligned with Symposium theme, including studies of higher education policy and management, teaching, learning and assessment, student experience and outcomes, and equity and inclusion. More information is available on the Symposium webpage.

Further information: https://go.unimelb.edu.au/4id2

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Design For Learning Symposium
Friday 1 May 2026

This Symposium showcases how design-led approaches can address the complex pedagogical challenges confronting higher education in an era of rapid global change.

Join us for the keynote by Professor Sue Bennett, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic), La Trobe University, on how design-oriented approaches to teaching can respond to the critical challenges facing higher education in the age of generative AI; an expert discussion panel with Associate Professors Marian Mahat, Mark Merolli, Margaret Osborne, and Kate Tregloan from the University of Melbourne; and a series of presentations exploring evidence informed learning design, transformative and transferable learning approaches, and more. The full program for the Design for Learning Symposium is now available on the Symposium webpage. Register now!

Further information: https://melbourne-cshe.unimelb.edu.au/events/symposia-on-higher-educatio...

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CRADLE Seminar Series: ‘Entangled intelligence? Distributed cognition, AI agents, and assessment validity’
Wednesday 13 May - 2.00 pm - 3.30 pm (AEST)

Is generative AI fundamentally restructuring how students think? And what might this mean for assessment? Register now for CRADLE’s seminar on 13 May to hear more from UQ’s Professor Jason Lodge on distributed cognition, AI agents, and assessment validity.

The proliferation of generative AI has sparked a crisis of inference in higher education. However, current responses often rely on an outdated ‘internalist’ model of learning that views cognition as occurring strictly within the individual mind. This seminar argues that the emergence of sophisticated AI agents necessitates a shift toward a distributed cognition framework and explores how students’ thinking infrastructure is being fundamentally restructured. Moving beyond the ‘AI as Oracle’ paradigm to consider ‘AI as Agentic Partner’, the session will examine the implications for assessment and challenge participants to consider the hard question of assessment: how do we generate valid evidence of learning when the process of learning has itself been transformed?

To learn more about the entangled nature of distributed cognition, generative AI and assessment, join us at 2.00 pm (AEST) in person at Deakin Downtown or online.

Further information: https://cradle-seminar-entangled-intelligence-cognition-ai-assessment.ev...

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CRADLE Seminar Series: ‘Voice-First Written Assessment: Evidence, access, and ecological authenticity’
Tuesday 26 May - 10.30 am to 12.00 pm (AEST)

If AI allows students to generate fluent prose independently of ideational labour, how can educators assess their students' disciplinary reasoning? Register now for CRADLE's seminar on 26 May to hear the University of Oxford's Kelly Webb-Davies outline Voice-First Written Assessment, a two-stage model developed as a response to this evidentiary crisis.

Even before generative AI, requiring performance in prestige academic prose risked distorting or suppressing students’ best thinking and, as a result, undermining valid inference about disciplinary reasoning. Now that fluent prose can be generated using AI, the already unstable link between polished prose and the thinking it was assumed to represent has been entirely severed. Detector-led and disclosure-based responses cannot repair this evidentiary chain. Voice-First Written Assessment is a two-stage assessment model that reconfigures where and how evidence of students’ reasoning is secured and interpreted. The seminar will present the evidentiary logic and operational design of the model alongside implementation examples and an overview of planned pilot applications.

To learn more about Voice-First Written Assessment and its potential applications, join us at the special time of 10.30 am (AEST) in person at Deakin Downtown or online.

Further information: https://cradle-seminar-voice-first-written-assessment.eventbrite.com.au/...

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Invitation to participate in doctoral career development learning research — HASS PhD supervisor & HDR staff survey

I am writing to invite eligible members of your network to participate in a research study examining career development learning (CDL) within humanities, arts, and social sciences (HASS) doctoral programs in Australia.

This study forms part of my PhD research at James Cook University and focuses on how institutions approach CDL — including its structure, timing, prioritisation, and the mechanisms used to evaluate its effectiveness. The perspectives of doctoral supervisors and HDR professional staff are central to part 1 of this research, as are HASS PhD candidates (except first-year candidates) and recent graduates of PhD programs at eligible universities

Eligibility:
Staff survey - PhD supervisors and HDR staff (researcher developers, academics, graduate research centres, centre managers, administrators, and careers staff who work with HASS doctoral students all welcome to participate), who are currently employed at one of the following institutions: the University of Queensland, the University of Melbourne, Queensland University of Technology, Deakin University, James Cook University, or La Trobe University.

Student survey – with the exception of first year PhD candidates, all HASS PhD candidates and recent graduates of HASS PhD programs who study/studied at the six eligible universities are eligible to participate.
Time required: Approximately 15 minutes.
Platform: Qualtrics. Full participant information is embedded within each survey link.

Staff survey link: https://jcu.syd1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_7ZHWEPDa4Z5Fk7I

PhD student / alumni survey link: https://jcu.syd1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_eaCCW2Gy8Q71SIK

This study has received JCU ethics approval. Participation is voluntary and anonymous.

Further information: Karen Cavu karen.cavu@my.jcu.edu.au

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Implementing Interactive Oral Assessments - Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for Subject Coordinators

Read this guide for detailed practical guidance for subject coordinators considering the use of interactive oral assessments (IOAs). It addresses common questions related to marking, feedback, scheduling, bookings, workload, preparation, access, equity, and academic integrity.

Further information: https://go.unimelb.edu.au/uue2

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New articles in Higher Education Research and Development

From feedback to Emojis: doctoral supervision and doctoral students’ well-being in Chinese doctoral education, Hang Chen, https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2026.2655396

Meaningful conversations and connections: reflections on first-year teaching and learning events in Australia, Zala Volcic, Andrew Junor, Carmen Sapsed & Josephine Hook, https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2026.2658823

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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.

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