HERDSA Notices 17 June 2026

* HERDSA Connect: Students are asking for AI guidance, not just policy: a comprehensive, practical framework for AI-enabled assessment
* HERDSA Community: HERDSA Hong Kong Branch Dinner Dialogue 29 May 2026
* HERDSA SoTL SIG -- This Friday! -- Enhancing academic staff capability to develop and deliver Indigenous content and perspective
* 2026 TERNZ Conference: Call for abstracts and registration
* Registration is now open for the 2026 New Zealand AI in Higher Education Symposium
* CRADLE Seminar Series: ‘Are you afraid of the doubt? Educator uncertainty in fully online programs’
* Riding the rapids, finding the pools: how AUT is navigating the turbulent waters of AI and assessment design
* Uni Student Wellbeing Research Hub Webinar
* 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: Students are asking for AI guidance, not just policy: a comprehensive, practical framework for AI-enabled assessment
Mahmoud Elkhodr & Ergun Gide, 17 June 2026

Mahmoud & Ergun explore a structured framework (SAGE) to allow students to meaningfully use AI, while extending beyond the AI outputs.

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HERDSA Community: HERDSA Hong Kong Branch Dinner Dialogue 29 May 2026
Wikie Chan, 29 May 2026

The HERDSA Hong Kong Branch continued its long-standing Dinner Dialogue, welcoming colleagues from seven higher education institutions across Hong Kong. Attendees particularly enjoyed the casual and relaxed atmosphere, which stood out as a refreshing change from typical professional development events.This session featured Dr Katrina Tour from Monash University, who shared her current research at the intersection of AI literacy, bias, and digital multimodal composing. The dialogue following the presentation underscored the importance of equity-oriented approaches that support diverse learners while fostering critical engagement with AI. Overall, the evening was warmly received, with many expressing appreciation for the opportunity to connect in such an inclusive and engaging format.

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HERDSA SoTL SIG -- This Friday! -- Enhancing academic staff capability to develop and deliver Indigenous content and perspective
Friday, 19 June 2026 - 12–1pm AEST (NSW/VIC/QLD)

Our June SIG will explore "Enhancing academic staff capability to develop and deliver Indigenous content and perspectives in curriculum". Join us to learn more about teaching and embedding Indigenous perspectives in your work.

Academic staff are often hesitant to teach Indigenous content and embed Indigenous perspectives due to limited knowledge, uncertainty about how to approach the material, and concern about making mistakes. This interactive presentation introduces a series of practical teaching and learning strategies designed to build confidence and capability in delivering Indigenous content within discipline-specific contexts. The session also addresses strategies for managing classroom dynamics, setting respectful expectations, and recognising the cultural load experienced by Indigenous colleagues.

Through discussion and reflection activities, participants will consider how these strategies can be applied in their own teaching contexts and share experiences of engaging with Indigenous content and perspectives in curriculum. Drawing on a Scholarship of Learning and Teaching (SoTL) lens, the session frames this work as an ongoing process of reflective practice, evidence-informed curriculum design, and collaborative knowledge building.

Presenters: Marina Martiniello (Lower Southern Arrernte), Kym Allen (Wiradjuri) and Kath Attree
Facilitator: Trisha Poole (UniSQ)

Register here: https://unisq.zoom.us/meeting/register/LCd16NSwTD2N9ecfXKWzOg
*Register for one or all our SIGs this year!*

To stay connected, join our LinkedIn group:
https://www.linkedin.com/groups/14343410/

Further information: Contact the HERDSA SoTL SIG at herdsa.sotl.sig@gmail.com

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2026 TERNZ Conference: Call for abstracts and registration
25-27 November, University of Auckland

The 2026 TERNZ conference call for abstracts and registration are now open!

Visit the TERNZ conference website (https://herdsa.org.nz/ternz) for:
- TERNZ philosophy
- Abstract guidelines
- Abstract submission due: Jul 15, Aug 21 (two rounds)
- Registration (closes 01 November)
- Nomination information for the TERNZ Research Medal

Ngā manaakitanga,
The TERNZ Organising Subcommittee

Further information: https://herdsa.org.nz/ternz

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Riding the rapids, finding the pools: how AUT is navigating the turbulent waters of AI and assessment design
Friday, 26th June 1-2 PM NZT

Find out more about Auckland University of Technology's approach toward designing #AssessmentThatWorks in an AI-enabled world.
To join the session or the ATAIN (Aotearoa Tertiary AI Network) mailing list, please email atain@vuw.ac.nz

Further information: atain@vuw.ac.nz

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Registration is now open for the 2026 New Zealand AI in Higher Education Symposium
Early bird registration closes: 30 June 2026; Presenter and award submissions close: 2 August 2026; Symposium: 2 September 2026

AIHE Aotearoa brings together educators, researchers, technologists, and sector leaders shaping responsible, useful, and imaginative AI-enhanced education across Aotearoa. This year’s symposium explores AI in higher education through three lenses: practice, theory, and future.

Presenter submissions and the Agentic Innovation Awards are also open now.
The awards recognise practical, thoughtful, genuinely useful applications of AI in higher education.

Further information: https://aihe.nz/#symposium

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CRADLE Seminar Series: ‘Are you afraid of the doubt? Educator uncertainty in fully online programs’
Wednesday 15 July – 2.00 pm to 3.30 pm (AEST)

Can doubt ever be eliminated from education? Or does uncertainty have a valuable role to play in teaching - especially in online programs? Register now for CRADLE's seminar on 15 July to hear Curtin University's Professor Mollie Dollinger unpack what educator uncertainty means for fully online programs in an age of generative AI.

Many of the approaches adopted by higher education institutions in response to the challenges of generative AI are intended to offer educators a measure of certainty: that what we outline, mark, and credential rests on solid ground. Yet education cannot be undertaken without doubt and, while we can design for greater certainty and assurances, doubt is not a feeling we can avoid – and nor is it without value. To doubt is to be honest about the limitations of what we can teach, and what we can claim to know of students' learning. This is particularly relevant to fully online programs, which offer students crucial pathways to equitable access but are also where doubt runs sharpest. The real provocation for educators is not whether we can eliminate doubt from our teaching, but whether we are willing to confront it, to speak it, and to recognise where it has a place.

To hear more about what educator uncertainty might mean for fully online programs at a time of generative AI, join us for this special online-only seminar.

Further information: https://cradle-seminar-educator-uncertainty-online-programs.eventbrite.c...

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Uni Student Wellbeing Research Hub Webinar
Thursday 23 July, 4.00-5.15pm AEST

You are invited to attend the next Uni Student Wellbeing Research Hub webinar! This session will feature two presentations delivered by leading experts in Indigenous university students’ wellbeing and success:
- Centring Indigenous Student Wellbeing in Australian Universities | Dr Georgia Durmush (Senior Lecturer, School of Social Sciences, Western Sydney University)
- Wellbeing, Identity and Belonging: Rethinking Indigenous Student Success in Outreach Programs | Associate Professor Katelyn Barney (Office of the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Indigenous Engagement) and Director of Research, School of Music, The University of Queensland) and Dr Hayley Williams (Research Fellow, School of Psychology, The University of Queensland)

Further information: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/uni-student-wellbeing-research-hub-webinar-...

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New articles in Higher Education Research and Development

Learning, leadership, and legitimacy: evaluating the impacts of communities of practice on education focused academic roles, Collins Fleischner, Anna D. Rowe, Karin Watson, Leesa A. Sidhu & Felipe Balotin Pinto, https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2026.2681648

How to exercise agency in the ‘third space’? Exploring Chinese mainland students’ experiences at a Hong Kong institution’s branch campus, Xiaofan Zhang, Kun Dai & Runze Shang, https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2026.2681641

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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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