Selection criteria for 2024 conference proposals
Please read the guidelines below then submit your proposal here.
The review panel will expect your proposal to show how your session:
- Includes up-to-date content that shares research and/or practical experience in the field of learning development;
- Highlights initiatives that illustrate best practice and address challenges in the field of learning development;
- Supports the development of new materials, resources, and approaches to learning development;
- Is likely to elicit a good level of interest;
- Is complete, accurate, and clear;
- Has clearly defined take-aways for participants.
Please see our Proposal Writing Guidance for an example proposal with title and additional details on how to structure your abstract.
Choosing a session type
You may choose to submit a proposal for a:
- 60-minute workshop
- 20-minute paper presentation
- 5-minute lightning talk
- Poster
- Resource showcase
- Practitioner mini-keynote
- Wild Card
(some text has been adapted from SEDA guidelines)
60-minute interactive workshops
250-300 word abstract + session plan
Interactive workshops can be used to showcase interactive activities you have designed to support learning development. You can use the following questions to help you determine if a workshop is the right session type for you:
- Is your topic comprehensive enough to fill a 60 minute session?
- Are there enough opportunities for active involvement of participants?
- How will you make it interactive and engage participants?
Think about what the objective is and make sure your abstract shows how you are going to achieve it.
Workshops should provide participants with a tangible take-away of information; this doesn’t have to be paper based, it can be an idea, an inspiration, or an action point.
*You must include a reference list for any citations in your proposal abstract. The reference list is not counted in the word count.
20-minute paper presentation
250-300 word abstract
A paper presentation can be used to present the findings of some research that you have been working on. Many people engaged in research take the opportunity of presenting papers at a conference as a preliminary to getting a full piece of work published, but that isn’t always the case. If you are not engaged in research activity, you can use the paper presentation format to report on interesting examples of practice or developments in service provision.
The review panel will want to know what is important about your presentation topic and why delegates will be interested. The ALDinHE conference has a strong practice orientation so reviewers and delegates will want to know the value of your findings and these can be used to inform practice.
Please note, the paper presentation slots are 20 minutes presentation plus 5 minutes Q&A/discussion.
*You must include a reference list for any citations in your proposal abstract. The reference list is not counted in the word count.
5-minute lightning talk
250-300 word abstract
These are quick short presentations delivered in a Pecha Kucha style. This style of conference session has been introduced in recent years and has proven very popular. Presentations have to be delivered within a five minute time period, with questions and discussion taking place after all the presenters have finished.
If you are interested in presenting a short lightning talk at the conference, the abstract should make it clear that your topic can be delivered in such a clear and concise way.
*You must include a reference list for any citations in your proposal abstract. The reference list is not counted in the word count.
Practitioner mini-keynote
150-200 word outline plus 3 prompt questions
We invite you to submit a mini keynote proposal for any project or area of interest that relates to any of the three conference themes, regardless of the stage of the project or area of interest, from initial stages (including thinking about a topic!) to work that is ready for publication / has been published.
Mini keynotes will take place during the Tuesday morning plenary and will run in a ‘speed dating’ style. At the start of the session, you will pitch your context (1 minute), along with all the other mini-keynote speakers, and lead an open conversation (20 minutes) based on your prompts for a small group. After 20 minutes the groups will change and you will repeat the discussion. There will be 3 iterations in total.
*You must include a reference list for any citations in your outline. The reference list is not counted in the word count.
Poster
250-300 word abstract
If you haven’t created a poster before (experienced colleagues are very welcome too), this is an ideal opportunity to submit a poster proposal. The possibilities are wide open and we would like to see poster proposals that show:
- Particular aspects of your work – solo or team – that you are especially enthusiastic about and want to share;
- Projects or initiatives where you would like to share ideas and get feedback;
- Research, including accounts of research in progress;
- Presentations about themes or concepts that you are exploring;
- Student development or staff development, in the context of student learning development;
- Student perspectives, including posters by students about their experience of student learning development;
- Any aspect of your work where you are keen to share ideas and build links with colleagues at other universities or colleges.
Posters are presented digitally and hosted on the conference website for delegates to view and discuss throughout the conference.
*You must include a reference list for any citations in your proposal abstract. The reference list is not counted in the word count.
Resource showcase
250-300 word abstract
This session is an informal opportunity for practitioners to share Learning Development resources. You are invited to bring a favourite resource you have discovered or created yourself. You will briefly introduce your resource and outline how you use it and why it is particularly effective.
*You must include a reference list for any citations in your proposal abstract. The reference list is not counted in the word count.
Wild card
250-300 word abstract
We invite you to be creative and imaginative and submit a proposal with a difference. We particularly welcome proposals which make effective use of campus space.
*You must include a reference list for any citations in your proposal abstract. The reference list is not counted in the word count.
Please address any queries to admin@aldinhe.ac.uk.