University of Manchester Teaching and Learning Conference 2026: call for papers

26 Jan 2026

The fourth University of Manchester Teaching and Learning Conference will take place on Wednesday, 8 and Thursday, 9 July 2026. This will be a two-day, flexible, free internal conference focusing on teaching and learning.

We invite submissions from all students and staff across the University around the following themes:

Research Informed Teaching and Learning
Teaching and Learning as Innovation
Social Justice in Teaching and Learning

Submissions are invited from individuals or teams and should be proposed in any of the following formats:

Wicked Problem Sets – 1 hour sessions in which the speaker(s) introduce an issue/big question linked to the themes of the conference with a brief presentation, before the participants act as an action learning set, joining in a roundtable discussion on the topic and putting together a summary of thoughts and recommendations at the end.
Standard paper presentations – paper presentation on a specific topic, 15 minutes in length with 5 minutes for questions.
Poster presentations – Posters will be exhibited during the conference and presenters will be asked to give a short spoken presentation on their poster. Posters will also be made available via an online gallery after the conference.
Lightning talks – up to 5 minutes, max 20 slides submitted. These should be short, snappy papers which present the essence of an activity, initiative, a pedagogic passion, or about something that went really well or something that didn’t work out in your teaching and learning.

Submissions should be submitted using this online form where you will be asked:

To outline who is participating (name of presenters, whether presenters include students, email address of lead contact, and the part of the University you are based in)
Which conference theme your paper predominantly addresses
Which format your presentation will be in
The title of your submission
To provide an approx 250 words (maximum 1,500 characters) which will be anonymously assessed by the paper committee in which abstracts should include:
a) A consideration of effective practice around inclusion, accessibility and equity
b) An explanation of how the submission is collaborative with students or shows an awareness of impact on students
c) An explanation of how the submission meets the selected conference theme/s
d) An explanation of how the submission might have wider resonances beyond the conference (e.g. how it might impact policy or practice sector-wide, how it might spark innovation or connections in your field, how it speaks to UN Sustainable Development Goals)
Whether you wish to opt out of your submission being recorded
Your availability for the two days of the conference.

Submit your proposal by the deadline of Friday, 27 February at 5pm.

We will be running a workshop on how to write your abstract through the Institute of Teaching & Learning Open Workshop Programme on Thursday, 12 February 2026, 11-12pm. Please see our events page for more information.

View examples of accepted abstracts from last year’s conference.

If you have questions about the formats, or are new to academic conferences and would like any guidance or support in advance of your submission, please contact the organisers via teaching.learning@manchester.ac.uk.

Submissions will be assessed by a paper committee comprising students and staff from across the University. Speakers will be informed of the paper committee’s decision and asked to register for the conference by Friday, 24 April.