A New Agenda for Pathways Education and Research Colloquium 2023

Hosted by UniSQ College at the University of Southern Queensland, Australia, the inaugural A New Agenda for Pathways Education and Research Colloquium 2023 will be held as a hybrid event at UniSQ Springfield campus and online on Thursday 26 October 2023.

The University of Southern Queensland’s UniSQ College is issuing a Call for Papers for a one-day colloquium, A New Agenda for Pathways Education and Research Colloquium 2023.

We invite empirical, theoretical, conceptual, and methodological contributions that advance debates about non-traditional pathways into higher education or widening participation. We encourage genuine risk-taking and innovation; contributions can be exploratory in nature, and should involve novel ideas that move discussions beyond current arguments in this field. Submissions should therefore carve a way forward for non-incremental ground-breaking research in pathways education by challenging current praxis. 

Themes can include but are not limited to:

• Pathways to higher education
• Academic literacies
• Academic numeracy
• Carceral education
• Culturally and linguistically diverse teaching and learning
• Digital literacy
• Educational technology
• Enabling education
• EAL/ESL student learning
• English for Academic Purposes
• Equity, diversity, and inclusion
• National and international perspectives
• Innovative pathways pedagogies
• Online learning and pedagogy
• Student support
• Widening participation, past, present, and future

Submissions can include the following:

• Research talks: 15 minute presentations followed by 10 minutes of discussion.
• Provocations: 25 minute roundtable discussions that can cover work in progress and untested ideas. Submissions should provoke new and critical insights that can facilitate future collaborations.

This colloquium will include an exciting announcement about a new publishing venture in the field of pathways to higher education.

The format will be hybrid. The in-person colloquium will be held on the UniSQ Springfield campus. In-person and online presentations will be possible.

Register your submission by completing the Abstract submission form by Monday 14 August 2023.

If you have any questions, please email us via PathwaysColloquium@usq.edu.au.

Registration is free for all speakers and participants.

Registration will be available following the acceptance of submissions.

A New Agenda for Pathways Education and Research Colloquium 2023 will feature keynotes from leading scholars in the field of widening participation.

The plenary will also feature the some of UniSQ College’s experts in pathways education and research.

Keynote speaker: Professor Sarah O’Shea, Dean, Graduate Research/Higher Education Researcher, Charles Sturt University. 

Professor Sarah O’Shea is an award-winning educator, internationally recognised researcher and equity expert in higher education settings. Institutional and nationally funded projects advance understanding of how under-represented student cohorts enact success within university, navigate transition into and through this environment, manage competing identities and negotiate aspirations for self and others. A senior academic leader with over 30 years tertiary experience that includes leading a National Centre for Higher Education Research and Policy as well as an Academy of Tertiary Teaching and Learning Excellence, Sarah has led changes across the Australian higher education sector by developing pioneering educational programmes, securing national and international competitive funding and forging collaborations across disciplines and sectors. She has published extensively and has been awarded nearly $AUD4 million in grant funding in the last decade, also managing over $10 million in Federal Government funding. Sarah has also been recognised for her work via numerous awards and is currently an Australian Learning and Teaching Fellow (ALTF), a Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (PFHEA), and a Churchill Fellow (CF).

Plenary: TBA

The UniSQ Springfield campus is located to the southwest of Brisbane, Queensland. Springfield is a 40-minute drive or a 1-hour train journey (including walking) from the Brisbane CBD. You can also travel from the Brisbane airport to UniSQ Springfield via train.

The UniSQ Springfield campus is accessible by public transport. TransLink train and bus services connect UniSQ Springfield with Brisbane CBD, Brisbane airport, and major suburbs and train stations. The train is most convenient as the Springfield Central Station is located a 15-minute walk away from the UniSQ Springfield campus. All timetable information is available from TransLink.

Parking at the UniSQ Springfield campus is accessible from University Drive, off Sinnathamby Boulevard and parking tickets can be purchased from machines at the entrance of each parking area. Additional parking is available from Education City Drive in the General Parking; parking tickets must also be purchased.

All UniSQ staff and students can utilise the inter-campus shuttle bus service between UniSQ Springfield, UniSQ Ipswich, and UniSQ Toowoomba free of charge. Details about the shuttle bus services are available through Facilities Management. 

Springfield and Brisbane have many accommodation options available, including hotels and motels in the CBDs or bed and breakfasts or caravan parks further afield.