International Conference on Higher Education Reform (HER)

International Conferences on Higher Education Reform (HER)

Over the last eighteen years, a number of education policy researchers from various countries have organized each year a series of international conferences. Six of these have taken place in North America (Canada [3], the US [2] and Mexico [2]), four in Europe (Austria, Ireland, Germany, and Slovenia), and four in Asia (Japan [2] and China [2]).

Themes: Conferences themes have covered various topics, ranging from internationalization and marketization to issues of institutional governance (see table below). The major papers from the conferences have been published, either in the form of monographs, special issues of academic journals, or as individual articles or chapters. 

Participation: With one exception (Shanghai 2009) which had over 200 participants, the number is usually between 75 and 100. Participants include mostly post-secondary education researchers, both professors and graduate students, and in some cases policy analysts and representatives of HE ministries or policy bodies.

Financing: The conferences are self-financing, i.e. financed mainly through participants’ fees, but also from external contributions in the form of grants from research councils, governments, or hosting institutions. Because conferences are held on campus, the fees are usually fairly low. There are different fees for various categories of participants, such as for grad students, emeriti or early registrants.

Other support: All of the HER conferences have been co-sponsored by learned societies in various countries (for example the [North American] Comparative and International Education Society [CIES] and the Canadian Society for the Study of Higher Education [CSSHE]).

Organization: The conferences are organized by local teams at the hosting institution. They are assisted by 3 coordinators and members of the International Advisory Board (IAB).

Call for Papers

Sustainable Development Goals: Their potential and relevance for higher education policy and reform

Higher Education Reform (HER) Network

17^th conference on Higher Education Reform

To be held June 21 – 23, 2023 at the University of Glasgow (Scotland, UK)

Call for contributions

The conference, originally scheduled to take place in September 2020, but postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic, will focus on the contributions by Higher Education institutions to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), as defined by the United Nations. 

Contributions are invited that explore and suggest the multiple roles Higher Education can or should play in realizing these Goals, and the policies and reforms needed to enable Higher Education Institutions to contribute to them.

• How do Higher Education’s mission and work relate to the SDGs?

• How can Higher Education contribute to the trans-sectoral and transdisciplinary efforts urgently needed for the survival of the planet and its inhabitants, and for creating healthy and socially just living conditions for all people?

• What changes are needed in the ways the principal missions of Higher Education Institutions are presently defined, organized, and financed?

The 2023 Higher Education Reform Conference will provide a forum for discussing the relationship between the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and Higher Education Policies and Reform. The objective is to provide a platform for Higher Education researchers, policymakers, and leaders to assess and explore ways in which higher education can promote progress towards the SDGs.

The Conference will be held in Glasgow within the newly built flagship Advanced Research Centre (ARC), under the auspices of Centre for Research and Development in Adult and Lifelong Learning (CR&DALL), based in the School of Education at the University of Glasgow, and the Global Sustainable Development theme of the ARC. It will also be supported by the PASCAL Observatory, whose European centre is based at the university. Founded in 1451, the University of Glasgow is the fourth oldest university in the English- speaking world and one of the top 100 of the world’s universities. The university is strongly committed to the Sustainable Development Goals – the HER conference continues the university’s tradition of hosting major events in the field, notably the Times Higher Education (THE) Global Congress on Sustainable Development conference in 2022. The city of Glasgow was the host of COP26. The event is also supported by the International Association of Universities which has a longstanding commitment to HE and sustainable development.

The Glasgow conference will be the 17th in a series of International Conferences on Higher Education Reform, which have taken place annually since 2003. The first in this series was held in Vancouver, Canada, organised at The University of British Columbia. Subsequent conferences took place in Asia (Tokyo, Shanghai, Tianjin and Hiroshima), Europe (Vienna, Dublin, Berlin and Ljubljana), and North America (Mexico City, St. John’s, Pittsburgh and Baltimore).  

Call for proposals

Like the preceding conferences, the 17th IHER Conference will focus on comparative analysis and discussions of policy and reform of Higher Education. The conference will support an open exchange of views in a collegial environment, based on empirical research and policy analysis. As with previous HER conferences, a selection of papers and panel presentations will be published after the conference.

Three types of proposals are invited:

• Papers (single or multiple authorship);
• Panels (between three and five panellists);
• Poster presentations (particularly welcome from early career researchers).

Proposals 

(up to 400 words for papers and poster presentations, and up to 800 words for panels) should describe the issue(s) the presentation will address as well as the conceptual or theoretical framework guiding the research or policy questions and the type of data for the analysis.

Proposals must indicate the names, affiliations and email addresses of presenters (in case there are several presenters, the address of the corresponding presenter). Submissions will be peer- reviewed and the result communicated to proposers within four weeks of submission.

Proposals should be sent via email to cradall@glasgow.ac.uk AND (clicking the first link will email both addresses) to cradall@glasgow.ac.uk, by 6 March 2023.

Submissions will be peer-reviewed and the result communicated to proposers within four weeks of submission.

Key dates

• Call for Submissions Opens: 18 October 2022

• Opening of Early Bird Registrations: 30 January 2023

• Deadline for proposals: 6 March 2023

• End of Submission Review and Notifications: 3 April 2023

• Regular Registration Begins: 15 April 2023

• Final Registration: 5 June 2023

• Conference June 21-23, 2023

Organization

Further details about travel, accommodation, conference fees and schedule can be found at the conference website: http://highereducationreform.org

Contacts:

For questions and suggestions, please contact the Chair of the Organizing Committee, Professor Michael Osborne, at michael.osborne@glasgow.ac.uk

Venues, Themes and Publications

International Advisory Board Members and Coordinators