Call for papers from graduate researchers whose work explores digital technology in education

Date: 27 November 2026
Venue: Burwood Corporate Centre, Level 1, Building BC, Deakin University Melbourne Burwood Campus, 221 Burwood Highway
Format: In person
Submissions close: 12 October 2026

Digital technology has become impossible to separate from the everyday work of teaching and learning. It shapes what gets taught and how, who gets counted and by what measure, and which futures for education look plausible or even thinkable. The questions this raises cut across disciplines, and increasingly they are being asked by graduate researchers whose projects sit in more than one field.

This symposium is for those researchers. It seeks to bring together PhD candidates whose work explores digital technology in education for a full day of presentations, discussion and connection. The program features international keynote speakers Professor Sigrid Hartong and Dr Ina Sander of Helmut Schmidt University, Germany, alongside a plenary panel on Impact and Engagement with three speakers drawing on professional, industry and community experience.

Three themes

Submissions are invited across three broad themes, which are intended as openings rather than boundaries:

• Designing: How digital technologies, platforms and pedagogies are conceived, built and governed.
• Navigating: How learners and educators use, adapt to, or resist technology in everyday teaching and learning contexts.
• Questioning: Critical, ethical and theoretical interrogations of technology’s role in education.

Who should submit

PhD students at all stages of candidature are welcome to participate, individually or with co-authors. Early-stage researchers who are new to presenting their work are especially encouraged, as are students from diverse disciplinary backgrounds whose research touches on teaching and learning in the digital age. If your project examines education and technology but you are not based in an education department, this symposium is for you too.

Presentation formats

There are two ways to present, pitched at different points in a candidature.

Traditional paper

A 15-minute research presentation, well suited to candidates who are mid to late in their PhD. To be considered, submit an abstract of 200 to 300 words.

Flash talk

A 3x3x3 talk: three slides, three ideas, three minutes. This format is designed for early-stage candidates and works well for projects still taking shape. To be considered, submit a 100-word overview of your research project.

How to submit

Along with either your abstract or your project overview, please include a short biography of no more than 50 words. Submissions are made via the online form.

Find out more about the symposium and register to attend.

For questions about submissions contact: redi@deakin.edu.au.