Call for papers now open!
The University of East Anglia (UEA) is proud to host the UK & Ireland Higher Education Institutional Research (HEIR) Network 2025 Annual Conference on 4 and 5 September.
We will look forward to welcoming delegates at the UEA campus, in Norwich, England.
The HEIR Network annual conference is an opportunity for HE institutional research enthusiasts and practitioners to come together as a community to exchange knowledge, information and ideas. The focus is on current challenges and opportunities, to enhance the use of institutional research, data analysis and evaluation, in supporting efficient and effective decision-making, planning and policy formation in HE.
Student Access, Retention and Outcomes: harnessing the evidence
This theme for HEIR 2025 will be articulated across four key tracks:
- Widening Access: exploring effective ways to boost participation of underrepresented groups and widen equality, diversity and inclusion in HE.
- Supporting Retention: investigating what provision and interventions allow HEIs to support all students throughout the student lifecycle.
- Improving Outcomes: tackling the link between learning and attainment, student experience and employability, within and beyond national policy frameworks.
- Informing Policy: harnessing research and evaluation and promoting collaborations to bridge institutional practice and HE policy.
OUR KEYNOTES:
We will host two insightful keynotes:
Bart Rienties Professor in Learning Analytics at the Institute of Educational Technology, Open University, UK
The role of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Assistance in Student Inclusion, Retention and Outcomes
Bart Rienties is Professor of Learning Analytics and programme lead of the learning analytics and learning design research programme at the Institute of Educational Technology at the Open University UK. He leads a group of academics who provide university-wide learning analytics and learning design solutions and conduct evidence-based research of how students and professionals learn. As educational psychologist, he conducts multi-disciplinary research on work-based and collaborative learning environments and focuses on the role of social interaction in learning, which is published in leading academic journals and books. His primary research interests are focussed on Learning Analytics, Learning Design, and the role of motivation in learning.
Valerie Harvey Head of Performance Evaluation, Higher Education Authority, Ireland
Institutional Data in a National Perspective: Student Outcomes in Irish Higher Education
Valerie Harvey is Head of Performance Evaluation with the Higher Education Authority (HEA), and is responsible for the development of institutional and system performance data reporting for the Irish higher education system. Valerie oversees two national surveys in Irish higher education, as managed by the HEA: StudentSurvey.ie, the national survey of student engagement and the Graduate Outcomes Survey. Over the last 10 years, Valerie has expanded the national evidence base for higher education by developing data linking infrastructure between the HEA and other data holders within higher education. Valerie’s academic background is in mathematics, statistics, computing and public policy.
OUR EXPERT PANEL
A plenary session will also feature a panel of expert speakers, discussing issues on HE access retention and outcomes through the experience of different countries:
Sunday Blake – Education and Parliamentary Engagement Policy Manager at GuildHE, England
Rhona McCormack – Director of Student Affairs, University of Limerick, Ireland
Kerr Castle – Head of Digital, Marketing and Communications, Quality Assurance Agency, Scotland
XXX – TBC, Wales
| Key milestones | Date |
| Call for papers deadline | 4 May |
| Review period | 5 May – 14 June |
| Latest date at which authors will be notified | 15 June |
| Close of registrations | 22 August |
| Preparatory session for presenters and keynotes | TBC |
| Material for presentations | TBC |
| Conference dates | 4 & 5 September |
Call for papers
The Conference Committee is inviting proposals for presentations during our parallel sessions. Proposals will explore topics within four main tracks:
- Widening Access: exploring effective ways to boost participation of underrepresented groups and widen equality, diversity and inclusion in HE.
- Supporting Retention: investigating what provision and interventions allow HEIs to support all students throughout the student lifecycle.
- Improving Outcomes: tackling the link between learning and attainment, student experience and employability, within and beyond national policy frameworks.
- Informing Policy: harnessing research and evaluation and promoting collaborations to bridge institutional practice and HE policy.
We are welcoming proposals for the following presentation formats:
- Research and Evaluation Papers: A 20-30 minute presentation followed by a brief question and answer session. This format is suitable to detail research and evaluation projects that have been completed. The presentations will generally be structured as: (i) introduction and motivation, (ii) discussion of data/evidence and methodology used for the analysis and (iii) discussion of the results and conclusions.
- Lightning Talks: A 5-10 minute presentation that could describe a successful initiative or practice from a case-study, pitch an idea for future research, call for collaboration across institutions, or present preliminary results from work in progress. The aim of these presentations is to spark conversations and develop further work.
- Poster and Pitch: The opportunity to display a poster and pitch its content for 1-2 minutes during a bespoke conference session, inviting conference delegates to network over coffee.
Authors submitting a proposal will be invited to:
- select a conference track,
- suggest a presentation format.
To facilitate effective coordination of the conference programme, the Conference Committee will value the preferences expressed by each author but reserve the right to allocate proposals to different conference tracks and presentation formats.
The Conference Committee will evaluate proposals according to the following criteria:
- overall clarity of the proposal;
- academic rigour;
- relevance and potential for impact;
- topic alignment to the conference themes and tracks.
The call for papers will close on Sunday 4 May 2025. Authors will be notified of decisions by Friday 15 June 2025.
Submission
To be considered for a presentation in any of the available formats, please submit a proposed title and an abstract of no more than 100-150 words.
- For Research and Evaluation Papers, and Posters
abstracts should include: title, main subject, aims and objectives, approach or analysis undertaken, results and key findings, conclusions or next steps.
- For Lightning Talks
abstracts should convey a clear idea of future projects, calls for collaboration, or preliminary results presented.
- For ALL submission formats, please also include three keywords that capture and summarise the proposed content.
To submit your proposal please follow this link.
Contacts
For any queries, please email: heir.2025@uea.ac.uk.
Save the date now and watch this space for further information on how to book your place!
