Showcase your initiative at the HEA Open Education: Supporting Policy and Practice event.

Submit by 30 April 2026

We warmly invite colleagues and students across Ireland’s higher education sector to contribute to the poster session at this national event. The session will showcase current open education projects, initiatives, research and scholarship, and policy developments and contributions, and will provide a visible space for sharing practice, evidence, and learning with peers from right across the sector.

Whether you are leading an institutional initiative, developing open resources, engaging with students in open pedagogies, or conducting research into open education, we encourage you to share your work with others.

Eligibility

Submissions must:

  • Be led or co-led by staff or students affiliated with an Irish higher education institution.
  • Focus substantively on open education policy, practice, scholarship, or impact.
  • Describe work completed or substantially advanced within the past five years. Ongoing work must demonstrate clear progress and tangible outputs.
  • Demonstrate evidence-informed practice or appropriate scholarly grounding, depending on the contribution type.

Cross-institutional and cross-sector collaborations are welcome. Initiatives advancing equity, access, inclusion, or public value in open education are particularly encouraged.

Contribution Types

Track A: Practice & Implementation

For colleagues who have implemented open education initiatives and wish to share case studies of what was done, what is openly available, and what others can reuse.

Examples include:

  • Creation or adaptation of OER

  • Open pedagogy or open educational practices (OEP)

  • Student partnership or co-creation

  • Institutional open policy or strategy development

  • Capacity-building initiatives

  • Open platforms, tools, or infrastructure

  • Cross-institutional collaboration

Track B: Scholarship & Evidence

For colleagues whose scholarly work advances understanding, evaluation, or critical development of open education and contributes to sector learning or policy development.

Examples include:

  • Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) related to open education

  • Doctoral or postgraduate scholarship focused on open education

  • Evaluation studies of open education initiatives

  • Policy analysis or critical inquiry into open education

General Guidance

The goal of this call is to showcase innovative, evidence-informed, and high-impact open education initiatives and scholarship within higher education in Ireland.

Submissions should demonstrate meaningful contributions to open education practice, policy, or scholarship and highlight their relevance to the wider sector.

Template

For reference only. Please note, the form must be completed and submitted online.

Download Template

Who Can Submit?

Submissions must be led or co-led by staff or students affiliated with an Irish higher education institution. Collaborative initiatives involving multiple HEIs, community organisations, or industry partners are welcome.

Understand the Purpose

Your response should highlight an open education initiative or scholarly contribution that is meaningful, innovative, and has practical value for educators, institutions, and policymakers.

Consider how your work:

  • Advances open education practice, scholarship, or policy.
  • Enhances student learning, engagement, access, or success through openness.
  • Promotes inclusive, active, or digitally-enabled learning environments.
  • Demonstrates collaboration and evidence-informed practice.
  • Aligns with institutional or national priorities in open education.

Keep It Clear and Concise

  • Use plain, accessible language – avoid jargon where possible.
  • Keep responses focused and within word limits.
  • Provide concrete examples to illustrate your initiative.

Highlight Key Outcomes and Impact

  • Focus on what makes your initiative effective, distinctive and how it benefits students, staff, or institutions.
  • Include evidence of impact where possible (e.g., student feedback, evaluation results, institutional change).
  • If your initiative is still developing, outline its potential impact and next steps.

Provide Practical Insights for Others

  • Share lessons learned, challenges faced, and practical recommendations.
  • Consider how your initiative can inform and inspire similar efforts elsewhere.

Important

Selected submissions will be adapted into a standardised poster format for showcase at the event. The HEA will arrange all aspects of design and printing using the information provided.

The adapted poster version will be published as open access under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) licence.

This licence applies to the poster format only and does not alter the licensing of any original publications or materials referenced in the submission. Contributors must ensure they have the right to include any third-party material in the poster.

Next Steps

Practice-based and scholarship-led contributions are equally valued. Submissions will be considered based on:

  • Demonstrated commitment to openness
  • Clarity and accessibility
  • Contribution to national sector learning or scholarship
  • Reusability or transferable insight
  • Alignment with national and international open education priorities

Eligible submissions will undergo a quality review and may be edited for clarity, consistency, and formatting. Applicants will be notified of the outcome by 7 May.

Get in Touch for Help

If you have any questions or need clarification, contact admin@teachingandlearning.ie