Abstracts
© Karl Bruninx
Intro
At the EFYE conference, 4 session types will be offered: ‘show and tell’, presentation, workshop and poster session. See below for more details about each format.
After choosing the format for your contribution, you’ll be asked to use the submission template as provided in the abstract management tool. Make sure to link your submission with the main and subthemes of the future first-year student, future-oriented first-year teaching and support or future proof curricula and institutions. Submissions will be reviewed by at least two reviewers based on review criteria that can be found here.
For your convenience, we have provided a sample template to help you plan your submission – please note this is for your guidance only. Submissions will only be accepted on the EFYE abstract tool:
Conference themes
Specifically for this year’s conference, given the focus of our university, we’d like to stimulate submissions with a:
- Retrospective angle: Against the backdrop of the celebration of KU Leuven’s rich past, which past initiatives concerning the first year experience worked, what lacked? What previous EFYE take-aways are (un)successfully implemented in your own practice? Or amidst all the change, are there any steady certainties concerning the first year experience? What lessons from the past can we apply for the future of the first year experience?
- Reseach-based perspective: As KU Leuven is a strong research-based university we invite you to refer to theoretical background and literature review in submissions and during sessions, as well as presenting own research that contributes to the field of first year experiences.
- Cross institutional collaboration: At EFYE 2024 in Copenhagen, our conference hosts at Københavns Professionshøjskole challenged us with a conference theme to consider ‘From Me to We’. Since KU Leuven is an international institution, we extend a similar challenge to reach out to your colleagues and find out what you have in common, which similar initiatives you undertake, how you’ve been working together… and hand in one submission combining the different perspectives or hand in different submissions but suggest the organisation to combine these specific proposals in one parallel session.
Session types
At the EFYE conference 4 session types will be offered: ‘show and tell’, presentation, workshop and poster session. See below for more details about each format. :
In the Show and Tell session, you’ll have the opportunity to engage with 3-4 other submissions and presenters. The format has three elements:
- Sharing your project: Each presenter will deliver a concise 5-minute presentation about developing initiatives or projects seeking collective input for enhancement. This can be can be supported by a visual, e.g. a poster, 1-3 PowerPoint slides, a webpage… (~20-minutes)
- Interactive Open Discussion: Participants can move freely around the room to engage in open discussion with any presenter to ask questions and build connections across the projects (~25-minutes).
- Plenary Discussion: To conclude, there will be a 10-minute plenary discussion where everyone can share their perspectives on the overall topic and identify common learnings, and potentially new project partners or collaborators.
In the Presentation session, you’ll have the opportunity to delve into research-focused, evaluated practices, and the results of various strategies. Presentations might have a more research-based perspective or be more practice-based. During this session, you’ll meet two presenters, each of whom will have 20 minutes to share their (research) findings. Following their presentations, there will be a 10-minute Q&A session where delegates can ask questions and engage with the presenters.
In the Workshop session, participants have the opportunity to actively engage with the workshop topic. During this interactive 60-minute session, you can share knowledge, thoughts, and experiences related to the workshop theme. Expect at least 50% of the time to be dedicated to active learning approaches and meaningful discussions. Joining a workshop session allows you to learn, contribute, and connect with fellow attendees.
In a Poster session, you’ll encounter A1-sized posters displayed in the same space. Presenters will provide brief pitches about their initiatives, projects, or research to delegates. After the pitch, you’ll have the opportunity to ask questions and engage directly with the presenters. The format allows you to explore the projects at your own pace without a formal plenary discussion. Joining the Poster session provides a dynamic way to learn about various topics and interact with fellow conference attendees.
Deadlines
- Call for abstracts: 14 November 2024
- Abstract submission deadline: 26 January 2025, 23:59 (CET)
- E-mail notification of acceptance: 17 February 2025
- Registration and payment deadline for authors in order to present: 10 March 2025, 23:59 (CET)