Researcher Education and Development Scholarship Conference

REDS is a free, open, online conference designed to encourage and share research and scholarship within researcher education and development disciplines.

The 2027 theme is ‘A whole ecosystem approach to developing researchers’

The conference takes place 12-6pm (GMT) on the 20th January and 8.00am-1pm (GMT) on 21st January, 2027. 

The Abstract submission deadline is 5pm (GMT) 31st July 2026 via the REDS Conference 2027 – Abstract Submission Form

Details of the theme and submission guidance is below.

Delegate Registration is also now open, please register here.

Collectively, researcher education literature describes many and diverse sites of learning across all stages of the research career trajectory. These include, for example, distributed and reciprocated learning through local communities, (peer) mentoring, and global (inter)disciplinary networks as well as through traditional supervisory and line manager relationships and formal programmes of development activity. Increasingly, generative AI platforms are now noted as common, if potentially unreliable partners for expedited learning, for outsourced supervision, and in lieu of social inclusion within a supportive community. Further, the development experience is shaped markedly by access to development opportunities, organisational structures, physical research environments, conditions of employment, resources, and governing policies, which all feed into the quality of the research ecosystem.

An ecosystem describes how a community of living organisms interact with each other and the physical environment that surrounds them. REDS 2027 asks how all of the different aspects that influence researcher education can be judiciously and purposefully woven together to deliver multi-faceted education ecosystem. This conference asks us to characterise the conditions for a developmental researcher development ecology, asking:

• How might we characterise a learning ecosystem that is delivering an experience greater than the sum of its parts?
• How do the various modes and mechanisms interweave to form systems of support?
• What are the dependencies and constraints within an ecosystem approach?
• What are the material and physical aspects that influence research learning, development and career success?  
• How can we purposefully bring together a systems approach to developing researchers?
• What are the sector and institutional drivers that can be leveraged to support an ecosystems approach to emerge?

We invite scholarly papers covering empirical or theoretical perspectives on our questions above, and related concepts. How you interpret ‘research’, ‘researcher’, ‘education’, ‘development’, and ‘ecosystem’ is up to you!

Abstract Submission Guide

To write a good abstract take a scholarship focus

The Researcher Education and Development Scholarship (REDS) Conference is focused on the scholarship (e.g. evaluation, research into practice, action research, theoretical perspectives) of Researcher Education and Development in its widest sense. This doesn’t mean you have to have done a large formal ‘research project’. The REDS mission is to support the daily reflective and evaluative work that practitioners do, to be systematically and critically examined and presented transparently to a community of peers. In doing so, we support scholarly publishing both from within and about our profession and offer support for colleagues who are learning how to research their practice.

REDS accepts papers that demonstrate, as appropriate:

• A clear angle (or explicit point) or a key argument (or case) that you are making.
• That you show how your work fits within the available literature, and where appropriate a theoretical framing.
• Communication of the methods you have used for your work, and the rationale behind the choices you have made.
• Details of any data your project has generated, what types, and how it was collected and analysed.
• The ‘so what’. Why you did this work, and what others should do with your findings.

Free workshop sessions covering ‘How to Write a Good REDS Conference Abstract’ will be held on:

• 24th June, 2026 // 8.30am – 10.00am (BST) Book your place
• 6th July, 2026 // 10.00am – 11.30am (BST). Book your place

How do I submit?

All abstracts will be submitted through our submission platform. You can access it following this link: REDS Conference 2027 – Abstract Submission Form

What do I need to submit?

To support you to prepare we have summarised the information that the form will ask you for below:

• Contact details for a corresponding author
• Professional details for all authors
• Abstract title
• Abstract no longer than 250 words
• Up to 5 references which underpin the submission
• Three key messages which summarise the submission
• Presentation format selection (choose as many as are appropriate for the abstract):
  • Scholarly Paper (15min live presentation plus 5min questions).
  • WIP (Work In Progress) Presentation (5min live presentation using only 2 slides)
  • Blog post. 1000-word blog article (see here for examples).
• Presentation Time Zone (not used to make selection decisions)
• Presentation Availability (not used to make selection decisions)

How will abstracts be reviewed and selected? 

All submitted abstracts will be reviewed by a subgroup of the REDS Conference Advisory Group.

Reviewers will be asked to score abstracts against the following criteria:

• Relevance to and alignment with the conference theme and to the development and education of research and researchers.
• Clarity and coherence of abstract and key messages.
• Evidence of scholarly contribution through engagement with relevant ideas, evidence, and context, transparency of methods, and the insight or value it offers to others, whether the submission draws on research, critical reflection on practice/experience, or theoretical work.
• Appropriateness of selected formats in relation to the focus of the submission and the stage of development of the work.

We are committed to supporting the development of our scholarly community. As such, all abstracts will receive feedback, regardless of the selection decision.

Support and contact 

If you have questions or require support, please contact: redsconference@glasgow.ac.uk