WAHED Conference 2025 – Call for contributions (open till 17 August)
Present your work at the largest annual international event focused on equitable access and success in HE
The World Access to Higher Education Day (WAHED) Conference 2025 will take place online and in person at the University of the Western Cape, Cape Town, South Africa on 28 October 2025. Themed ‘Opportunity, Innovation and Lifelong Learning’, this hybrid, full-day conference will focus on how universities, governments and others can provide opportunities for those from all backgrounds to enter and succeed in higher education in new, innovative ways across their lives.
We are seeking a number of inputs in the form of 15-minute presentations on the topics below. We are particularly interested in innovative examples of policy, practice and ideas that have been successful and can be extended across boundaries. We are however also interested in what has not worked and what we can learn from that. The presentations should be impactful and designed to engage the audience.
To submit a proposal, please complete the form below. The deadline is 17 August 2025.
Policy approaches to higher education equity
These inputs will look at what policymakers are doing now, or not doing, to enable equitable access and success in higher education. This may include examples of individual policies or overviews of policy approaches that place equity work in the context of broader higher education policies at present. It would also be interesting to have insights regarding barriers to engaging policymakers and how they could be overcome.
Financing equitable access and success in higher education
These inputs focus on how universities, policymakers and other organisations fund equitable access and success in higher education. This can include supporting individual students, initiatives or strategic approaches to relevant investment at the institutional or regional/national level.
Innovative practices and strategies supporting access and success
These inputs can cover insights in the form of research, evaluation or reflections on practice/initiatives that look to support those from underserved populations to progress to higher education. They may cover work between universities, colleges and schools, or higher education admission practices. We are interested in what universities, colleges and NGOs are doing and what may or may not be effective.
Supporting successful outcomes for disadvantaged students
These inputs should cover research papers or reflections on practice/initiatives that look to support those from underserved populations to succeed in higher education. This may include analysis of theory-informed model of learning/teaching and pastoral/non-pastoral support that enable students to reach their academic potential whilst in higher education and/or enter graduate employment/progress to further study.
Research and data on equitable access and success
These inputs can cover insights into data collected nationally and internationally or issues regarding data collection and dissemination.
Supporting higher education access and success for refugees
These inputs can explore initiatives, policies and practices aimed at improving access to and success in higher education for refugees. Contributions may include examples of tailored support programs, challenges faced by refugee learners, strategies for inclusion, and collaborative efforts between institutions, governments and communities.
Higher education leadership and institutional strategies supporting access and success
These inputs can include research papers and case studies looking at factors associated with effective leadership and strategy at the university-wide level which can lead to more inclusive, accessible institutions.
Lifelong learning and alternative pathways to higher education
These inputs will look at the role that lifelong learning plays in developing institutional or regional/national approaches to equitable access and success. This may include new initiatives to engage older learners, such as the use of more flexible delivery models, as well as the challenges faced in engaging learners across the life course. Interesting inputs that can marshal the evidence for a greater focus on lifelong learning and practical ideas of how to move lifelong learning up institutional/government agendas would be welcome as well.