Northumbria University to host the next RAISE national conference on student engagement

One of the UK’s largest conferences on student engagement and experience, organised by the Researching, Advancing and Inspiring Student Engagement (RAISE) Network, will be hosted by Northumbria University in 2026.

The next RAISE Annual Conference will take place on the 9 and 10 September 2026 at Northumbria University’s City Campus in the heart of Newcastle upon Tyne. The flagship event grows year on year, bringing together students, practitioners and academics from across the world to share best practice, research findings and network with peers.

The two-day hybrid conference will focus on the theme of Authentic student engagement in contemporary Higher Education and will follow the 2025 conference hosted by the University of Glasgow in September.

On selecting Northumbria as the next conference hosts, the RAISE Committee commended the University for its commitment to widening participation and student-centred education which focuses on breaking down barriers to academic and graduate success. Northumbria’s Access and Success Framework underpins support for students from pre-entry and application to the point of graduation and beyond.

Tom Lowe, Chair of the RAISE Network, explained: “It is a critical time for student engagement in the modern university, where stakeholders in all positions – from lecturers to support staff, and students to managers – are perhaps experiencing a major shift in student engagement, where expectations of engagement in higher education are changing due to external forces imposed on our learning communities.

“The upcoming conference will ask delegates and speakers to submit contributions on topics such as the changing nature of accessing and assessing knowledge due to mass availability of generative artificial intelligence; how we ensure higher education remains people focused whilst flexible to support a new time-poor stereotype of a commuting-working student; what does ‘authentic’ really mean for employability, assessment and learning experiences; and finally, how can our sector continue to ensure we co-design and engage students’ voices.”

Next September’s conference will feature research papers, workshops, project reports and debates on this critical theme for the years ahead. A call for papers and further information on registration will be released soon.

Professor Graham Wynn, Pro Vice-Chancellor for Education at Northumbria University, said: "To truly break down barriers we must ensure equal access to education, resources, and the support systems that allow everyone to reach their full potential and get the most out of their university experience. Empowering students and staff, providing cutting-edge learning opportunities, driving social mobility and powering an inclusive economy are at the heart of everything we do. I’m very proud that Northumbria has been chosen to host next year’s RAISE annual conference and look forward to highlighting some of the successful initiatives Northumbria leads in this area and the impact of our approach.”

At Northumbria, a ‘Students as Partners in Higher Education’ Learning Circle (SaP LC), with over 40 active staff and student members from across the University, helps promote innovative practices that improve equality of participation and student outcomes. It supports the development of staff and student partnerships and is an equitable mechanism of harnessing student voice.

Dr Stephany Veuger, Associate Professor in the School of Geography and Natural Sciences and Chair of Northumbria’s Students as Partners in Higher Education Learning Circle, led the bid for Northumbria to host the 2026 conference.

She said: “I’m really proud that this opportunity recognises both the excellent work taking place at Northumbria around student engagement and partnership, as well as the strength of our campus facilities to support a national conference. Students will play a key role in organising and delivering the event, ensuring their voices are central to the event and directly contributing to strategic priorities around student experience and partnership.”

For more information on the 2026 RAISE Annual Conference, sign up to the RAISE mailing list here and follow RAISE on LinkedIn to be the first to hear about the call for papers, registrations and further details about getting involved.