Engage Summit 2026: call for contributions brief

The Engage Summit will be the culmination of our Engaged Futures programme - a year of engagement and consultation across the sector, inspiring us collectively to imagine ambitious but achievable futures for engaged institutions, and how to deliver them. We brought together a broad community from outside and inside higher education, committed to building a better, more inclusive future for the higher education sector. 

Our vision is for a more collaborative, inclusive, and porous higher education sector. A sector where collaborative ways of working are valued and enabled, and multiple forms of knowledge are recognised and shared. We imagine a future where research culture enables deeper, slow thinking and collaboration. Universities that approach teaching and learning in a way that encourages a more diverse student body. Our vision is for universities to play a key role within an evolving knowledge landscape, addressing societal needs and being valued for their civic contribution. 

A huge amount of change is needed to get us there, but we know there are existing innovations in thinking and practice that will accelerate our journey. The Engage Summit will highlight these examples to inspire and inform the actions we must collectively take to create the change we need.

The call for contributions process timeline is set out below:

Application scoring criteria

Applications will be scored on the following criteria: 

• Link to (one or more) conference themes
• Clarity of session purpose
• Relevance to the target audience
• Suitability of the session design to purpose and participants
• Balance of contributors relevant to the practices being shared
• Extent to which content is engaging, inclusive and accessible

Following assessment against the criteria, a long list of applications that meet the quality threshold will be made. Final choices will be made from this long list to ensure the conference programme meets the vision and purpose of the event, covers a range of approaches, formats, and themes, and addresses the needs of our varied audiences. 

Contributor expectations and support from NCCPE

Every contributor role at the Engage Summit 2026  has a set of expectations we ask you to sign up to. This will ensure that the activities delivered are meaningful, inclusive and accessible.

As an Engage Summit 2026 contributor, you will be responsible for the delivery of your content in its entirety, including:

• Upholding NCCPE's accessible and inclusive practice guidelines.
• Designing and delivering the content as outlined in your application, and in line with NCCPE's Accessible and Inclusive Events Guide.
• Bringing together an appropriate team of contributors (where relevant), with particular care given to the diversity of the speakers/facilitators and how partner or community voices are brought into the space.
• Sending NCCPE all session information as outlined in the timeline below.
• Ensuring all contributors to your session register before the speaker registration deadline, as outlined in the timeline below.
• Notifying NCCPE with as much notice as possible if you are unable to deliver your session for any reason, and suggesting alternative speakers/facilitators or session outlines to fill the gap left in the conference programme.

To support Engage Summit 2026 contributors, the NCCPE will commit to the following:

• Providing a supportive conference environment for session delivery by upholding NCCPE's accessible and inclusive practice guidelines.
• Providing contributors with a timely notification of the outcome of their application, as outlined in the timeline below.
• Opening exclusive early registration for contributors before general release.
• Publicising contributor content on the conference webpage and in NCCPE communications channels.
• Providing appropriate, accessible spaces for session delivery on the day, including AV assistance and NCCPE team member support where needed.
• Providing clear, timely information about session timings; arrival and set-up instructions; and other requirements.

The Engage Summit is an opportunity to bring together all those committed to the role of universities in building an inclusive knowledge system. Our programme should therefore showcase the diversity of organisations, roles, cultures, heritages, identities and backgrounds of this vibrant community. Please collaborate with your partners and audiences when developing your Engage Summit 2026 submission, and where possible support them to attend.

The NCCPE are keen to encourage delegates from third sector and small social impact organisations to participate in the Engage Summit 2026. To make this possible we are delighted to offer a limited number of subsidised tickets to the Summit. These tickets are also open to early-career researchers who are not able to secure institutional funding for the registration cost. 

Subsidised tickets are available for:

• Contributors working in a charity, non-governmental organisation, social enterprise, community-based organisation or Community Interest Company.
• Contributors who are early-career researchers and can evidence that attempts have been made to secure institutional funding for the cost of registration.

Please complete the application form below with details of the contribution you would like to make. You are welcome to submit up to two applications to the conference - please ensure that you submit separate forms for each one. You can be named as an additional contributor in as many submissions as applies.

The application form cannot be saved and returned to at a later date and cannot be retrieved in the event of an internet connection error or timeout, so please prepare your words in a separate document. A copy of the application form questions are available below and as a downloadable document.

Applications close on Monday 21^st July at 10am. 

Outline of application form questions for preparation

About you 

1. First name
2. Surname
3. Job title
4. Job role type
5. Name of organisation
6. Organisation type
7. Email address
8. Which conference days are you available?
9. Accessibility information

About your contribution

1. Which conference theme will you be contributing to?
   • Theme 1: What does society need and want from universities in 2045?
   • Theme 2: The future of research
   • Theme 3: The future of teaching and learning
   • Theme 4: An inclusive university: who and how?
   • Theme 5: Universities in a rapidly changing context
2. Which type of conference session would you like to contribute?
   • Lightening talk
   • Small group discussion
   • Encounter
   • Workshop
   • Poster
3. Please outline the purpose of your contribution and how it is linked to the conference theme (250 word limit)
4. Please tell us which group(s) your contribution will be relevant to.
5. How will you make it engaging and accessible for them? (200 word limit)
6. How will you ensure that your session design and delivery is inclusive? (200 word limit)
7. What do you hope will be the outcome(s) for participants? (100 words max)
8. What do you hope will be the outcome(s) for you and your contributors? (100 words max)
9. Do you have any specific requirements for your contribution? E.g. room set-up (cabaret, theatre style, other); access requirements; AV; stationery etc. We will try to accommodate these needs as much as possible.

Promoting your contribution

1. Proposed title, for use in the summit programme. If your application is successful, this will be used in the conference programme as is.
2. Please share a short description of your contribution that we can use in the programme. This should capture the heart of what you are doing, and the experience delegates can expect. The purpose is to encourage delegates to participate in relevant sessions. (100 words max.) (Please note these are the words we will use in the programme, and you cannot change them at a later date.)

Additional facilitator or contributor details

1. If you have additional contributors, please use this space to note who they are. (Please include their name, organisation and job title)
2. What role will your contributor(s) play? E.g. facilitating, sharing a case-study, hosting a table, giving a presentation.

Encounters development grants

1. Approximate amount needed
2. Please outline what this amount will be used for (100 words max)
3. Please how the equipment developed or purchased would be used beyond the conference (100 words max)