Dear ,

As the weather gets cooler, we write to you with some 'warming' news about upcoming Engagement Australia activities. First and foremost, our annual conference returns with UQ hosting on July 22 and 23. The conference theme is "Transformational Partnerships: Creating Lasting Impact" which is not only a concern for engagement practitioners but also Australian universities as more questions are asked about our social license and whether we deliver on the level of societal impact discussed in the Universities Accord. An exciting list of speakers is developing and we hope to see you in sunny Queensland. Do take advantage of the early bird tickets (by June 3). 

We are also launching the 2025 Engagement Australia Excellence Awards with submission closing August 11. We look forward to recognising high quality work across multiple categories. Please consider making a submission to one or more awards categories in 2025.

Transform: The Journal of Engaged Scholarship continues to go from strength to strength with the next call for papers closing June 16. Coming soon will also be our first special issue from the IARSLCE Asia Pacific X International Conference on Service-Learning, Hong Kong being released mid-year. When you add this to the work begun with IARSLCE and Professor Andrew Furco on setting a community engagement and service-learning research agenda for Australia (and hopefully New Zealand), there is exciting work happening with our shared scholarship. 

We look forward to engaging with you further in the suite of activities listed below, and also within the Engagement Australia Carnegie Community Engagement Network that continues to draw strong engagement from the sector as we move toward the next round of Carnegie classification launched at the EA conference. 

For now, brew an extra warm drink and read on below. 

Verity Firth and Matthew Pink, Autumn, 2025

Engagement Australia's Annual Conference is coming up in July!

📅 When: 22-23 July 2025
📍 Location: The University of Queensland, St Lucia – Advanced Engineering Building

Join thought leaders, policymakers, and experts for two days of insightful discussions and impactful collaborations.

Keynote Presentation

Social Licence and the Importance of Partnering with Communities
📢 Professor Deborah Terry AC, Vice-Chancellor and President, The University of Queensland
Discover how deep and genuine engagement is crucial for upholding the core values of higher education and shaping the future of the sector.

Panel Discussions

• Universities and Social Licence: Global Forces, Local Voices
  🎤 Facilitated by John Ross, Times Higher Education
  Featuring Georgina Downer (CEO Robert Menzies Institute) & The Hon. Fiona Nash (Regional Education Commissioner)
• Community Engagement as a Driver for Social and Economic Development
  🎤 Facilitated by Professor Verity Firth (UNSW Sydney / Chair, Engagement Australia)
• Olympics and Paralympics Legacy: Inspiring Community Connections
  🎤 Facilitated by Professor Bronwyn Harch (Griffith University / Director, Engagement Australia)
  Featuring Professor Bruce Abernethy AM (Executive Director, 2032 Games Engagement, The University of Queensland) & Jackie Lauff (CEO, Sports Matters)
• Partnering for Social Impact
  🎤 Facilitated by Professor Alphia Possamai-Inesedy (Western Sydney University / Director, Engagement Australia)
  Featuring Jennifer Karlson (The University of Queensland) & Dr Neal Harvey (CEO Tim Fairfax Family Foundation) Professor Sherman Young (RMIT)
• Partnering in the Pacific
  🎤 Facilitated by Dr Inez Fainga'a-Manusione, (Community Research Fellow, Village Connect and Pathways in Place Griffith University)
  Featuring Dr Mellita Jones (ACU Solomon Island Community Project) & Professor Paul Iji (Fiji National University)

Special Events

• Launch of the 2026 Carnegie Elective Community Engagement Classification Round
• Paper Presentations – Concurrent Sessions
• Networking Session – Drinks & Canapés

💡 Additional speakers will be announced upon confirmation.

🎟️ Early Bird Tickets Available Until 3rd June

Sponsorship Opportunities Available

Maximise brand visibility and connect with leaders driving transformational change. Explore sponsorship options 

Excellence Awards 2025
Applications NOW OPEN!!

Engagement Australia is proud to announce the launch of the 2025 Excellence Awards, celebrating outstanding engagement across the Australian and New Zealand higher education sectors.

These prestigious awards recognise transformative initiatives that are making a real impact in communities, industries, research, and student experiences.

Award Categories:

• Excellence in Community Engagement
• Excellence in Indigenous Engagement
• Excellence in Industry Engagement
• Outstanding Engagement for Student Learning
• Outstanding Engagement for Research Impact
• Excellence in Student and/or Alumni Engagement
• Excellence in International Engagement
• Outstanding Leadership in Engagement

Award recipients will be honoured at the Engagement Australia Conference & Excellence Awards later this year—a highlight event that showcases the leadership and innovation positioning our universities as global benchmarks for community transformation.

🗓️ Submissions close: 11 August 2025

Call for papers!
Transform: The Journal of Engaged Scholarship

Transform: The Journal of Engaged Scholarship is an open-access, peer reviewed, multi-disciplinary online platform for engaged scholars and practitioners.

The Journal features articles that advance the scholarship of engagement within Australia and internationally, providing space for critical inquiry, reflection, and review. The Journal includes empirical research, practice-oriented research, and reviews of practice relevant to engagement in the Higher Education sector.

Note: Transform, as the official journal of Engagement Australia promotes the Australian Carnegie Community Engagement Classification and its definition of community engagement and reciprocal partnerships. Research articles, theoretical and conceptual articles, practice articles, and case studies should address/discuss the engaged processes (i.e., the nature of the reciprocal partnership/s) and outcomes/impacts of their topic of focus with regards to the Carnegie definition.

🗓️Submissions Close 16 June 2025