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About the conference
The AMOSSHE National Conference brings together a wealth of experience and expertise, which makes it the ideal forum to explore key themes for Student Services in higher education.
The conference takes place between Wednesday 13 and Friday 15 July 2022 at the Crowne Plaza Stephenson Quarter in Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.
Some of the content will also be available online to enable participation from across the UK, as well as drawing on expertise from around the world. Sessions take place during the day in the British Summer Time (BST) time zone.
Booking for the conference opens in March 2022. In the meantime you can find the delegate prices here: AMOSSHE National Conference 2022.
Who can submit a proposal?
AMOSSHE welcomes session proposals from organisations and individuals across the higher education sector, including AMOSSHE named members, colleagues at AMOSSHE member organisations, other education providers, and not-for-profit organisations.
If your proposal for an in-person session (delivered in Newcastle) is accepted, each session leader and co-presenter must register as a conference delegate for at least the day on which your session takes place.
If your proposal for a virtual session (delivered online) is accepted, session leaders and co-presenters do not need to register as conference delegates in order to lead their session. However, anyone who wants to take part in other sessions at the conference must register as a paying delegate.
Corporate organisations who want to introduce or promote products and services to delegates can take part in the conference as sponsors. In-person sponsorship packages include an opportunity to lead a 30 minute presentation showcase of your products and services as part of the conference programme. Find out more here: Support AMOSSHE.
What should my session be about?
The conference team is looking for inspiring sessions that contribute expertise, share ideas and stimulate discussion. For example:
- You and your colleagues may have undertaken initiatives or research that others can learn from.
- You may have inspiring success stories to tell.
- You may have worked with other organisations to successfully overcome a challenge or develop new opportunities for enhancing student success.
- There may be challenges that you want to explore in a structured way in order to share good practice and develop new strategies.
All the sessions must address topics of interest to Student Services professionals, and we especially welcome proposals for sessions that explore our conference theme Think Differently.
We welcome sessions that encourage us to think differently about:
- How our services meet the needs of students, and manage demand and expectations.
- The way we work as individuals and how our teams work together.
- Relationships between students, universities and the wider community.
- Culture and behavioural change.
- How we can make a difference - what can we do and what do we influence?
- Innovative ideas that you've undertaken or you’d like to take forward.
- Learning from failure - what lessons have you learned from things you tried, but that didn't work out?
What are the session formats?
In-person sessions
You can choose to lead your session in-person in Newcastle. Here are the session formats that you can propose:
- Workshop (60 or 90 minutes) – an interactive workshop that encourages delegates to take part in activities, such as group work, contributing ideas, experience and best practice, giving presentations and suchlike. You can choose to lead a workshop session lasting for 60 or 90 minutes. If you begin your workshop with a short presentation, this should take no more than 20 minutes, and the main content should involve audience participation. Workshops could take the form of facilitated discussions and/or case study scenarios.
- Presentation (60 minutes) – a presentation about a subject of interest to Student Services professionals. Your presentation session should be 60 minutes long, including at least 15 minutes for questions and answers. The presentation should be engaging and informative, preferably with a slideshow that can be distributed to members later.
- Critical friend review (15 to 20 minutes) – you can present an idea for a Student Services project, initiative or proposal to our panel of sector experts, who will give you their professional opinions on what you might want to try, test or improve. This is a development opportunity to benefit from the expertise of your peers and try out ideas in a supportive, constructive space before implementing them. Your idea doesn’t have to be fully formed, and you can rely on your sector friends for support in shaping it. Your presentation to the panel should be 15 minutes in total, including a short introduction to yourself and your organisation, a summary of the idea, why it’s important to the organisation and/or sector, who the key stakeholders are, and what feedback you want from the panel. After your presentation the panel will ask questions and share their advice and expertise for the remaining 15 minutes.
- Showcase your work (15 minutes) – a poster-style session to talk about Student Services work that you're proud of. Celebrate your team and share your achievements with your sector peers. Showcases last for 15 minutes and should include a poster or short slideshow that captures the essence of your showcase.
If your proposal for an in-person session is accepted, each session leader and co-presenter must register as a conference delegate for at least the day on which their session takes place. AMOSSHE will register the session leader and co-presenters as delegates as soon as booking opens, to ensure that you get the best rates.
Virtual sessions
You can choose to lead your session virtually using our online conference platform. Your content will be streamed to delegates taking part virtually, and recordings will be shared with all delegates after the conference. There are only a limited number of virtual session slots available. Here are the session formats you can propose:
- Workshop (60 minutes) – an interactive workshop that encourages delegates to take part in activities, such as group work, contributing ideas, experience and best practice. Workshop sessions last for 60 minutes. If you begin your workshop with a short presentation, this should take no more than 20 minutes, and the main content should involve audience participation. Workshops could take the form of facilitated discussions and/or case study scenarios.
- Presentation (30 minutes) – a presentation about a subject of interest to Student Services professionals. Your presentation session should be 30 minutes long, including at least 5 minutes for questions and answers. The presentation should be engaging and informative, preferably with a slideshow that can be distributed to members later.
- Showcase your work (15 minutes) – a poster-style session to talk about Student Services work that you're proud of. Celebrate your team and share your achievements with your sector peers. Showcases last for 15 minutes and should include a poster or short slideshow that captures the essence of your showcase.
Session leaders and co-presenters for virtual sessions do not need to register as conference delegates in order to lead their session. However, anyone who wants to take part in other sessions at the conference must register as a paying delegate.
How do I deliver my session virtually?
If your virtual session proposal is accepted, you will deliver your session using an online virtual meeting tool such as Zoom or Vimeo. AMOSSHE will supply the software access and any training you may require to deliver your session in the best way possible. You will need a device such as a laptop or tablet to run the software, which is equipped with a camera and microphone. You will also need reliable broadband access for the duration of your session and a quiet space in which to present or record your session.
For workshop sessions you need to provide opportunities for delegates to contribute, get involved and network. For example, you can use breakout rooms to put delegates into small discussion groups. You can also use tools such as polling, word clouds and other interactive features available through Mentimeter, Beekast, Slido and suchlike.
Can I pre-record my session?
If you're proposing a virtual presentation session you can choose to pre-record your session. We can pre-record your session on a day and time that works best for you, for broadcast during the event at an agreed time. On the day of the conference we ask all speakers to attend our delegate Q&A after your recording.
How many speakers can take part in a session?
In-person sessions
Please consider whether the number of co-presenters is appropriate for your session. For example, if your session is a presentation, three or more presenters might feel disjointed.
For workshops, the conference team can help and advise you about how to deliver your session, and the number of colleagues you may need.
Virtual sessions
Session lengths are shorter for virtual sessions than they are at the physical venue. This is to help ease screen fatigue for both delegates and speakers. Also, leading a session in a virtual format reduces the amount of interaction you can have with delegates, so it is more difficult to keep delegates engaged for longer periods.
Therefore the amount of screen time available for each speaker is limited. Your session can have as many co-presenters as you want, but please consider whether the number of co-presenters is appropriate for your session. For example, if your session is a presentation, more than two presenters will mean that each person’s contribution is very limited.
How many delegates will attend my session?
Delegates choose which sessions they want to attend once the programme is published, so we can't determine in advance how many will attend your session. For in-person sessions, the number of delegates may be restricted by the capacity of the room at the venue.
Due to the high number of delegates who may attend, we can't accommodate sessions that are limited to a small number of people. If you're leading a workshop, the conference team will help you facilitate and run your session if there are due to be high numbers of attendees.
Why should I submit a proposal?
The AMOSSHE National Conference needs the imaginative input of AMOSSHE members and the broader sector in order to be truly relevant and productive for Student Services professionals. Your participation shapes the agenda and ensures that the conference is relevant, useful, and inspiring.
Leading a workshop or presenting your work at our conference is a good way to explore new ideas, get feedback on your work, develop your professional confidence and standing, and start new discussions. For Student Services professionals, being part of the AMOSSHE National Conference programme is a prestigious professional development opportunity. You can raise your personal profile, draw attention to your work, benefit from peer perspectives, and develop new networks of colleagues with similar interests and areas of expertise.
For corporate organisations, you're more likely to create effective and meaningful relationships with AMOSSHE members by using case studies to evidence the impact your product or service has made on the work of Student Services and the student experience. We advise avoiding a hard sell approach, as this is unlikely to engage delegates at an AMOSSHE conference. You might also consider becoming an in-person conference sponsor, which gives you the opportunity to lead a 30 minute presentation as part of the conference programme. Find out more about In-person National Conference sponsorship.
Can I get help with my proposal idea?
If you have an idea for a session proposal, but you’re not sure how to develop it, please get in touch. Email the AMOSSHE National Office team at info@amosshe.org.uk for help and advice.
If you’re an AMOSSHE member, you can also rely on your network of Student Services peers to help develop or co-present a session. Email the network at AMOSSHE@jiscmail.ac.uk or log in to post on our discussion forum.
How do I submit a proposal?
You can submit a proposal as follows:
- Download the appropriate proposal form:
- In-person session proposal form (docx 80 KB)
- Virtual session proposal form (docx 79 KB)
- Fill in the form and save it.
- Email the form to info@amosshe.org.uk.
Please submit your proposal for consideration by 17:00 on Wednesday 23 February 2022.
AMOSSHE will give you feedback about your proposals no later than week commencing 7 March 2022.
How many proposals can I submit?
You can submit as many session proposals for consideration as you like. For each one, please submit a separate form.
How does AMOSSHE decide which proposals to accept?
The conference team will carefully consider all session proposals, and choose the successful proposals by asking the following questions:
- Is the session engaging, informative, inspiring?
- Is the session relevant to Student Services professionals and current priorities for the sector?
- Does the session engage with the conference theme?
- Will the session contribute to AMOSSHE members’ continuing professional development?
Your session proposal should answer these questions satisfactorily.
What happens if my proposal is accepted?
The AMOSSHE National Office team will let you know whether your proposal is successful no later than week commencing 7 March 2022. If your session proposal is accepted, the conference team will give you feedback about your proposal, and may make suggestions to further enhance the session.
We’ll also discuss and agree with you an advance date for you to send a copy of your completed presentation and any other session materials. These materials will be made available in the members’ area of this website following the conference, unless there are particular issues of confidentiality or inaccuracy that would make this inappropriate.
In-person sessions
If your proposal for an in-person session (delivered in Newcastle) is accepted, each session leader and co-presenter must register as a conference delegate for at least the day on which their session takes place. AMOSSHE will register the session leader and co-presenters as delegates as soon as booking opens, to ensure that you get the best rates.
Unfortunately, AMOSSHE can’t contribute to your expenses (for example, travel, accommodation).
Virtual sessions
For accepted virtual sessions (delivered online) we’ll arrange a meeting to familiarise you with the conference software in advance, and pre-record your session if required.
Our intention is to record all virtual conference sessions and to make as many of them as possible available to delegates afterwards. AMOSSHE may also make the recordings available to AMOSSHE members securely at a later date (but never publicly). If your session proposal is accepted, the conference team will ask you to consent to use the recording of your session in this way.
Session leaders and co-presenters for virtual sessions do not need to register as conference delegates in order to lead their session. However, anyone who wants to take part in other sessions at the conference must register as a paying delegate.
Where can I find more information?
For more information about the AMOSSHE National Conference 2022 and submitting a session proposal, please contact us or look here: AMOSSHE National Conference 2022.