Theme & Streams

Co-creating the Future: Connection and Collaboration in Higher Education

In an era of rapid change, higher education faces the challenge of reimagining how we teach, learn, and connect. The 2026 Western Australian Teaching and Learning Forum will explore how collaboration, innovation, and shared responsibility can shape the future of education.

Across six thematic streams, we’ll spotlight ways to embed wellbeing, Indigenous knowledges, sustainability, assessment innovation, educational technology, and cultural change into our practices. Together, these streams invite us to design a future where staff and students thrive through genuine connection, collaboration, and transformative learning experiences.

We welcome contributions from all members of the university community — academic and professional staff alike. Whether your work is in teaching, student support, operations, leadership, or service innovation, your insights can help shape a richer, more connected future for higher education.

Thriving Together

Explores the role of wellbeing in learning design and community building.

Addressing the central role of wellbeing in learning design, this stream explores strategies for building collaborative and supportive educational communities. We’ll consider initiatives that promote resilience, mental health, and meaningful connection, enabling both students and university staff to thrive.

Example topics: Cross-cohort mentoring between undergraduates, postgraduates, and alumni, curriculum-based wellbeing initiatives, community-building activities that extend beyond the classroom, creating psychologically safe work environments in university teams, embedding wellbeing into campus events and communications.

Indigenous Knowledges and Ways of Learning

Honours Indigenous knowledges and community-led approaches to learning.

This stream highlights the importance of embedding Indigenous perspectives and ways of knowing in higher education. Through relational, place-based, and community-led approaches, it encourages practices that strengthen connection, support sustainability, and deepen cultural understanding. Staff and students across all roles are invited to engage in ongoing learning and collaboration that enriches curriculum design, pedagogy, and institutional culture.

Example topics: Land-based learning, co-designed curricula with Elders and Knowledge Holders, learning spaces designed with Country in mind, Indigenous-led teaching and research that shifts power in higher education, case studies of successful integration of Indigenous epistemologies in STEM, humanities, or health disciplines, and intercultural collaboration in the classroom, designing culturally safe digital spaces that reflect Indigenous values and storytelling traditions, and developing transformative staff training modules focused on relational accountability.

Supporting Students Through Educational Technology

Investigates equitable, inclusive, and innovative uses of technology in learning.

Technology offers both opportunities and challenges for student learning. This stream considers how we can equitably integrate educational technologies—particularly AI—to enhance inclusion, access, and innovation while recognising diverse pathways to success.

Example topics: AI-enabled tutoring, hybrid learning models, digital equity strategies, universal design approaches, building tech-enabled peer support networks for mentoring, study groups, and wellbeing, and designing inclusive microlearning experiences for student support using mobile-first platforms and just-in-time content delivery.

Reimagining Assessment

Innovates inclusive, authentic, and real-world assessment approaches.

This stream invites bold approaches to assessment that move beyond traditional measures of success. We’ll explore inclusive, authentic, and collaborative designs that reflect real-world skills and celebrate diverse learner strengths.

Example topics: Student-led assessment criteria co-creation, storytelling and narrative-based assessment for diverse disciplines, portfolio-based evaluations, industry partnerships, AI-enhanced feedback models, streamlining assessment workflows through professional staff innovation, and supporting academic integrity through policy and systems.

Transdisciplinary Sustainability

Explores sustainability in curricula through cross-disciplinary collaboration.

Sustainability is an urgent, shared responsibility. This stream encourages transdisciplinary approaches to embedding ecological literacy and sustainable practices into curricula, research, and teaching. It invites collaborations that cut across disciplinary boundaries to cultivate a culture of conscious education.

Example topics: Climate-responsive pedagogy, interdisciplinary sustainability projects, cross-institutional “living lab” projects that unite students, industry, and community, green campus initiatives linked to teaching, staff-led sustainability campaigns and cross-departmental collaboration, and greening campus operations: sustainability in facilities and events.

Cultural Change

Examines how we can embed inclusive and adaptive cultures in higher education.

This stream invites staff, students, and institutions to lead meaningful cultural shifts within higher education. It explores how inclusive, adaptive, and future-focused cultures of learning can be shaped through collaborative reflection, intentional practice, and systemic change. Everyone involved in higher education is encouraged to rethink policies, practices, and mindsets to build more equitable and transformative learning environments.

Example topics: institutional change strategies, student-led initiatives, inclusive policy design, ethical leadership models for higher education, courageous conversations training for staff and students, supporting cross-institutional collaboration and knowledge sharing, building inclusive workplace cultures across professional teams.