INVITATION TO PARTICIPATE
National Symposia: Co-Designing Support for Inclusive and Equitable Curricula
University of Melbourne 6 February 2026, 10:30am-3:30pm
University of Sydney 13 February 2026, 10:30am-3:30pm
Dear Colleague,
We invite your institution to participate in a landmark national symposium focused on how universities can support academic educators to make their teaching, learning, curricula, and assessment more equitable and inclusive.
The Project
This ACSES-funded research is a study focused on how universities support educators to develop and deliver equitable and inclusive curricula. Our team has worked with six diverse universities to build evidence about what academic educators need to effectively support equity students, directly addressing how universities can support its staff to meet the Universities Accord’s call for strengthened inclusive engagement.
The Symposium
We are bringing together university representatives to inform our deliverables, including project recommendations, a professional development framework, and actionable implementation pathways. Your participation ensures outputs reflect the realities of Australian universities and creates sector-wide ownership.
Universities will be represented at either the Melbourne Symposium or the Sydney Symposium. The supporting information pack and Teams channel will be made available to all participants leading up to and following the event.
Our Request
Please nominate two representatives for your university: ideally one with teaching/learning strategy responsibility and one with equity initiatives engagement.
The event is free, and we will cover day travel costs for one nominee. We ask that your institution support the second nominee’s costs.
Please confirm participation and provide attendee details by 1 December 2025.
Why Your Institution Should Participate
This symposium is in-person only to allow for engagement, collaboration, and trust-building, allowing us to share our research findings and develop relevant and practical ways forward.
This symposium will give your staff access to cutting-edge research from six diverse universities, and an opportunity to influence sector-wide approaches to improving access and inclusion at Australian universities. This is a great professional development and networking opportunity for staff interested in leading inclusive education practice at your institution.
Join Us
Join us for this half-day event combining research findings, workshops, small group discussions, cross-sector dialogue, and networking. Attendees leave with concrete resources, actionable strategies, and peer networks. This symposium will be a critical step toward collective action.
Every university has a role. Every voice matters as we move this conversation forward.
We look forward to welcoming your representatives in February 2026.
Yours sincerely,
Associate Professor Chris Browne, Co-Lead Investigator
Associate Professor Sally Baker, Co-Lead Investigator
On behalf of the project team:
Dr Sarah Walker (Australian National University) | Professor Chi Baik (University of Melbourne) | Dr Kieran Balloo (Southern Cross University) | Professor Sarah O’Shea (Charles Sturt University) | Professor Mollie Dollinger (Curtin University) | Dr James Brann (University of Tasmania) | Dr Naomi Milthorpe (University of Tasmania) | Associate Professor Peta Cook (University of Tasmania)
PROJECT PARTNERS: The Australian National University | Charles Sturt University | Curtin University | University of Melbourne | Southern Cross University | University of Tasmania
FUNDED BY: Australian Centre for Student Equity and Success (ACSES)