48th EAIR Annual Forum | Call for papers 2026

Strengthening trust between higher education and society

Higher education institutions have a symbiotic relationship with the societies they serve, be they local or global. In recent years, this relationship has encountered challenges on both sides (Berman & Paradeise, 2016). Major global concerns, armed conflicts, disinformation campaigns, all compound to erode the notion of truth and the precedence of facts and increasingly question the worth in and of higher education. The allure of simple answers to complex questions serves to undermine trust in and legitimacy of academia at large.

Higher education institutions, preoccupied with rankings, funding cuts, and multiple competitions (Krücken, 2021), struggle to counter these forces and meet the growing need to broaden the inclusion of diverse forms and actors for co-creation of knowledge (Mergner, Leišytė & Bosse, 2019). The sense of crisis of higher education threatens the dialogue between higher education and society. New models of higher education responsible governance, inclusion of stakeholder interests and building trust through dialogue and recognition are paramount more than ever before (Lamont, 2023).

The 48th EAIR Forum invites analyses of the current state of higher education and discussions on future possibilities and avenues for growth and transformative change. 

Track details

Track 1. Teaching, learning and student experience

How to foster a deeper connection between higher education and students as members of society? How can trust be nurtured between different stakeholders in higher education in the context of the growing role of AI, social media, and fake news? How to pursue an inclusive approach and engage students in current affairs and simultaneously maintain deep roots in pursuit of universal knowledge? How to support diverse students during their academic experience?

Track 2. Governance and management

How can institutional autonomy be upheld in a world in which universities are labelled enemies and pushed into deal-making and the core values of universities are under strain? What responsible governance models foster dialogue and trust within higher education institutions, as well as higher education and society? What challenges are university leaders facing in upholding and defending their mission to serve the society and how can they address these? What is the role of intermediary agencies in building or dismantling trust in higher education?

Track 3. Engagement and partnerships in higher education

What connections exist and can be built among higher education institutions and between higher education institutions and external stakeholders? What are the main drivers of partnerships that build communities within and beyond the national higher education contexts? What are the pathways to strengthen trust and foster deeper engagement between higher education and society?

Track 4. Academic profession and professional development

What transformations of the academic profession can be observed both locally and globally? How do these transformations influence academics’ trust in their own profession and what role does professional development play in this regard? How does the changing nature of academic work impact the research–teaching nexus, faculty well-being, connection to society, work pressure, diversity, and professional autonomy? What policies and practices promote trust between the academic profession and society?

Track 5. Research policy

How do the current geopolitical and technological challenges impact the research conducted in higher education as well as interactions within the scientific community? What kind of ethical concerns do higher education institutions and academics need to consider in response to these challenges? What are the challenges and opportunities brought on by the use of AI in research? How are the emerging approaches to academic recognition and reward (DORA and CoARA) changing the future of research and higher education?

Track 6. Evaluation in higher education

How is value redefined in the context of decreasing trust in higher education? How does recognition work in higher education today? How are evaluation regimes constructed in different higher education systems and what implications they have for the quality and the sense of worth of academics and students? What actors are included and excluded in the construction and enactment of evaluation regimes? Which purposes do quality assurance policies and practices in higher education serve and how does this influence trust in higher education?

This event is partially funded under Research Project No. P-EDU-23-27, co-funded by the European Union through the “Breakthrough in Educational Research” project (No. 10-044-P-0001), in cooperation with the Research Council of Lithuania and Vilnius University.

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Sustainable Travel Ideas for the EAIR Cork Forum

Travelling from Europe

Visitors from Europe can travel via Eurostar from Paris to London and from there by train to Wales and by boat to Dublin. Travellers can then take the train or bus to Cork. Alternatively, there is a daily boat connection from Roscoff or Calais (in Northern France) directly to Ringaskiddy, Cork.  

Link for Direct Ferries: https://www.directferries.ie/

Travelling from the UK

There are ways to travel to and from Ireland without flying, as there are train and bus services that link with ferry services across the Irish Sea which connect several ports in England, Wales and Scotland with Irish ferry ports of Rosslare, Dublin or Belfast with ongoing travel by car, bus or train. 

Cross County Rail Services

Where taking a flight is necessary, attendees are encouraged to consider direct flights to Ireland (Cork, Dublin) airports and to use cross country rail services where a direct flight to Cork is not possible.

Link for Irish rail: https://www.irishrail.ie/en-ie/

Travel options in Cork

Cork is a city where active travel options are both available and encouraged – walking and cycling.  Visitors to Cork City can get a 3 day TFI bike subscription.

Link to TFI Bike Subscription: https://www.bikeshare.ie/pricing-and-subscriptions.html

All accommodation options and EAIR Forum venues in Cork can be accessed easily by foot. 

Offsetting Travel Emissions

Forum attendees are invited to offset the unfavourable impact of air travel by combining attendance at the Cork forum with other meetings in Ireland, the UK and Europe. 

Forum attendees who wish to consider sustainable travel options may also wish to combine their attendance at the Cork EAIR Forum with their annual holiday and by so doing minimise the number of air flights taken in 2024.