Autumn 2026 Newsletter Out Now

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 the University of Melbourne hosting on July 23 & 24. The conference theme is “Universities Engaging all of Us: Committing to Trust, Purpose, and Impact” which is a timely theme given the public rhetoric on the purpose of universities in modern Australia, a newly minted ATEC, the outcomes of the Strategic Examination of Research and Development (SERD), and as we enter the next cycle of the Carnegie Classification. An exciting list of speakers is developing, and we hope to see you in Melbourne. The call for papers is open until April 30 and do take advantage of the early bird tickets (by June 5).

Transform: The Journal of Engaged Scholarship continues to go from strength to strength with the next call for papers closing June 7. We are grateful to our journal sponsors GivePulse for making this opportunity to share engaged work in a scholarly forum possible.

We are excited that the second round of Australian Carnegie Community Engagement Classifications are underway with an exciting group of universities that have committed to undertaking the rigorous self-study and commitment to continuous improvement. Our Carnegie Network continues to put on engaging webinars, and we hope to see you at some of these soon (see summary below).

Finally, at the end of 2025 we responded to the Senate Inquiry into the quality of governance at Australian Higher Education Providers. Please see the summary and link to the full piece below as we fulfil our role advocating for impactful university engagement with community, industry, and government across the sector. We hope that this piece stimulates thought as we continue to champion connected, impactful institutions for the public good.

We hope you are enjoying this beautiful time of year, wherever you are, and a warmer beverage can support your reading of the newsletter.

Verity Firth and Matthew Pink, Autumn, 2026