1. Conference Overview
The HERA 2026 Annual Conference, themed “Asian Higher Education in a Changing Global Context,” was co-hosted by the Graduate School of Education at Peking University (June 13) and the School of Education at Tsinghua University (June 14).
The conference brought together researchers, policymakers, and early-career scholars from different regions to discuss contemporary developments in higher education, including internationalization, academic mobility, governance, doctoral education, and the implications of generative artificial intelligence for higher education research and practice.
2. Submission and Acceptance Statistics
The conference received substantial interest from the international higher education research community. Following the peer-review process, the program included the following:
a) Total Submissions Received: 446 abstracts and papers
b) Total Accepted Presentations: 201
c) Overall Acceptance Rate: approximately 45%
3. Presentation Formats and Sessions
The conference program consisted of a range of presentation formats across the two-day event:
a) Panel Sessions: 12 sessions involving journal editors, senior scholars, and thematic research groups
b) Oral Presentations: Parallel paper sessions covering a wide range of topics in higher education research, 101 papers were presented on 13th
c) Poster Presentations: 54 posters, including contributions presented in the Young Scholar and Doctoral Student Forum
4. Participation
The conference attracted participants from a variety of countries and regions.
a) Total Registered Participants: 447
b) Geographical and Institutional Representation: Participants came from 23 countries and regions, representing 109 institutions
5. Acknowledgements
The conference was made possible through the joint efforts of colleagues, staff members, student volunteers, and participating institutions. The Local Organizing Committee would like to thank the HERA Steering Committee for its guidance and support throughout the planning and implementation of the conference.
We look forward to supporting the continued development of the HERA community and to the HERA 2027 Annual Conference.
HERA 2026 Local Organizing Committee
Graduate School of Education, Peking University
School of Education, Tsinghua University
