{"id":4783,"date":"2025-11-28T16:13:23","date_gmt":"2025-11-28T16:13:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/festival.hfd.digital\/en\/?page_id=4783"},"modified":"2026-04-08T13:51:22","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T13:51:22","slug":"call-for-participation-2026","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/festival.hfd.digital\/en\/call-for-participation-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Call for Participation 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The call is now closed. Thank you for your submissions!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The call for participation for the University:Future Festival 2026 \u2013 Under Pressure ran from 1 December to 16 February 2026. We were looking for talks, workshops, discussions, micro-training sessions, labs and other formats. The focus is always on (digital) innovations in academic education and beyond.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here you will find our announcement again:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The University:Future Festival programme thrives on your submissions. Help shape the festival with your ideas! What we are looking for: Everything from visionary and surprising insights to concrete, instructive problem descriptions to exciting solutions and approaches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Please note: The Call for Participation is intended for all contributions that fit into a specific programme schedule. Please also take a look at our other calls.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The motto: Under Pressure<\/em><\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Under Pressure <\/em>describes the reality facing universities today: financial pressure, technological transformation, social division and demographic change are just some of the challenges they face. We do not ignore these problems, but place them at the centre of the discussion in order to seek solutions together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because pressure can also be fuel: it shapes, accelerates and brings about new things. Pressure tests which ideas and structures are sustainable and which need to be rethought. Pressure situations reveal what makes universities resilient \u2013 and we want to make that visible at U:FF.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tracks<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

The University:Future Festival programme is divided into seven tracks. The tracks reflect the topics that are important to our communities. They are based on the results of a community survey, experiences from past events and strategic decisions. You will find a detailed description of all the tracks of the University:Future Festival 2026 here.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

About the Call<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Who we are looking for – target groups of the call<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Anyone can participate in the Call for Participation for the University:Future Festival 2025 \u2013 because higher education concerns us all. We are very interested in incorporating innovative ideas and examples of good practice from around the world into the festival programme. In particular, we are addressing:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

University staff:<\/strong> The main target group of the festival are people who work at universities \u2013 as teachers, educators, managers or administrative staff. This naturally also includes employees of support services such as IT, data protection or legal departments. Representatives of private educational institutions are just as welcome to participate as people from public universities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Students: <\/strong>Amplifying the voice of students is a particular concern of U:FF. We invite student organisations and individuals to present their ideas, perspectives, opinions and demands at the festival.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Civil society<\/strong>: Perspectives on academic education are relevant from many sectors of society. We are looking for people from all areas who have something to say about the future of (digital) higher education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Companies<\/strong>: EdTechs and other companies offer innovative solutions, have educational needs for their employees, and are important cooperation partners for universities in higher education and continuing education. They offer innovative solutions to many challenges. Please note that pure product pitches cannot be part of the programme.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Formats: What we are looking for<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

You can submit a range of formats as part of the Call for Participation for the University:Future Festival 2026. Please note that only digital formats will be offered on the last day of the event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Format<\/strong><\/td>Description <\/strong><\/td>Duration<\/strong><\/td>Location<\/strong><\/td><\/tr>
Inputs<\/td>Input on a topic by one or more people. The focus should be on applicable knowledge. The form can vary, but the most common form is a presentation (approx. 20 minutes) followed by a discussion.
A maximum of two people should provide input; a larger number should be justified in terms of content.<\/td>		30 minutes<\/td>Digital, individual submissions are invited to presence stages<\/td><\/tr>
Lightning Talks<\/td>Short inputs by a maximum of two people.<\/td>5 minutes<\/td>Digital<\/td><\/tr>
Discussions<\/td>A dynamic and diverse discussion by several people. The planned co-discussants must be named in the submission.
Each panellist should be scheduled to speak for at least 10 minutes on average, i.e. for a 30-minute discussion: max. three panellists, for 60 minutes four to five.<\/td>		30 or 60 minutes<\/td>Digital, individual submissions are invited to presence stages<\/td><\/tr>
Workshops<\/td>Interactive formats with a limited number of participants (maximum of 50 people as standard). Active work with the participants is a prerequisite.<\/td>60 ore 120 minutes<\/td>Digital, individual workshops are invited to take place in presence<\/td><\/tr>
Trainings<\/td>Short learning units. There is no limit to the number of participants. Active work with participants is optional and depends on the learning objective.<\/td>60 or 120 minutes<\/td>
Digital, individual training courses purely in presence<\/td><\/tr>
Labs<\/td>The \u2018Lab\u2019 is a participatory format: session leaders bring an idea, a problem or a prototype and develop it further together with the audience. A Lab is always interactive and ends with a concrete result (e.g. an artefact or a short paper). When submitting a proposal, therefore, the aim, the mode of participant involvement and the desired output should be specified.<\/td>90 or 120 minutes<\/td>On site or digitally<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Places: Where you can present<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The University:Future Festival is a hybrid digital-first event with five stages planned in Germany and Austria. In other words, our format is unusual.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We therefore ask you to let us know where you can and want to present from:<\/p>\n\n\n\n