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Twentieth European Conference on Technology Enhanced Learning

Two Decades of TEL: from Lessons Learnt to Challenges Ahead

Newcastle and Durham, UK, 15-19 September 2025

Doctoral Consortium

The EC-TEL Doctoral Consortium (DC) brings together PhD candidates working on topics related to Technology-Enhanced Learning with senior researchers in the field, providing them with an exceptional opportunity to present, discuss, and receive feedback on their research in an interdisciplinary and international atmosphere. Prominent professors and researchers in the field of Technology-Enhanced Learning will provide formative feedback to the selected papers through the review process and contribute actively to the planned format at the consortium.

Doctoral Consortium Format

The format for the DC will be firehose presentations by student presenters (5-10 minute introductions of their research) followed by “speed dating” with senior members of the community. Students will speak for approximately 5 minutes with each of the senior researchers in attendance at the DC about their research, asking targeted questions of each (e.g., “Should I narrow or widen my primary research question?”, “Do you have any suggestions about my planned study/ies?”). The goal of this approach is to provide 1-on-1 learning opportunities for all PhD students with as many senior researchers as possible. This also provides an opportunity for career networking and confidential conversations with senior members of the community than might otherwise occur.

Who can apply

The intention of this doctoral consortium is to support and inspire PhD candidates during their ongoing research efforts. Therefore, we will consider applications from PhD students who:

  • have started working on a PhD before the doctoral consortium.
  • have neither achieved their PhD degree nor officially submitted their thesis before the doctoral consortium.
  • are working on a topic within the Technology-Enhanced Learning domain.
  • have good English reading and writing skills.

All being equal, candidates who are at earlier stages of their PhD will be prioritised.

Why apply to the DC?

By joining the DC, you will:

  • Have a chance to share your current work-in-progress with a friendly but knowledgeable group of fellow researchers and professors.
  • Receive feedback on your proposal by experienced anonymous reviewers.
  • Practice communicating your research to a group of researchers in your area.
  • Meet other PhD students who share interests with you.
  • Have an opportunity to discuss PhD employability and strategies in a friendly environment.
  • Publish your PhD proposal in the Doctoral Consortium proceedings.
  • Meet and network with senior academics of the community.

Application process

1. Doctoral Consortium Paper

  1. Write about your PhD research!
  2. Use the supplied two-column CEUR template: either latex or doc.
  3. The length of the Doctoral Consortium paper is 5-10 pages.
  4. Make sure to adhere to the CEUR-WS Policy on AI assisting tools.
  5. Create a submission and upload the paper to EC-TEL EasyChair.
  6. (optional) All accepted Doctoral Consortium papers can present a poster about their PhD at the EC-TEL 2025 poster session.
  7. All DC papers should be authored only by the student themself. You can acknowledge your supervisor or collaborators at the end of the paper.
  8. Please remember to submit the support letter from your supervisor together with your paper!

2. Application Form

PhD candidates are requested to complete the EC-TEL Doctoral Candidate application form (time required: 5 minutes).

Doctoral Consortium paper

Elements to be addressed in the EC-TEL Doctoral Consortium paper:

  • A clear formulation of the research question.
  • An identification of the significant problems in the field of research within the TEL domain.
  • An outline of the current knowledge of the problem domain, as well as the state of existing solutions.
  • An outline of the applied or intended research methodology.
  • A description of the PhD project’s potential contribution to solving the stated TEL problem.
  • A discussion of how the proposed solution is different, new, or better as compared to existing approaches to the problem. How does your research advance knowledge in the field?
  • A presentation of any preliminary ideas, the proposed approach, and the results achieved so far.

Review and publication

The accepted Doctoral Consortium papers will be published in CEUR Workshop proceedings: ceur-ws.org. The participants will have the opportunity to improve their papers in response to the reviews and based on the feedback they received during the Doctoral Consortium.

All submissions will be reviewed by at least two senior researchers.

Dates

  • 10 April 2025 – PhD candidate application opens
  • 16 June 2025 – PhD candidate application deadline
  • 21 July 2025 – Doctoral Consortium reviews
  • 15 September 2025 – EC-TEL 2025 Doctoral Consortium
  • 13 October 2025 – Camera-ready version of the improved submission
  • November 2025 – Expected publication date

Doctoral Consortium Chairs

Ilona Buchem

Berlin University of Applied Sciences, Germany

As a Professor of Media and Communication at Beuth University of Applied Sciences Berlin, Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences, Dr. Ilona Buchem teaches courses in bachelor’s and master’s programs, both on campus and online, including Digital Business (BSc.) and Media Informatics (MSc.). As the head of the Communications Lab, Ilona Buchem leads a number […]

Mutlu Cukurova

University College London, UK

Mutlu Cukurova is Professor of Learning and Artificial Intelligence at University College London. Prof. Cukurova investigates the potential of AI to understand and support human learning with a particular interest in “learning how to learn” and solving complex problems collaboratively. His work emphasises human-AI complementarity, aiming to address the pressing socio-educational challenge of preparing people for […]

Profile picture - Carrie Demmans Epp

Carrie Demmans Epp

University of Alberta, Canada