In this week’s blog, Sally Dowling reports on attendance at the International Assessment in Higher Education conference, held in Manchester in June. She also shares the call for contributions for next year’s conference.
The Assessment in Higher Education (AHE) network is ‘an independent network focused on developing research-informed practice in assessment and feedback in higher education’ (About AHE). Through the AHE network and events, academics are brought together, representing a range of subject disciplines and professional fields. They have in common that they are ‘evaluating, researching and developing theory, research, policy and practice in assessment and feedback’. The focus isn’t medical education, but the issues discussed are of direct relevance to members of BMERG.
Each June, the University of Cumbria hosts the International AHE conference. The conference is held in Manchester and attracts academics from all over the world, interested in coming together to discuss aspects of assessment in higher education. This year the conference was held on the 19th– 20th June, with over 285 delegates attending from 20 countries. Highlights from the conference can be found here.
On the recommendation of Dave Gattrell from BILT, three of us attended this year, presenting four papers in total. The presenters (Sally Dowling, Nicola Rooney and student partner, Tirion Cobby) are from the Medical and Vet Schools but represent a multi-disciplinary team with other members from the Vet School (Julie Dickson), Library Services (Bogdan Florea), School of Modern Languages (Christophe Fricker) and the School of Psychological Science (Craig Gunn). Together we have worked, from 2023-2025, on a BILT-funded project ‘Designing for all – research, report and academic guidance’. Our papers presented the findings from the four sub-projects we had worked on:
1) a scoping review of inclusive assessment in the UK
2) focus groups with students and staff exploring perceived inclusivity of assignments at our university
3) a student survey investigating how students perceive different types of assessments in terms of authenticity, inclusivity, and ability to demonstrate performance
4) a mixed-method discourse analysis of student views on assessment.
Our papers were well-received, and we had some interesting discussions with those who attended our sessions. We are working on finalising and submitting our papers for publication now and giving a final report to BILT later this month.
There were two great keynote speakers, Professor Sam Elkington, Teesside University and Associate Professor Alex Buckley, Heriot-Watt University; more information on their presentations and the rest of the programme can be found here. Between us we went to a range of interesting presentations and workshops, including some specifically from those working in medical education. We’d really recommend the conference to all working in HE and I’d specifically recommend it to BMERG members. It’s good to hear what those in other disciplines are doing around assessment issues and to discuss experiences, innovations and developments in this area with a wide group of academics. The call for contributions is open now, with a deadline of 19 January 2026. The organisers say that ‘the conference is aimed at those working in all contexts where higher education is delivered who have an interest in the practice and research of assessment’. It will be in Manchester again, at the Manchester Marriott Hotel Piccadilly on the 18th and 19th June, 2026. The call for contributions, including information on the presentation formats, can be found here.
Author Biography
Dr Sally Dowling is a Senior Lecturer in Bristol Medical School. She teaches on the Health Professions Education programme, is Student Choice Year 1 Academic Lead for the MBChB programme and Co-Programme Director for the MSc Reproduction and Development. She has many years’ experience in teaching health professionals, of qualitative research, writing for publication and journal reviewing/editing. She has particular interests in teaching research methods and supporting others, including students, to publish.