Call for Participation
The United Kingdom and Ireland Computing Education Research (UKICER) conference of the two SIGCSE chapters for UK and Ireland (the uki-sigcse.acm.org and the sigcseire.acm.org/) is seeking high quality contributions to research relevant to computing science education.
Contributions are sought in a variety of categories with emphasis on high-quality and rigorous work:
The following contributions are sought from the community:
-
Papers. Six-page research or tool design papers for presentation at the conference and publication in the proceedings.
-
DC Applications. Two-page application to participate in the Doctoral Consortium (DC) at the conference, including single-page abstract for publication in the conference proceedings.
-
WiP Applications. Two-page application to participate in the Works-in-Progress (WiP) at the conference.
-
Research in Practice Project Activities (RIPPA). Two-page proposals for RIPPA activity at conference.
-
Workshop proposals. Two-page workshop proposal for workshops to be delivered to attendees at the conference.
-
Posters. Single-page poster abstract for publication in conference proceedings and poster for presentation at the conference.
Submission for all these contributions should be made via EasyChair. Authors should consult the detailed submission format instructions and guidelines prior to submitting contributions for consideration.
Any questions about submissions should be emailed to the Programme Chairs.
All submissions related to computing education are welcome, at any stage of formal or non-formal education. Research areas of particular interest include:
- discipline based education research about computing, computer science, and related disciplines
- curricular aspects, learning standards, tools, educational approaches, context-relevant teaching, assessment
- professional development for computing educators at all levels
- design-based research, learner-centered design, and evaluation of educational technology supporting computing knowledge or skills development
- non-formal learning experiences related to programming and software development (all ages), ranging from after-school programs for children, to end-user development communities, to workplace training of computing professionals
- learning analytics and educational data mining in computing education contexts
- learning sciences work in the computing content domain
- measurement instrument development and validation (e.g., concept inventories, attitudes scales, etc) for use in computing disciplines
- pedagogical environments fostering computational thinking
- rigorous replication of empirical work, relevant to computing education, to compare with or extend previous empirical research results
All submitted papers should have a research component. Papers focused purely on practice-related topics such as implementation of new curricula or new course designs may be better suited to our sister Computing Education Practice conference.
Papers that authors would like to be considered for presentation at the conference and publication in proceedings must be be submitted via EasyChair (details to follow). Authors should consult
the detailed submission format instructions and guidelines for papers prior to submission.
Paper Format and Submission
Papers should be submitted in ACM double-column conference proceedings format. The page limit is six pages, not counting the references. The references may occupy a seventh page if the paper reaches the six-page limit. Accepted papers will be included in the proceedings, and presented in a session at the conference.
Papers must be submitted in an anonymised form for double-blind review. As well as not including the author names, this means that your institution, any identifiable programme you refer to, acknowledgements, and funding sources should be anonymised. Any papers that are not anonymised will be returned to the authors and possibly desk rejected before review.
By submitting your article to an ACM Publication, you are hereby acknowledging that you and your co-authors are subject to all ACM Publications Policies, including ACM's new Publications Policy on Research Involving Human Participants and Subjects. Alleged violations of this policy or any ACM Publications Policy will be investigated by ACM and may result in a full retraction of your paper, in addition to other potential penalties, as per ACM Publications Policy.
Please ensure that you and your co-authors obtain an ORCID ID, so you can complete the publishing process for your accepted paper. ACM has been involved in ORCID from the start and we have recently made a commitment to collect ORCID IDs from all of our published authors. We are committed to improve author discoverability, ensure proper attribution and contribute to ongoing community efforts around name normalization; your ORCID ID will help in these efforts.
ACM Open enables all corresponding authors affiliated with your institution to publish their scholarly articles with ACM on a completely open access basis without needing to pay any individual article processing charges (APC) and continue to have access to the ACM Digital Library, a comprehensive collection of full-text articles and bibliographic records covering the fields of computing and information technology. If the university or institution of the corresponding author is not already signed up to ACM Open then a processing charge will be levied. You should be aware of this before selecting your corresponding author. While you can include more than one corresponding author on your paper when submitting, once accepted you will have the opportunity to select one corresponding author who will be the contact person as we put together the proceedings for publication. Detailed guidance is available at: https://www.acm.org/publications/icps/author-guidance
If you are submitting to UKICER 2025 we will shortly be publishing some useful information about how your article will be reviewed.
The United Kingdom and Ireland Computing Education Research (UKICER) conference Doctoral Consortium (DC) provides an opportunity for doctoral students to engage with peers and work with researchers to reflect on the wider computing education research landscape and expand it through connection and collaboration.
The WiP is a small, intimate venue, a 'grown-up doctoral consortium' for academics. The aspiration is to bring together individuals to act as critical friends to discuss and nurture ideas and projects that are in progress. The 'works' from participants vary in terms of type, from research papers to projects, and progress, from embryonic to near-completion.
We invite proposals for running 1-2 hour workshops. The workshops should be relevant to British and Irish educators (in a university or school setting) and/or computing science education researchers. Example workshops may be on the
use of research techniques (e.g. qualitative methods), grant writing, pedagogical techniques (e.g. peer instruction), tools (e.g. programming environments, assessment tools), or any other topic which may be relevant to conference
attendees.
Workshop organisers will be given an opportunity to advertise their workshop via a one-minute lightning talk earlier in the conference.
Workshop proposal that leaders would like to be considered for delivery at the conference must be submitted via EasyChair. Authors should consult the detailed submission
format instructions and guidelines for workshop proposals prior to submission.
We invite posters for presentation and discussion at the conference. The posters should be relevant to British and Irish educators (in a university or school setting) and/or computing science education researchers. Example posters
could include initial ideas, experimental designs, pedagogical techniques or early proposals to address open challenges in computing science education research.
Poster abstracts that presenters would like to be considered for presentation at the conference must be be submitted via EasyChair. Authors should consult the detailed
submission format instructions and guidelines for poster abstracts prior to submission.
Research in Practice Project Activities (RIPPAs) are a relatively new form of collaborative, community-forming activity for Computing Science education research and practice at UKICER.
The aim is to bring practitioners and researchers together in computing science education to form networks, exchanges ideas, form collaborations and put research into practice, incorporate research into practice or improving practice.
RIPPAs span several months and participants are expected to commit to participating in a small number of online workshops as well as conducting some activity in their context, such as incorporating research into practice, collecting data and/or conducting research.
Participation and Commitment
The specific participation and commitment requirements depends on the RIPPA, but broadly RIPPAs require participants to:
- Attend start-up workshop at UKICER. The workshop will introduce the RIPPA, methodologies and approaches used as well as provide an opportunity for participants to get to know each other and learn about what is happening across the community.
- Perform activity. RIPPA participants are expected to perform some activity as part of the project. This activity could be to conduct research in their own context, incorporate research into their own practice or improve their practice. Participants would then share their contributes back to the group remotely.
- Attend interim workshop. The workshop - which will usually be online, unless RIPPA leaders can facilitate in-person meeting - will give participants an opportunity to share their contributions as well as analyse results and discuss any insights from the activity. The group will then begin to form it into a complete outcome and decide next steps.
- Capstone workshop. The final workshop to pull together any remaining work involved in the activity and form into an artefact that can be disseminated among the community through the optimal channel, such as UKICER or the Computing Education Practice (CEP).
- Relax and unwind at a wrap-up dinner. Wrap-up meal and opportunity to reflect on the experience and plan future collaborations with other rippers.
Outcomes
The focus of RIPPAs is the participants and the expectation is that they will achieve the following from participating in a RIPPA:
- Strengthened knowledge and skills in research and practice. Dependent on the specific RIPPA, the expectation is that participants will strengthen their research knowledge and skills. This could be awareness emerging teaching practice and how to investigate it, appropriate methodologies for computing education research (CER) and/or deepened appreciation of the state of the art in CER.
- Strengthened and expanded network of collaborators. Form connections with academics, scholars and researchers from across the computing science education community with similar interests and challenges. Valuable not only for conducting future research investigations but also to gain insight into innovative practice in other institutions as well as creating bonds with other academics to discuss on-going sector challenges and how to solve them.
-
Publication. The expectation is that outcomes of RIPPAs will be high-quality, multi-institutional studies that are authentic and steeped in data from contexts spanning many different from many perspectives. Participants will be authors on such high-quality contributions that are difficult to devise and coordinate for most sole academics.
RIPPA proposals that presenters would like to be considered for delivery at the conference and beyond must be be submitted via EasyChair. Authors should consult the detailed
submission format instructions and guidelines for RIPPA prior to submission.
The United Kingdom and Ireland Computing Education Research (UKICER) conference Doctoral Consortium (DC) provides an opportunity for doctoral students to engage with peers and work with researchers to reflect on the wider computing education research
landscape and expand it through connection and collaboration.
Aims
The UKICER DC has the following aims:
-
To allow new researchers to attend the conference, understand the UK CSEd landscape, and be introduced to the UKICER community.
-
To help build a cohort group of PhD researchers who will then have a network of colleagues across the UK.
-
To influence the growth of the conference, and the UKICER community, through researchers who see UKICER as a "home" conference.
Participation and Commitment
Successful candidates are required to participate in a workshop on the first day of the conference and an activity session on the second day of the conference. Candidates may also be expected to participate in supplementary activities
both before and after the Doctoral Consortium.
Eligibility
Applications are welcome from doctoral students at any stage of study and from any discipline as long as:
-
They are engaged in computing science education research (including, but not limited to: software engineering, cognitive psychology, programming languages and educational science).
-
They have not graduated prior to the DC.
-
They are registered with an institution in the United Kingdom and Ireland.
Outcome
Attendance and participation in the DC is published in the conference proceedings. The following information will be published:
- Candidate Information
- Name of Candidate
- Institution
- Area of computing education research focus or interest
- Supervisory Team
- Abstract
- Brief abstract (approximately 50 words) that provides sufficient insight into your work.
- Two or three references to influential background or related work.
- Early or established research goals or questions.
- Current or expected contributions of the work.
- Current or expected methodology to delivery contributions.
Application
Doctoral Consortium applications must be submitted via EasyChair. Candidates should consult the detailed submission format instructions and guidelines for the Doctoral Consortium prior to submission. Successful candidates are required to register for the conference, engage in the DC and attend in-person.
The Work in Progress (WiP) workshop is a specialised event for UKICER conference attendees who are established researchers in computing education research, or hold terminal degrees (such as PhDs). The aim of the workshop is to provide a community context in which attendees give and receive friendly and constructive feedback on their work. WiP is not appropriate for PhD students, who should consider the UKICER Doctoral Consortium.
A WiP workshop is an excellent opportunity to discuss and develop ongoing work. WiP submissions are concrete, anchored in a specific topic, and may be centred on various elements of work, including (but not limited to):
- A rejected paper
- A kernel of an idea
- A grant proposal
- A research project
- A study design
- An analysis approach
If accepted, attendees prepare a short primer on their work (4 page maximum) circulated in advance, this supports effective discussion. Depending on the number of participants we expect to spend 30 - 45 minutes discussing the work of each attendee.
Applying for the WiP Workshop
To apply to participate in the WiP workshop, please submit a 1- or 2-page overview of the project you'll present to the group. Also, include a brief description of previous research and areas of expertise you are able to offer the group. While no specific format is required, your submission should include:
- Your affiliation and title
- Project title and description (1–3 paragraphs)
- Stage of the project when WiP will occur (conceptual, new, on-going, near complete)
- Type of feedback sought (ideally, what would you most like from WiP participants? Research questions, design, critique, related works?)
- Your research experience (qualitative, quantitative, or mixed methods; study design; human subjects research; K-12, undergraduate, graduate, or professional contexts)
- Submit your application via EasyChair.
Accepted participants must prepare and submit a white paper (2–4 pages) to serve as a primer for all workshop participants. White papers are not published in the conference proceedings.
Collocated Pre-Conference Workshops
Upon registering, attendees can sign up to one of 2 FREE collocated pre-conference workshops taking place on Wednesday 3rd of September 2025. Please note that these workshops have limited capacity and only attendees who have signed up for them will be admitted. They will include lunch and refreshments.
Pre-conference Workshop 1: "GenAI Integration in Computer Science Education"
Time: September 3, 1pm-5pm
Location: Informatics Forum, 10 Crichton St, Edinburgh EH8 9AB
Abstract: The rise of Generative AI (GenAI) presents both a challenge and an opportunity for Computer Science (CS) education. This interactive workshop builds on key insights from a recent study* exploring how GenAI is being integrated into CS teaching, assessment, and learning at the University of Edinburgh. We'll share emerging patterns, pitfalls, and points of tension identified through staff and student engagement, and use these as a springboard for collective reflection – surfacing shared concerns and identifying concrete next steps, at the level of course design, institutional policy, or collaborative experimentation.
Participants will engage in a practical, hands-on exercise using GenAI tools within a controlled CS education context – designed to be directly useful, while also shedding light on effective and ineffective practices. This session is aimed at course organisers, instructors, and teaching-focused researchers seeking to make informed, context-sensitive decisions about GenAI in their teaching.
Come prepared to think critically, test practically, and contribute meaningfully to a rapidly evolving conversation that will shape the future of CS education.
Join us to learn, experiment, and help define how GenAI should serve – not distort – the goals of CS education.
* Principals' Teaching Award Scheme-funded; GenAI Integration in Computer Science Education.
Pre-conference Workshop 2: "Embedding Accessibility in Computer Science Education"
Time: September 3, 1pm-5pm
Location: Informatics Forum, 10 Crichton St, Edinburgh EH8 9AB
Abstract: Teaching accessibility in higher education (HE) is essential for equity promotion, legal compliance, professional readiness, diversity, inclusion, ethical fulfilment, innovation encouragement, and leadership in fostering an inclusive society. Yet, recent studies highlight a significant gap in formal education on accessibility. This interactive workshop aims to explore the current landscape of teaching accessibility within Computer Science (CS) Higher Education (HE). Focusing on the experiences of educators and teaching support providers, the session will collaboratively identify key challenges and gather insights into the support mechanisms needed to embed accessibility more effectively into CS curricula.
We will also share findings from a Principal's Teaching Award Scheme (PTAS) project conducted in the School of Informatics at the University of Edinburgh, shedding light on current practices and systemic barriers. Additionally, we will present a preliminary list of recommendations for instilling accessibility into CS education. This aims to spark institutional dialogue and inform broader CS education strategies.
This workshop offers a space for reflection, peer exchange, and the co-creation of actionable strategies to enhance teaching accessibility in CS education across institutions.
Main Conference Workshops
To be announced.
