Where to publish your Engineering Education Research?

As we innovate in engineering education, we naturally want to share what we’ve learned with world. I often get asked, Where should I publish my engineering education research? What is this conference like? Will this sort of paper be accepted?

The list below is a very personal (and therefore UK centric) snapshot of the typical places I look at when both looking for what is going on in the field, but also when I’m looking to publish. Of course, I’m not beyond having my head turned by a conference in an exotic location I’ve never been, or pertinent special issue, but these are the ones I look out for every year (although don’t always get round to attending or submitting to). 

There is a broad range of Journals available in engineering education from the practitioner based to the rigorous, social-science theory heavy end of the spectrum. This is a very personal view of the type of things that get published in each journal. It draws heavily from two excellent pieces of work; the analysis of journal metrics in engineering education by my colleague Dr Abel Nyamapfene and the HEA published report Publishing Engineering Education Research by Judith Shawcross and Tom Ridgman of the University of Cambridge Institute for Manufacturing. There are different merits to each one, but sadly, there is very little open access in the Engineering Education world.

Journal of Engineering Education – American Society of Engineering Education. One of the highest impact journals in all Education (not just Eng Ed). Typically large studies (think NSF funding scale with 100s of data points) either across partners or longitudinal studies. High level of social science rigour.

IEEE Transactions on Education – IEEE. Emphasis on Electronic/Electrical Engineering and computer science (it is published by the IEEE) but does have a broader range of topics. Likes quantitative studies.

European Journal of Engineering Education – European Society for Engineering Education (SEFI). Range of papers from highly quantitative analysis to more case study papers. Has had long lead times, but has recently cleared much of the backlog. A really good quality of papers but still very readable for those looking to find something that they can use in their own teaching.

Research in Engineering Design – Theory, Applications, and Concurrent Engineering – Springer. Focus on design theory and methodology in all fields of engineering, with publications typically in the areas of mechanical, civil, architectural, and manufacturing engineering.

International Journal of Electrical Engineering Education – University of Manchester. A focus on practitioner led case-studies within Electrical (and Electronic) Engineering.

International Journal of Engineering Education - Tempus Publication. Originally launched by the Dublin Institute of Technology, IJEE publishes wide range of papers including case-studies and small scale studies. Does not offer open access and has some access issues as it is not through a mainstream publisher and hence unlikely to be an bundle of subscriptions. Often runs special issues.

Journal of Professional Issues in Engineering Education and Practice – American Society of Civil Engineers. Claims to have broad reach but some obvious emphasis on civil engineering.

Higher Education Pedagogies – UK HEA through Taylor Francis. Is the only remaining title in the HEAs portfolio of publications that used to include the Engineering Education Journal. Offers open access. Has a broad remit of topics in education.

Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem Based Learning (IJPBL). Published by Purdue and open access (hurrah!). Covers studies in PBL in all disciplines.

Journal of Problem Based Learning in Higher Education - Broad coverage journal on PBL out of the home of PBL in Engineering, Aalborg. Open Access.

Australasian Journal of Engineering Education - The Journal of the Australasian Association of Engineering Education (AAEE - often pronounced 'A squared E squared' if you want to show you are in the know….). Publishes a wide range of papers in topics across engineering education. Has a variety of different submission types available, including short technical notes and project reports. 

Nordic Journal of STEM Education - New open access journal that publishes in both English and Scandinavian languages with a focus contributions to the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL),

UK

EERS – UK&I Engineering Education Research Symposium - Now under the umbrella of the Royal Academy of Engineering this annual meeting of the UK and Ireland Engineering Education Research Network brings together an enthusiastic and supportive group of researchers in the UK. Will be in Portsmouth in 2018. Typically in November with a relatively short submission cycle. The EERN have now also launched the Spring Colloquium, with the first in May 2018. This has a focus on early career researchers. The events are usually free and have special sessions of the Newer Researchers Network, which provide opportunities for PhD’s, Post-Docs and colleagues new to Engineering Education Research to participate in a bespoke programme of CPD and other activities.

HEA STEM Conference - UK based conference covering a range of STEM education issues from the UK Higher Education Academy. Been January/February in the last couple of years (although has been later in the year previously). For the 2018 conference submission deadline was early October with the submission form requiring a 150 word Abstract.

International Symposium of Engineering Education - Started in Ireland (Dublin then Cork in the first few years) in 2007, it has been in the UK for the last few years, Sheffield and London. Doesn’t have a permanent web-precense and a google of “ISEE” throws up all sorts, so can be hard to find but quite a nice mix of practitioners from across the UK and Ireland.

European 

SEFI: Annual Conference of the European Society for Engineering Education (SEFI being from the French translation). Typically held in mid-September in locations such as the Azores 2017, Tampera, Finland in 2016 and Birmingham, UK. Relatively short submission timeline. The next three conferences are Copenhagen 2018, Budapest 2019 and Twente 2020 (see what they did there?). Very wide range of research accepted from case-studies to rigorous research studies. Typically around 300 delegates and an excellent opportunity to meet others across Europe in the area and to get involved with the working groups that develop policy papers and activities across a number of specific themes.

EDUCON: The European meeting of the IEEE Education Society - Although IEEE a broad engineering education conference which usually attracts a good range of speakers. Typically April/May time with paper submission in October. 2019 will be in Dubai (http://www.educon-conference.org/current/), with 2020 In Porto and 2021 in Vienna. Previously, 2018 in Canary Islands, 2017 Athens, 2016 Abu Dhabi, 2015 Estonia, 2014 Istanbul. Typically held in late March or April with an Abstract submission in the October before.

ICL – International Conference on Interactive Collaborative Learning - Typically late September with submission of structured abstracts in the March/April of that same year. Organised by IAOE (International Association of Online Engineering)  and IGIP (International Society of Engineering Pedagogy) Usually European based – recently Florence, Kazan(Russia), Dubai (with WEEF), Belfast, Budapest, this year (2018) in Kos, Greece.

International (World-wide)

Research in Engineering Education Symposium (REES) - The conference of the international Research in Engineering Education Network (REEN). Biannual and truly worldwide. 2017 was in Bogotá, Colombia while 2019 moves to Cape Town, South Africa. Usually a great set of speakers and a truly international gathering of some of the brightest minds in the field. Usually quite a travel, but well worth it.

CDIO Conference - You don’t have to worship at the altar of CDIO to attend – all are welcome! Typically focuses on active learning topics in keeping with CDIO such as PBL put also covers a range of topics relating the development of authentic engineering curriculum, project work and experiential learning. Moves worldwide. Recently in Calgary, Turku, Finland and 2018 in Kanazawa Japan while 2019 will be in Aarhus University, Denmark. Typically held in June with an abstract submission deadline in the November of the year before.

Engineering Education for Sustainable Development EESD - World-wide conference that occurs a little randomly (2016, 2015, 2013, 2010 saw conferences) with a very specific title, but tends to be more broad in content. Typically September (although occasionally a bit earlier). Had a history of being in Europe until recently,  Burges, (2016), Vancouver (2015), Cambridge (2013), Sweden, Spain. 2018 co-sponsored by ASEE in New Jersey, USA.

Regional 

ASEE Annual Conference: The big one! - Now in its 126th year, the annual conference of the American Society of Engineering Education is the big one. Over 400 technical sessions in this North American based extravaganza of engineering education. Really a conference of conferences. ASEE has divisions on different topics and each produces a track of their own with their own requirements for the types of papers they will accept. Typically June with an abstract submission in the October the year before. –2014 Indianapolis, 2015 Seattle  2016 New Orleans, 2017 Ohio, 2018 Salt Lake City, 2019 Tampa, 2020 Montreal,  2021 Long Beach, 2022 Minneapolis, 2023 Baltimore. 

Frontiers in Education Conference (FIE) - The main conference of the IEEE Education Society. Usually in North America, although occasionally it recognises that there is a wider world (2014 in Spain, the first time since 1990). 2018 San Jose, 2017 Indianapolis, 2016 Erie, PA, 2015 El Paso. 2020 sees it leave the US again and come to Uppsala, Sweden, while 2019 is Cincinnati, OH. Usually in October with abstract deadline in January/February. The IEEE is hot on acceptance rates as the key measure of a conference’s quality so typically FIE only accepts about 50% of submissions. It runs a two stage review process to achieve this. Typically about 500 to 600 attendees. It should be noted that the IEEE Education Society is boarder than just higher education, and their conferences often with a number of streams of K12 and vocational training.

International Conference on Teaching, Assessment and Learning for Engineering (TALE) - A relatively recent development of the IEEE in the Asia Pacific Region. 2017 in Hong Kong, 2016 Bangkok,  2015 Zhuhai, China, 2014 New Zealand. Usually held in December with paper deadlines quite short, often September even October. 2018 is in Wollongong, Australia.

Australasian Association for Engineering Education (A2E2) Conference - If you afford to escape the UK winter and head south then the A2E2 conference, typically held in December is well worth considering. Australia in particular is well known for a vibrant engineering education programmes with many leading names in the field and wide spread curriculum reform initiatives  (I love the work of Julie Mills , Sally Male and Roger Hadgraft to name justa few).