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Call for submissions 2025

Beyond Futures is an annual event celebrating research and innovation being undertaken at the University of Wolverhampton. The Festival will take place from 9 -12 September 2025.

We invite research students from any discipline or any stage of research to submit a high-quality paper or extended abstract for possible inclusion at the research student conference taking place on Tuesday 9 September 2025.

This will be an excellent opportunity for you to showcase your work, connect with other researchers, and an effective way to try out new ideas. 

Prizes will be awarded for the best oral and poster presentations. Shortlisted students will be invited to the Research and Enterprise Awards dinner on Friday 12 September 2025, held at University of Wolverhampton at The Halls.

We encourage you to submit a paper or extended abstract of your choice relating to one of the conference themes, below:

  1. Health and Social Care
  2. Inclusive Communities (also including STEM and the community - science engagement and maths tutoring programme)
  3. Green Innovation and Sustainability
  4. Inclusive economy, society and culture

See the submission details and guidelines for further information.

How to Apply

For further information see the:

Key dates

  • Call for submissions: open now!
  • Submission of applications closes: Extended to 9am on 7 July 2025
  • Initial reviewer feedback on submission by 14 July
  • Submission of final paper/extended abstract on or before: 28 July
  • Final decision on oral/poster presentation communicated by 1 August
  • Prepare PowerPoint presentation or poster for 1 September

Conference FAQs

The student conference will take place on Tuesday 9 September 2025.

  • Oral presentations will be scheduled in the morning 
  • Poster presentations will be scheduled in the afternoon

Submitting an extended abstract or full paper alongside an application is the normal way to respond to a call to speak at an academic conference.

When making a submission to a conference:
  • Understand the theme: Ensure your research aligns with the conference's focus. 
  • Highlight novelty and significance: Emphasise the unique aspects and contributions of your research. 
  • Include results (if available): If your research has yielded results, include them in your abstract, as this often increases your chances of acceptance. 
  • Tailor your abstract: Customise your abstract to fit the specific requirements of a conference. 
  • Consider presentation format: Some conferences allow you to choose between a talk or a poster presentation. If both options are available, you may want to apply for both. 

The organising committee will then review the submissions and information applicants whether they have been successful for an oral or a poster presentation. This is the same at Beyond Futures.

Final version of extended abstracts and papers will be published in the conference proceedings.

Conference proceedings are published collections of academic papers and extended abstracts that were presented at a conference or symposium. They serve as a record of the research, discussions, and findings presented during the event. Proceedings can be a valuable resource for researchers seeking cutting-edge information and insights into a specific field.

The Beyond Futures Student Conference Proceedings will be published via our Institutional repository (WIRE). 

To add conference proceedings to your CV, you should include them under a "Publications" or "Conference Presentations" section, depending on your field and the significance of the conference. Cite the paper as you would a journal article, including author(s), title, conference name, date, and page numbers if applicable.

Citing Conference Proceedings

To be made up of:

  • Author/editor.
  • Year of publication (in round brackets).
  • Title of conference (in italics).
  • Location and date of conference.
  • Place of Publication.

If seen online, add:

  • Available at: URL
  • (Accessed: date).

In-text citation: (Institute for Large Businesses, 1999)

Reference List:

Institute for Large Businesses (1999). Large firms policy and research conference. University of Birmingham, December 18-19. Leeds: Institute for Large Businesses.

The poster format requirements are as follows:

  • Size of the Poster: A1
  • Paper orientation: Portrait or landscape
  • You may design your poster in an imaging package of your choice but remember that the poster must be sized to A1 before you start.
  • Include your name, whether you are part-time or full-time and your year of study.
  • Include a title.
  • Include the University logo
  • It is considered good practice to name/acknowledge your supervisory team.
  • The poster must have a mix of text, images, and tables.
  • The link to your theme must be mentioned in the poster.
  • Remember that for the purposes of the conference you are presenting your research to a non-specialist or lay audience.
  • The poster should be discussed with your supervisory team prior submission.
  • When complete save your poster as a pdf file before submitting – noting that the total maximum email message size allowed by the University network is 50mb.

 For more information see the guide to Creating Academic Posters

As detailed in the format requirements, you are required to submit your poster as a pdf file to Beyondfutures@wlv.ac.uk. The deadline for submission is on or before 1st September 2025.

The poster will then be printed for you free of charge, and displayed ready for the poster presentation session taking place on the afternoon of 9 September.

All you have to do is attend and be prepared to speak to the judges and conference attendees about your research poster.

If selected you will give your conference presentation on the morning of 9 September 2025, in a room in the Millennium City Building.

When preparing your PowerPoint presentation the conference guidelines are as follows:

  • No more than 10 slides in total
  • One slide must represent the theme linked to your research.
  • The presentation should look professional.        
  • The PPT slides must be simple and understandable to a non-technical audience.
  • The slides should be discussed with your supervisory team prior submission.

The slides should be submitted to Beyondfutures@wlv.ac.uk by 1 September 2025. The Chair of your presentation group will ensure that your presentation is available on the PC in the room, so you do not need to do this yourself.

There will be prizes for best paper (oral presentations) and best poster, along with runner-up prizes. These will be scored by the chair and deputy chair for oral presentations and by poster judges.

In addition there will be people's choice awards for the posters in the categories of:

  • Visual impact
  • Clarity of message
  • Importance to society

Winners will be selected via an online vote by the research community and conference attendees.

The top scoring oral and and poster presentations will be shortlisted for a prize. Shortlisted students will be invited to the Research and Enterprise Awards dinner on the evening of Friday 12 September 2025, held at University of Wolverhampton at The Halls. Prize winners will be announced during the dinner.