Call for symposia proposals
Symposium submissions will open on Monday 9 November 2026.
APSA and ASCEPT recognise the diversity of their membership and are committed to the values, attitudes and conduct of equity, diversity and inclusion to create a collegial, collaborative and successful professional community. The Joint Scientific Meeting is committed to achieving equity and inclusion through balancing representation across symposia proposals in alignment with the diverse membership composition. Your application should describe aspects of equity, diversity and inclusivity with the selection of chairs and speakers, including the gender composition of contributors, the career level (early, mid, senior), diversity of geographical locations, and minority group representation. You can view the policy here.
The deadline for submitting symposia proposals is 11:59pm AEST, Friday 5 March 2027.
Symposium format and evaluation process
Each symposium will run for two hours and is to incorporate four speakers, or three speakers and a panel discussion, each with an allotted presentation time of 30 minutes: 20 minutes plus 5-10 minutes to allow audience members to ask questions of presenters and for an exchange of views.
- Please ensure that you have sought agreement from speakers to participate in your symposium before including them in the application.
- Symposia will be ranked by the organising committee of the Joint Scientific Meeting and relevant delegates (e.g. ASCEPT Special Interest Group chairs and APSA executives).
- Applicants will be advised via email whether their symposium proposal has been accepted by Friday 2 April 2027.
- Successful applicants will be required to submit their final speaker and chairperson names to the meeting secretariat via email to apsa-ascept2027@expertevents.com.au by Friday 9 April 2027.
Meeting registration and travel expenses
If your proposal is successful, the symposium applicant, chairperson and speakers will be requested to register for the meeting. APSA and ASCEPT members, including the symposium applicant, chairperson and speakers, are required to fund their own registration and travel expenses.
Individual symposium presenters will be required to submit their abstract (i.e. for their 20 minute talk as part of the symposium) via an online portal from Friday 9 April 2027. The deadline for symposium abstract submission is Monday 14 June 2027.
Non-member speakers may be offered either a single day or full complimentary registration, at the discretion of the organising committee.
Sponsorship should be sought by applicants for additional speaker costs.
How will my symposia application be judged?
Proposals must include sufficient supporting material to permit the Joint Scientific Meeting Organising Committee to evaluate the quality of and potential interest in the symposium. Reviewers will rank the applications in order from most to least appropriate for the meeting according to the criteria below. Any conflicts of interest must be declared and the conflicted reviewer will abstain from ranking the symposia for which they have a conflict.
CONTENT. Highly ranked proposals should:
- Demonstrate sound scientific merit across the symposium talks;
- Include content that makes a contribution to knowledge;
- Demonstrate novelty or innovation; or,
- Provide new insights into old topics.
SPEAKERS. Highly ranked proposals should:
- Include a balance of early- and mid-career speakers, as well as established and senior researchers;
- Ensure that the principles of equity, diversity and inclusion are demonstrated by the applicant in the selection of chairs and speakers, including the proportion of male and female contributors, diversity of geographical locations, and under-represented groups in scientific societies;
- Indicate that the proposed speakers have agreed in principle to participate in the symposia should it be selected for the Joint Congress.
PRESENTATION. Highly ranked proposals will be:
- Well organised and clearly written; and
- Include a series of well-considered and coherent talks that contribute to the overall symposia theme.
AUDIENCE. Highly ranked proposals should address a topic that is of interest to more than one conference partner or more than one special interest group.