The conference will take place at the Centre for Researching Education and Labour (REAL Centre), University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa. The University of Witwatersrand is a World-Class African University:

• Founded as the South African School of Mines in Kimberley in 1896, attained full university status in 1922.
• Consistently ranked among the top universities in Africa and globally recognized for its research and academic excellence.
• The university’s most famous alumnus is Nelson Mandela, South Africa’s first democratically elected president and Nobel Peace Prize laureate. He studied law at Wits in the 1940s and was awarded an honorary doctorate in 1991.

The Centre for Researching Education and Labour (REAL) is a research centre in the School of Education at the University of the Witwatersrand. It conducts cutting edge research, offers teaching programmes and provides support to policy makers and regulatory institutions on areas of theoretical, practical, and policy concern focused on the complex relationships between education, knowledge, work, the economy, and society with an aim to promote social, economic and ecological sustainability and a more just society.

Conference Theme:

Learning Across Continents: Conversations in a divided world

• How do we understand the role of VET in preparing young people for work when labour markets and workplaces are in flux nationally and internationally?
• Is this changing the nature of VET and VET curricula? Is it raising new questions on work, labour markets and education? What is core to VET that is stable across different contexts?
• Are systems looking more similar or more different from each other?
• What are the main factors—such as workplace organisation, changing labour markets, changing enrolment in schools and universities, and the nature of economies that are influencing different aspects of VET provision—such as curriculum, governance, partnerships, enrollment patterns—in different countries?
• How do we connect better as researchers, and use VET research to build connection?

Approach

The conference will go beyond a regular academic conference: in addition to presentation of research papers, we will have:

• Evening team building activities such as drumming workshops, exposure to South African and African culture, and dance
• Reflective morning and evening sessions to focus on building a broader picture of VET research drawing on the research presented
• Poster events
• A structured panel—with representation from employers, policy makers, and development agencies.
• Open space technology to build interaction across the duration of the conference.

Dates and timeline

• Submission of abstracts: opens 15 October 2026, closes 15 November 2026
• Notification of acceptance: 15 December 2026
• Submission of full paper: 20 February 2027
• Feedback to your paper: 31 March 2027. You will then have 10 days to make the necessaries changes.
• Conference: 18-20 May 2027

Build-up workshops

Prior to the conference, two online research seminars will be hosted, bringing into focus research agendas and research frameworks across different countries.

Institutional Infrastructure & Additional hosting in South Africa

• We will organize accommodation at a hotel in an area easy to navigate, close to the university, and will organize transport to and from the conference each day.
• The REAL Centre will also put together recommendations of tourism options, for those who would want to maximize their visit to South Africa

We are looking forward to seeing you in South Africa!

Conference Organisers: Stephanie Allais & Prisha Ramsarup, VETNET: Christof Nägele & Barbara E. Stalder