11th – 13th June 2025 University Forum for Human Resource Development Conference

The conference accepts extended abstracts relating to full papers, working papers and practice-based papers as well as posters from doctoral students describing original research, studies and/or innovative practices that have not been published elsewhere. We welcome empirical studies, case studies, conceptual/ theoretical papers and practitioner research.

On submission, you will need to provide:

• Conference programme selection (doctoral symposium for posters or main conference);
• Conference stream;
• Author(s) name;
• Author(s)’s affiliation (if applicable);
• Contact email address;
• Your abstract (Please ensure you DO NOT include your name in the abstract or file name to ensure anonymity for review purposes).

All extended abstract submissions should be in English, and can take one of the following formats:

• Full reviewed papers, 1000 words Max.
• Working papers, 500 words Max.
• Doctoral Symposium Poster Submissions, see guidelines below.

Please note that the word limits outlined above exclude references.

All authors will receive the decision and feedback on their extended abstract / poster by the beginning of February. If accepted authors will be invited to submit their final (full or working) paper no later than the 19th May 2024.  Additional guidance will be issued upon acceptance of the extended abstract.

Abstracts should stress and sum up the paper’s importance, theoretical base, research purpose, research question, implications for practice, and conclusions. Key prompts for inclusion within these abstracts include:

• Paper’s importance
• Theoretical base
• Research purpose and research question/s
• Methods
• Key findings (if relevant)
• Implications for HRD practice
• Conclusions
• Key words

Doctoral students are invited to submit full or working papers to the main conference but are also welcome to submit a poster to the doctoral symposium. Posters can be developed using whichever platform is preferred but should comply with the following guidelines

• Single sheet
• Portrait orientation
• Helvetica, Verdana or Arial font styles only
• Images and diagrams are encouraged where appropriate
• Poster content should provide an outline of the following key areas (where possible):
  • Paper’s importance
  • Theoretical base
  • Research purpose and research question/s
  • Methods
  • Key findings (if relevant)
  • Implications for HRD practice
  • Conclusions
  • Key words

Upon final acceptance of the poster submission and in advance of the conference authors are also asked to generate a 2 minute audio to accompany their submissions providing an explanatory overview of the poster and what it shows. Authors are asked to record themselves in audio format and attach the file via a QR code placed in the bottom right of the poster.

All authors will receive the decision and feedback on their abstract / poster by the beginning of February.

Any delegates who require a confirmation of invitation letter to fulfill Visa requirements, please email: c.woods1@ulster.ac.uk

Dr Kesiena Ebenade

Kesiena is an Adjunct Assistant Professor at the National College of Ireland. She is also the Capability, Learning and Development Manager with BT Sourced. Her current research interests include the learning organisation, career development, workplace learning, coaching and mentoring. She has published an award winning paper in the Kybernetes journal and has numerous conference presentations in Europe, Africa and the United State. Kesiena is an experienced researcher using action research methodologies to solve real organisational problems. Email: Kesiena.Ebenade@ncirl.ie

Paul Lees

Paul has worked within the higher education sector for the past ten years. Paul joined Liverpool Business School in February 2020. He has a background in teaching in both the UK and overseas. Improvement projects led to Paul’s interest in further study and he holds a Master’s degree in education and leadership. Immediately prior to joining LJMU, Paul was a senior educationalist at the Royal College of Physicians. Paul led on the flagship RCP Chief Registrar programme and taught on a number of CPD and postgraduate programmes. Paul’s research interests encompass both a business and education perspective. He is currently exploring the relationship between action learning and organisational development. He has experience of engagement with private, public and third sector organisations.

Dr. Judith Woods

Judith is an experienced Lecturer with a demonstrated history of working in the higher education industry. Skilled in Innovation Management, Entrepreneurship, Lecturing, Social Network Analysis, and Strategy. Strong education professional with a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) focused in Management from Queen's University Belfast.

Dr. Judie Gannon

Judie is Director of Doctoral Programmes at Oxford Brookes University. Her research and teaching interests include organisational approaches to coaching and mentoring, specifically the social and political issues around coaching and mentoring programme development and delivery. She has attended UFHRD conferences for the last eight years (prior to Covid). In 2019 she was recognised for her contribution to the world of mentoring by the EMCC,as the Winner of a Global Mentoring Award. She writes and reviews for several high profile HRM, HRD, organisation and management journals and is Editor-in-chief of the International Journal of Evidence based Coaching & Mentoring based in the International Centre for Coaching and Mentoring Studies at Oxford Brookes University. Judie can be contacted via @doctorjudieg and jmgannon@brookes.ac.uk.

Dr. Duminda Rajasinghe

Duminda is a Senior Lecturer in HRM, and OB and he specialises in leadership development, coaching and learning and development. He teachers human resource management at both postgraduate and undergraduate level and act as an academic mentor. Duminda co-teaches and leads few different modules across levels within the HRM and OB subject group. He is a member of Centre for people, work and organisational practice research group.

Dr Karine Mangion-Thornley

Karine is a senior lecturer in Organisation Studies at the University of the West of England (UWE). She delivers a range of executive education programmes in coaching, mentoring and leadership development. She has a 18-year experience in leadership coaching and mentoring in large organisations in the private and public sector. Since 2023, she is hosting the Learn to Coach Podcast, to bring insights and advice from coach educators to people training as coach. Her research focuses on the role of coaching in talent management, digital coaching education, and the intersectionality between aesthetic leadership and coaching.

Email Karine at Karine.mangion@uwe.ac.uk and connect on LinkedIn.

Professor Thomas Garavan

Thomas is Professor of Leadership Practice in CUBS, UCC and Visiting Research Professor, National College of Ireland, Dublin. He was recently listed in the Stanford University ScienceWide author citation indicators 2020 as one of the top 2% of academics in Economics and Business. In addition, he was ranked the top Irish Business and Management Researcher in Ireland by Research. com and 471 of 1500 business and management researchers worldwide in February 2022. He is a world leading expert in leadership development, learning and development and HRD. He published 185 journal articles, 16 books, 26 book chapters and 6 monographs. He has published extensively in the leading HRD journals including HRDQ, HRDR, ADHR, HRDI and HRDI. He has also published extensively in the top four HRM journals: HRM (US) HRMJ, Personnel Review and IJHRM.

In addition, he has published extensively in management journals including: International Journal of Management Reviews. European Management Review, Journal of Business Research, Tourism Management, Information Technology and People, International Small Business Journal, Thunderbird International Review, Journal of Sleep Research and Business Ethics: A European Review. His most recent book publications include Learning and Development in Organizations: A Systems-Informed Model of Effectiveness (Palgrave), Strategic Human Resource Management (Oxford University Press), Handbook of International Human Resource Development (Edward Elgar) and Global Human Resource Development (Routledge). He is co-editor of European Journal of Training and Development and Associate Editor of Personnel Review and is a member of the HRDQ, HRDI, HRDR, ADHR, HRMJ, International Journal of Training and Development and International Journal of Human Resource Management.

He has extensive teaching experience with undergraduate, post-graduate and post experience students in addition to executive education and leadership development. He was elected to the Hall of Fame of the Academy of Human Resource Development, USA in 2021 and has won numerous awards for publication and journal editing. Email: tgaravan@ucc.ie

Dr. Patricia Jolliffe

Dr Tricia Jolliffe (formerly Harrison) is a Senior Lecturer at Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU) and a member of the Programme & Qualifications Committee, UFHRD. At LJMU she has had experience of programme management, teaching and research.

Her research is in Fair Work with specialist areas of Roma, Precariat, Profession, Labour Turnover, Resilience and HRD. She previously worked at Webster University, Geneva; Kingston and Bournemouth University and has extensive HR consultancy experience including prior employment with Siemens.

Tricia developed an HR Professional Student Network Group in 2015, Liverpool Roma Employability Network (LREN) in 2017 and was the Principal Researcher for the Roma Education Aspiration Project in 2018 and 2019. Tricia is now leading Project DREAM exploring young female aspiration in Philippines, Syria and India.

Dr Adetola Adekunle

a.adekunle@uos.ac.uk

Adetola is a Senior Lecturer in HRM and Course Leader with management oversight of the CIPD accredited MSc Strategic People Management programme with pathways. at the University of Suffolk. She was previously a Subject Lead HRM for the Creative Industries at University for the Creative Arts and has extensive experience in curriculum development and management of professional people management programmes at Higher Education level.

Prior to joining academia, Adetola worked in various capacities within financial organisations in the UK and Nigeria. She is passionate about employee engagement through employee development practices and provides advisory and training support to SMEs and senior business executives to facilitate ethical change management practices. She currently serves on the BSI HCS1 technical committee representing UFHRD, is the acting Treasurer and Student Engagement Lead for Essex & Ipswich CIPD Branch Committee and is an external advisor on inclusivity and relevance matters for a regional theatre.

Adetola has active interest in collaborative industry Knowledge Transfer projects, working on UKRI Innovate UK, NHS and Local Council funded projects focused on agile mental wellbeing and fertility support practices at work, leadership and change management and business growth support.

She is looking forward to engaging insights covering varying aspects of Employee Engagement practices on micro- and macro-organisational levels and encourages submissions to the Employee Engagement (EE) Conference Stream.

Professor Martin McCracken

Martin McCracken is Research Director and Professor of Organisational Behaviour at the University of Ulster, N. Ireland. He is involved in delivering a number of modules across the Ulster Business School, mainly in the areas of Human Resource Development, Change Management, Leadership and Research Methodology. His research is focused mainly upon understanding the factors that influence "managerial participation and effective transfer of learning from development and training interventions" and "Strategic Human Resource Development". Dr McCracken also has research interests in the fields of "Human Resource Management Restructuring", "Employee Diversity", "Public Sector Change" and "Team effectiveness", and is Editor of Education and Training. He has published a number of academic papers and policy reports on skills development and employability issues, and has played a key role in carrying out UK research projects commissioned by (amongst others): UKRI, the Department for Education and Employment; Sector Skills Development Agency and Leonardo Da Vinci Research Programme (EU).

Lauren McErlain

Lauren is a lecturer in Human Resource Management and Organisational Behaviour at Ulster University. She leads undergraduate modules on topics such as the fundamentals of HRM, employability and the HR profession, as well as personal and professional development. Lauren’s research interests focus on talent management and the evolving impact of remote and hybrid working models on human and social capital. Her work explores how these shifts influence employee engagement and organisational effectiveness in today’s dynamic workplaces. Before transitioning into academia, Lauren worked as an HR consultant with a broad portfolio of experience spanning IT, hospitality, utilities, and manufacturing industries. Her diverse professional background informs her teaching and research, blending practical insights with academic rigor. As stream lead for Employee Engagement at UFHRD 2025, Lauren brings a wealth of expertise and a passion for fostering meaningful dialogue on how organisations can enhance engagement and unlock their workforce’s potential in an ever-changing world

Dr. Pallvi Arora

pallvi.arora12@gmail.com

Dr. Pallvi Arora is a Lecturer in Human Resource Management at The Business School, Edinburgh Napier University, Scotland. She is a PhD in management with focus on Cultural Intelligence (CQ). Her research interests revolve around cross cultural management, OB, HRD, entrepreneurship and innovation. She currently serves as a member of the UFHRD Research Development Committee as well as the External Relations Committee. She also serves as one of the Board of Directors of the Human Resource Development International journal.

She has publications with journals of national and international repute. She has been awarded with the AIMS International Outstanding Young Management Teacher Award at Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Kozikode, India. She has presented her research works at global institutions including University of Oxford, UK, Queen’s University, Belfast, UK, various IIMs and other important institutions in India. She has been a  Regional Mentor of Change for Atal Tinkering Labs, NITI Aayog, a Government of India initiative. For her extensive work in the domain of innovation and entrepreneurship in higher education institutions, she has also been recognised as an Innovation Ambassador for the Institution Innovation Council (IIC), Ministry of Education, Government of India. She has been an invited speaker at various national and international industry and academic forums.

Dr Eduardo Tome

eduardo.tome@gmail.com

Dr Eduardo Tomé gained is PhD in Economics (2001), with a Thesis on the European Social Fund. Since then he has worked in several Portuguese private universities. He published over 50 papers in peer-reviewed Journals and presented 80 papers in international conferences. He also authored 7 book chapters, He was involved in organising and chairing 10 international Conferences which he also co-edited the Proceedings and edited four Specials Issues in EJKM, EJTD and IJKBD. Since September 2020 he has worked at Universidade Lusófona in Lisbon, Portugal. His main interests are Intangibles (Human Resources, Knowledge Management and Intellectual Capital), Social Policy and International Economics (globalization and the European Integration).

Dr. Bronagh Magee

Bronagh is a Lecturer in Sustainable Business at Ulster University Business School, Belfast Campus in Northern Ireland where she is also the Learning and Teaching lead for the faculty’s Sustainability Committee. Bronagh completed her MSc and PhD at Ulster. Bronagh teaches across undergraduate and postgraduate programmes specifically with a sustainable business and responsible leadership. Her research interests include sustainable and regenerative business, and she has presented her research to the Academy of Marketing, the Irish Academy of Management, the Global Research Conference on Entrepreneurial Marketing and the Institute of Small Business and Entrepreneurship research conference. Bronagh invites authors to submit papers around HRD and jobs of the future, particularly work that enhances society and the environment and the skills required to fulfil such roles.

Dr Keith Millar

Keith is a Senior Lecturer in Operations Management at Ulster University, a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, and a Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute.  With a professional background in both the public and private sectors, he has almost 20 years’ experience in global supply chain management, digital transformation, business improvement, and risk management, and continues to engage with industry through Knowledge Transfer initiatives across Ireland.  His teaching areas include operations management, process improvement, and digital business, and his research interests are operational excellence, digital transformation, and organisational culture.

Dr. Heather Short

• heather@heathershort.co.uk

Heather has many years of experience as an SME owner-manager and consequently has numerous friends and acquaintances who own, manage and work in these fascinating and varied small businesses. The research for her PhD (The Hidden World of e-learning in SMEs) involved ethnographic research in a variety in SMEs. Since 2015 she has taught HRD and related subjects, initially at the University of Portsmouth, UK, and more recently at the UK Open University. She has been presenting papers about learning in SMEs at UFHRD since 2012 and initiated the UFHRD Learning in SMEs stream in 2017. She has guest-edited a Special Issue of HRDI on Learning in SMEs and published papers about this in HRDQ and HRDI. She is interested in all aspects of learning in SMEs.

Dr. Michael J Mustafa

• Michael.Mustafa@nottingham.edu.my

Michael Mustafa holds a PhD in applied psychology from the University of Nottingham. Currently, Michael’s research interest include focusing on HRD issues within SMEs and in particular family business. He is particularly interested in how leaders develop in family firms and how entrepreneurial ventures can encourage the proactive behaviours of their employees through investing in their development.

Dr. Peter Greenan

I am a practitioner turned academic and currently work at Huddersfield Business School as a Senior Lecturer in Management and Human Resource Development.

I have worked in training, education, and development for over 20 years. In industry I was a lead internal verifier and area manager for a work-based training provider before moving into specific training and development roles. As a people development specialist, I worked in field based and head office roles designing and delivering change management programmes, operational training, onboarding, and management development programmes.

I moved into HE in 2014 and have held numerous leadership and management roles such as the MBA Director and CMI Programme Director. I am currently the course leader for undergraduate degree level apprenticeships. I have taught learning and talent development on CIPD accredited programmes and currently teach Human Resource Development in the UK and Hong Kong.

My research interests lie specifically in the transfer of training. I have presented papers at international conferences and published on the subject in international journals. I am currently working with apprenticeship learners as data subjects to research the impact of this work-based learning intervention on their job role.

Dr. Sarah Minnis

• sminnis@email.wcu.edu

Sarah is a practitioner researcher with a passion for integrating effective practice and applied research to develop people and build more supportive and impactful organizations. She is an Assistant Professor of Human Resources at Western Carolina University where she centres ethical practice of HRD in my teaching and scholarship.

With experience in higher education administration, career change, and organization development, Sarah focuses her research and coaching on addressing veterans’ education and employment in higher education and employment settings. As a recognized leader in veterans’ career transition research and practice, she has developed a support model and strategies to help employers better understand the value veterans bring to civilian employment communities. She has published and presented nationally and internationally on her research and practice addressing veterans’ transition and career development.

She chairs the AHRD Scholar-Practitioner Special Interest Group and have enjoyed regular collaboration with the UFHRD Practitioner Research and Learning and Teaching stream to support and promote practitioner research in HRD. She hopes you will submit your applied research work to the Practitioner Research and Learning and Education stream!

Dr. Christine O'Leary

C.T.OLeary@shu.ac.uk

Christine is a Principal Lecturer in the Sheffield Business School at Sheffield Hallam University where she has held a number of leadership and management roles including programme leadership, Associate Director for the Centre for Excellence in Promoting Learner Autonomy (CPLA), Director of Sheffield Business School’s Centre for Pedagogic Research and Innovation (CPRI), Sheffield Business School Assessment Lead and Subject Group Leader for the Languages and Cultures Subject Area. She is currently leading on a project relating to developing the assessment literacy of culturally and linguistically diverse students. She also co-leads the University’s Assessment for Applied learning Forum and lead its Advance HE Principal/ Senior Fellow Network.

As a Principal Fellow of Advance HE, she is committed to leading and supporting the development of colleagues in Learning and teaching and pedagogic scholarship/ research both within and outside the University through leadership roles in professional subject associations and international research networks.

She is an active researcher, practitioner, and contributor to local, national and international research networks relating to the development of learner/ teacher autonomy within formal educational contexts and assessment. She has presented papers at both national and international conferences, and published articles in refereed publications in these areas since the mid 1990s.

Dr. Kevin Rose

I am an associate professor of organizational leadership in the Department of Technology Leadership and Innovation in the Purdue University Polytechnic Institute.  Prior to my roles as a university faculty member, I worked in various training and development areas including executive education and small business development. I completed my doctorate from the University of Arkansas in 2012. I am active in organizations such as the Academy of Human Resource Development (AHRD), American Association of Adult and Continuing Education (AAACE), and the Association for Talent Development (ATD). I currently serve on the board of directors of AHRD.

My research focuses on understanding and improving the lives of people at work, with emphasis on issues such as organizational citizenship behaviors, leadership, and engagement. I have published in Human Resource Development Quarterly and Human Resource Development Review, among other scholarly outlets. My research has been recognized with various research awards as well as in the popular press. My current research interests include dysfunctional leadership and other workplace interpersonal dynamics; issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion for employees; and developing strong academic programs to serve adult learners. I currently teach courses in Global Leadership; Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for Organizational Leaders; and Managerial Training and Development.

Dr Andrea Subryan

Andrea is a senior lecturer and the program leader for the BA (Hons) Business Psychology Course in the People and Performance Department at Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU). Alongside working her role at the University, Andrea also gained HR experience in the hospitality and health economics industries. Prior to joining academia, Andrea was a Solicitor for over 10 years, specialising in Family Law. Andrea is active in Equality, Diversity, and Inclusivity (EDI) in her current role.

Andrea’s particular research interest, which was also the focus of her doctoral thesis, includes emotional labour/emotion work, organisational behaviour, culture, conflict, professional identity, and employee engagement. Other teaching interests include Employee Relations and Diversity Management. The UFHRD conference is special to Andrea as this was the first conference she attended as a Masters student to present a co-written paper. She enjoys attending the UFHRD conferences due to the supportive nature of the attendees and organisers. Andrea is pleased to be involved as a stream lead for this conference and has held this role for the last 2 years. Prior to this, Andrea was the Doctoral Symposium Chair in for the UFHRD Conference in 2022.

Dr Ian Smyth

Ian is a Senior Lecturer in Human Resource Management and Manager of the Centre for Sustainable Family Enterprise at the Ulster University Business School.  His research work focuses on succession planning and leadership development in family firms having published and presented internationally in this space.  Previous pedagogic work has centred round the use of embedded employability, video technology in the classroom and screencasting as a form of assessment.  Ian is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, member of the Centre for Higher Education Research and Practice and a Chartered Associate of the Institute for Personnel and Development, as well as a founding member of the NI Family Business Forum.

Ramada Belfast is a recommended conference hotel with 20% discount for UFHRD delegates.

Use the link below to book your accommodation and apply the discount.

• Book accommodation at Ramada Belfast

10% discount off their best flexible rates for this conference. Guests can email or call their in-house reservations teams quoting UFHRD 2025 to book their own accommodation.

A credit or debit card number with a valid expiry date will be required at the time of the booking.

Discounted rates are only available when booking directly with the hotel. Bookings can be made by phone or email:

Contact

• Telephone: 028 90 891 941
• Email: h7232-re@accor.com

The conference discount will be available until 6 weeks prior to arrival (29th April 2025).

50 rooms have been held at a discounted rate of £230 per night (Bed and Breakfast). Bookings should be made as soon as possible by contacting the reservations team and quoting the discount reference: UFHRD and Block ID 651357

30 rooms have been held at a discounted rate of £220 per night (Bed and Breakfast). Bookings should be made as soon as possible by contacting the reservations team and quoting the discount reference: UFHRD and Block ID 651356