We are thrilled to announce our 12th anniversary RMLE Unconference will be held in partnership with Warwick Business School, a department of the University of Warwick. It will take place on January 8-9, 2026 at the stunning Palazzo Giustinian Lolin on the Grand Canal in Venice, Italy (yes, we will be traveling to dinner via the canal). As anyone who has been to one of our events will tell you, we believe firmly that research discussions shouldn’t have to rise from the ashes of recycled rhetoric and boring presentations prepared months in advance. We believe interactions about research are the most rewarding when they take place face-to-face, in intimate spaces, with an open, organic, and generative atmosphere. If you’re interested in innovative, cutting-edge research in management education or if you have questions related to research in management education that are not addressed through traditional conference or workshop forums, our twelfth annual Research in Management Learning and Education (RMLE) Unconference is for you.
FORMAT & OBJECTIVES
Unlike traditional conference formats with strict agendas, predetermined content, fixed streams, and planned presentations, an unconference is organic and participant-driven. The fundamental goal of an Unconference is to bring together interested, passionate, and knowledgeable people to create a forum where they share, learn, engage, question, contribute, discuss, and debate issues they deem important. Each participant is a contributor and all interactions take place in flexible and highly interactive ways (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unconference).
The 2026 RMLE Unconference will start at 9:00am on Thursday, January 8th and conclude at 2:00pm on Friday, January 9th. During this 1.5 day event, you will have the opportunity to:
· Share ideas about key research areas that you would like to pursue with others.
· Discuss research questions or concerns that you have been unable to address in other forums.
· Learn from others about their experiences with research project design, development, and publication.
· Consider issues that are emerging through recent management education research and scholarship.
· Engage in an intimate and informal setting with others interested in management education research.
· Interact with editors and board members of numerous journals including the Journal of Management Education, the Academy of Management Learning and Education, British Journal of Management, and Management Learning.
SUBMISSIONS
In terms of scope, the research domain for RMLE Unconferences is anything that relates to management teaching, learning, education, and the contexts within which these occur. As a result, your submission should focus on issues related to all applications of management education (whether that be in universities, consulting agencies, or other organizations) as well as the processes and outcomes related to its practice.
The path to attending the RMLE Unconference is simple. First, think about management education research questions, ideas, and concerns (QICs) that are important to you. Then, using those thoughts as fodder, create a short summary of your most pressing QICs and send it in for review. These submissions are not traditional conference submissions in that they should be free-flowing descriptions of your questions, ideas, and concerns. You do not need to include references unless they help you explain your thoughts.
For consistency and ease of reading through them on our end, your QIC submissions should be sent as single-spaced Word documents written in Times New Roman (11pt) font. Please include two versions of your submission: (1) the first with a title, your name, institutional affiliation, and email address centred at the top of the document and (2) the second with a title only (for blind review). In terms of length, submissions can be as short as you feel comfortable in terms of adequately sharing your questions, ideas, and concerns but should be no longer than 500 words excluding references (if you have them). Please note: the only way to attend the event is if you have an accepted QIC submission.
Examples of a few of the QIC topics drawn from our past RMLE Unconferences include concerns related to the impact of technology, AI, culture, and disruption on learning; facilitating and measuring deep-level learning, reflexivity, and community engagement; the interface of culture and learning; the application of threshold concepts on management research and practice; questions about managerial wisdom and embeddedness; questions about how institutionalization and accreditation pressures are impacting tertiary education. Ideas for sharing can stem from current or future research projects, practical or conceptual extensions to theories or models that excite or interest you, and/or discussions you have had with colleagues in your own or other disciplines. We look forward to a collection of stimulating and engaging submissions from researchers interested in management education drawn from across a variety of disciplinary backgrounds and all levels of academic tenure/seniority. Early career researchers and those new to management education research are absolutely welcome! This year we are introducing the Fiona Hurd scholarship which will cover the registration costs for one Ph.D. student or junior faculty member per year who is interested in exploring issues related to global change or gender, diversity, and well-being within the global organisation.
Submissions will be double-blind peer reviewed and decisions will be emailed to authors within two weeks. All submissions should be emailed to Amy Kenworthy, RMLE Unconference Chair, at akenwort@bond.edu.au Please note: if you do not receive a confirmation receipt within 48 hours of your submission, then we have not received it.
LOCATION & REGISTRATION
Our institutional partner is Warwick Business School, the largest department at the University of Warwick. We are thrilled to be holding our 2026 RMLE Unconference at the Warwick Venice Centre, in Italy. With a mission to bring people together from across the globe, from different backgrounds, who are restless to change the world and want to use business as a power for good, you won’t want to miss the opportunity to explore everything the beautiful city of Venice has to offer.
The 2026 RMLE Unconference has a registration fee of €295 (roughly $526 AUD and $340 USD) for accepted participants. Thanks to the generous support of our host partner, this fee covers the cost of two working lunches, multiple refreshment breaks, a working dinner (wine and beer included), and a historic, fun local experience. There will be reduced rates available to Unconference participants at a few local hotels and there are many Airbnb options in the area (participants make their own accommodation bookings). If you are a doctoral student or junior faculty and do not have the institutional or personal funds to offset the costs of attending, beyond the scholarship mentioned above, we try to keep funds available for a couple of waived registration fees. If this applies to you, please send a request for consideration in the email with your QIC submission. We try our best to make this an affordable, locally immersive, engaging, diverse, productive, and all-around fun event for everyone.
Registration for the Unconference must be completed on or before September 29, 2025. Further registration information will be emailed to all accepted contributors as a part of their acceptance email.
For more information about our RMLE Unconferences, please see our website at www.rmle.org. Come be a part of it with us… we can’t wait to see what the 2026 event brings!