Reimagining Academic Conferences to Advance Equity and Engagement in Higher Education

Academic conferences serve as critical venues for knowledge dissemination and professional networking. However, despite widespread advocacy for active learning and digital engagement, traditional conferences remain passive and lecture-driven, reinforcing academic hierarchies and limiting meaningful participation. This paradox, where conferences "say the thing" but fail to "do the thing", raises important questions about whether conventional formats truly align with contemporary pedagogical theories and advancements in e-learning and digital equity. This paper presents a scoping review of the literature on alternative conference formats, facilitation strategies, and interactive technologies aimed at enhancing engagement, accessibility, and knowledge exchange. The review highlights that while a growing body of research supports the use of alternative conference formats such as flipped conferences, blended learning models, and back-channel communication tools, these remain underutilised in mainstream academic settings. Additionally, conventional structures can contribute to barriers related to cost, travel, and time, and can disproportionately affect early-career researchers, scholars from underrepresented regions, and those with caregiving responsibilities. By mapping existing research, this paper calls for a deliberate rethinking of conference design, advocating for participant-centred, digitally inclusive environments. The findings contribute to ongoing discussions about the future of academic conferences, urging organisers to embrace innovative, equity-driven approaches that align with modern learning practices.