I had the great privilege and pleasure of helping to organise ResearchEd South West 2024 over the weekend. I wanted to use the space to reflect on its success and why this experience is only reaffirmed and strengthened my belief that events such as ResearchEd are a sign that we have a truly graduate profession.

When Rhiannon came up with the idea for running a research ad in the South West, I was completely and utterly convinced. I wanted to help create a space where practitioners could be invited to think and share their thinking. To feel safe and excited about sharing ideas that they perhaps had never shown before. Perhaps they had shared ideas previously, but wanted to work on something new in a kind and ambitious space. A space that was positive, empowering and enabling for all types of practitioner to learn within. Inclusive – one where single parents could come, where all needs could be catered for. And caring – one where WE care for YOU for the day, with great catering and facilities. A space that could show off the very best of the South West and draw in some of our strongest and most talented National voices in education.

We were so blessed in so many ways. The space at Gloucester Academy was perfect. A panel of speakers embodied the vision and were an extension of our humble but mighty conference. They spread joy, enthusiasm and support in every session they attended, And their warmth spread through the conference like wildfire. Our keynotes were inspiring, provoking, and so very expert in what they do. We were blessed with the best technical staff who went above and beyond and volunteered their time. Our sponsors were generous with their support and some even gave money so the children in our kids club could leave with a goodie bag! We had some speakers who had never spoken before and speakers who were daring to try something a little bit different and new. Our attendees were kind and generous in their support, offering positive feedback and fully immersing themselves within the spirit of the day. The kids club was a true success and seeing families walk away knowing that everyone had the best day made my heart sing.

I cannot wait to get started on next year’s ResearchEd South West, and for us to go even further so as to create the most inclusive practitioner-led event we can possibly try to achieve. And before I move on to the next part of this blog, a huge and massive thank you to everyone who supported us.

This experience has only reaffirmed to me the power of these events and what they represent. Practitioners coming together, sharing, learning and supporting each other’s work. Practitioners debating and talking about what they’ve learnt and what it means for their context.

This weekend, I saw practitioners and non-practitioners come together to learn from each other. I saw experimental psychologists sharing information to teachers. I saw rugby coaches learning from teachers. I watched FE lecturers coming to learn from early years teachers. I saw psychologists learning from school leaders and primary teachers teaching secondary teachers! If this is not a sign that we have achieved a graduate profession within our sector than a community working together in this way, then what is?

There might be one more proxy. A community which is taking charge of its own learning. A community that’s defying the spaces in which it wants to learn. That’s not to say that there should be only one community. In fact, the opposite. The sign of a discerning graduate profession is one where graduates self-organize to work and learn together. Not being limited to one structure of professional learning or one particular type of institution. Instead, using its own critical thought to create spaces in which to learn and grow together.

For me, the power of a university education is facilitate growth. Not to define it. Not to tell people what to think. To support people over time so that they can take their own journey and define and work with the spaces that they wish to learn within. A graduate education is about empowering those to take decisions for themselves and their contexts – not what to think, but how to develop a more nuanced, complex understanding of their environment and the tools they have at their disposal. To provide knowledge to help them think, not to determine what to think. A graduate profession takes that empowerment and moves forward. A graduate profession feels empowered to disagree – even with the ones that trained it! A graduate profession is one where we have a lively ecosystem of different environments and structures in which to develop and grow.

We should be proud of the practitioners and speakers that attend these events. They have become enablers for our graduate profession to move forward. Not in their own image. But in order to help those around them shape an image of their own.

Those spaces require curation. Something which myself, Rhiannon and Thomas have worked so hard to achieve on the 27th April. Kind, humble, balanced, ambitious and inclusive. I look forward to going one step further to this goal in 2025.