Early Career Symposium 2025

What is the Early Career Symposium?

AECT’s Research and Theory Division will be hosting the 2025 Early Career Symposium, sponsored by AECT. The symposium will be held at the annual AECT International Convention on Monday, October 20, in Las Vegas, NV. The symposium will engage participants in career building, mentoring, and networking.

The intended outcomes of the Early Career Symposium include:

• Mentoring early career scholars into the social/professional network as partners in idea-making
• Supporting early scholars in developing viable technology-oriented research agendas
• Providing specific feedback and guidance to early-career scholars about their research agendas (e.g., how to build a research agenda, pursue funding, and maintain successful collaborations
•  Expanding and strengthening AECT’s community of researchers committed to designing the next generation of learning technologies and increasing understanding of how people learn in technology-rich learning environments.

Participants will be assigned to a mentor who is a mid-career or senior faculty member with a strong scholarly record. Mentors will work with small groups of early career mentees in a collaborative manner.

How to Apply

Early Career Faculty Participants

Five to ten early career faculty applicants will be selected through a competitive process. The symposium welcomes faculty members who have received their terminal degree in the last five years. Postdocs within two years of graduation who are actively seeking faculty positions may also apply under this category. Preference will be given to early career faculty who are not at research-intensive schools, as they typically have fewer opportunities for mentoring compared to faculty in research-intensive institutions. Special consideration will be given to members of underrepresented groups.

Advanced Doctoral Students

Five to ten advanced doctoral student applicants will be selected through a competitive process. Students should be in the final stages of completing their degree. Preference will be given to students who are nearing completion and whose research agendas align with technology in teaching and learning. Each doctoral student will be assigned a mentor. Special consideration will be given to members of underrepresented groups.

Expectations

Participants will be expected to:

• Attend a pre-symposium and post-symposium webinar
•  Attend the AECT 2025 Early Career Symposium and Annual Convention in Las Vegas.
•  Attend the Research Theory and Division membership meeting
• Submit a proposal for the 2026 AECT Convention about their experiences at the 2025 Early Career Symposium and subsequent mentoring activities.

Eligibility

• Applicants must be AECT Members in good standing
• Applicants cannot have participated in a previous years' symposium
• Applicants must be current faculty (within the first five years of their career), postdocs who are seeking faculty positions (within 2 years of graduation with a doctoral degree), or graduate students (within one year of finishing a doctoral degree)
•  Applicants will be selected based on their strength of argument for participation. Additionally, the Symposium board seeks to accept a diverse group of scholars representing the entirety of the membership of AECT.

Application

Faculty and postdoc applicants should submit: 

•  Cover letter providing a career and research statement (e.g., career goals, research agenda) as well as discussing why they would like to attend the Early Career Symposium, how they are qualified, and how it would benefit their careers and the AECT community as a whole. The letter should be limited to one single-spaced page.
• Updated Curriculum Vita.

Student applicants should submit:

• Cover letter discussing career goals, including a description of dissertation and progress toward completion as well as research agenda. The cover letter should also discuss how they are qualified for the Early Career Symposium and how it would benefit their careers and the AECT community as a whole. The letter should be limited to one single-spaced page.
• Updated Curriculum Vita
• Statement of support from dissertation advisor (limit to one paragraph).

Deadline

All applications are due on Friday, August 22, 2025, by 5:00 pm Eastern Time. The application documents must be emailed as an attachment to Vanessa Dennen (vdennen@fsu.edu)  with the subject line: 2025 ECS Application. After submission, each applicant will receive an email confirming that materials have been received.

Contact

If you have questions about the 2025 Early Career Symposium, please contact Dr. Vanessa Dennen (vdennen@fsu.edu).