Australian Historical and Economic Society unveils detailed 2025 conference programme highlighting evolving presentation standards
The Australian Historical and Economic Society (AHES) has released the provisional program for its upcoming 2025 conference, scheduled to take place over two days, from Thursday, September 11th to Friday, September 12th. The event will commence at 8:50 a.m. on the first day and conclude by 5 p.m., with the following day starting at 9:00 a.m. and wrapping up at 4:30 p.m. Organisers emphasise that the conference schedule remains provisional and subject to minor adjustments; the final program will be communicated via email and updated online as the conference date approaches. Attendees and presenters are encouraged to review the program carefully for accuracy and notify the organisers promptly of any errors or inconsistencies.
Oral presenters are requested to locate their sessions within the program and note the allotted presentation times. Each oral presentation within the seven parallel sessions is allocated a 20-minute slot, typically consisting of a 17-minute talk followed by three minutes for questions. This format permits a concise yet substantive exchange of ideas, aligning with standard practices observed in other academic conferences globally.
In addition to oral sessions, the AHES conference features poster viewing opportunities scheduled during lunch breaks on both days. Poster presenters will have access to boards measuring 89 cm wide by 1.65 m high, with a recommendation for portrait-size posters (size AO: 841 cm by 1189 cm) to best utilise the display space. Presenters may also opt to provide A4 flyers to accompany their posters, placed beneath the boards to facilitate further dissemination of their research.
The AHES conference preparations reflect a growing global trend among associations to support a robust and well-organised academic exchange. For example, other major conferences such as the Asian Association for Education Studies (AsAES) and the European Human Rights Symposium (EHRS) have detailed guidelines on presentation length, format, and submission timing to streamline the session flow and uphold technical quality. The AsAES limits oral presentations to 7 minutes plus 3 minutes for questions, with slides required in a 16:9 aspect ratio and English as the language of delivery. Presenters must submit their files on-site hours prior to their session to ensure smooth delivery.
Similarly, the EHRS conference insists on file submissions in PPTX or PDF format with a maximum size of 10 MB, requiring presenters to check in materials three hours before their talk, or even the previous day for morning sessions. Such guidelines echo the AHES’s emerging emphasis on technical readiness and session timing to maximise the impact of presentations.
Beyond the Australian context, conferences like the American Society for Environmental History have been extending discussion times to 75 minutes per session, incorporating multiple speakers and allowing for richer dialogue and audience engagement. While the AHES maintains a more traditional schedule per presentation, it too balances thorough academic discourse with efficient participant involvement over its two-day format.
Poster presentations remain an important facet for displaying research visually, and the AHES’s provision for poster boards and flyers reflects established practices such as those seen in the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) conferences, which provide specific poster board assignments and encourage designers to make their displays easily readable from a distance. This ensures posters serve as effective communication tools alongside oral presentations.
Overall, AHES’s detailed yet flexible programme underscores their commitment to delivering a well-organised forum that supports accessibility, timely communication, and academic exchange. The society’s proactive approach to inviting feedback on the provisional programme also highlights its responsiveness to participant needs, setting a positive precedent for conference organisers within the association sector.