AIRE 2026: Call for submissions now open

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Teachers, supervisors and students across the IN.TUNE alliance are warmly invited to contribute to AIRE 2026 – the second Annual IN.TUNE Research in Education Event, which will focus on research education and supervision in master’s and doctoral programmes.

Teachers, researchers, master’s and doctoral students from all IN.TUNE partner universities can now submit abstracts for presentations. The AIRE 2026 event will take place on 8–9 April 2026 at the Norwegian Academy of Music.

The deadline for submissions is 19 January 2026.

Organised by Uniarts Helsinki within IN.TUNE’s Work Package 4, Strengthening our Research Dimension, AIRE 2026 will take place just before EPARM 2026 (European Platform for Artistic Research in Music), led by IN.TUNE’s associated partner, the European Association of Conservatoires (AEC).

AIRE 2026 – Research Education and Supervision In Focus

The Annual IN.TUNE Research in Education Events (AIRE), together with initiatives such as the Knowledge Hubs, is one of the key activities of that supports deeper connections between research and (higher) music and arts education across the alliance.

The second edition, AIRE 2026, places research education and supervision at the centre of the conversation. It will look closely at how supervision and research training are organised, experienced and developed in master’s and PhD programmes in alliance institutions. The event offers a space to share concrete practices, reflect on challenges and explore new approaches that link artistic and academic research with teaching and learning.

AIRE 2026 will be organised in connection with EPARM 2026 – the European Platform for Artistic Research in Music, an initiative of the European Association of Conservatoires (AEC), one of IN.TUNE’s associated partners. EPARM will begin directly after AIRE, creating an extended opportunity for participants to continue discussions and network with colleagues engaged in artistic research in music.

Why AIRE matters for the IN.TUNE community

AIRE is designed as a meeting point for those who teach, supervise and study within research-rich programmes in music and the arts. By bringing together staff and students from different IN.TUNE institutions, the event aims to strengthen academic dialogue, encourage exchanges of experience and foster new forms of cooperation that bridge research and teaching practice.

For teachers and supervisors, AIRE offers a forum to discuss how supervision is structured, how responsibilities are shared and how institutional frameworks help – or sometimes constrain – research education. For students, it provides a chance to reflect on what good supervision looks like, to articulate what they need and to learn from other contexts and traditions.

Themes and questions for AIRE 2026

The main focus of AIRE 2026 is research education and supervision as they are embedded in master’s and PhD programmes. While the call is open to a wide range of perspectives, the organisers are especially interested in contributions that address questions such as:

How can supervision be understood as a form of dialogue? What does it take to build and maintain an open, democratic and respectful learning relationship between supervisor and student? In what ways can this relationship support both artistic integrity and academic rigour?

How might institutions move beyond a purely one-to-one model of supervision? There is growing interest in peer and group supervision, co-supervision and other formats that allow for more shared responsibility and collective reflection. Presentations that describe experiences with such formats – whether positive, challenging or mixed – are particularly welcome.

Many supervisors and students are very aware of the power relations that run through traditional master–apprentice models in music and the arts. AIRE 2026 invites reflections on how these dynamics are managed in practice and how supervision can be organised in ways that are transparent, ethical and caring.

The event is also interested in how supervision is positioned within curricula. How is it integrated into study plans? How is workload recognised? Which institutional structures support meaningful supervision, and where are there tensions or gaps?

For PhD and master’s students, there is a special invitation to share experiences of supervision from the student perspective. This could include moments that have been particularly eye-opening or transformative – the “this really opened my mind” experiences that shape the development of a research project or artistic practice.

Throughout the event, the organisers are especially keen to receive practice-based contributions: concrete examples, cases, models or tools that are used in IN.TUNE institutions to support research education and supervision.

Who can participate and what to submit

The call is open to the whole IN.TUNE community. All faculty members at IN.TUNE alliance institutions are eligible to submit an abstract, including teachers, supervisors, researchers and programme leaders. PhD and master’s students enrolled at IN.TUNE partner universities are equally encouraged to contribute.

Find out more and read the full Call

For full details of the Call for Submission for AIRE 2026 – Research Education and Supervision in Focus, including information on abstract and proposal requirements, the submission process, deadlines and evaluation criteria, please:

Teachers, supervisors and students who are engaged in research and its teaching are warmly encouraged to explore the full call and consider sharing their experience at AIRE 2026.