We are excited to announce the inaugural Asia-Pacific Academic Mental Health Symposium, to be held at the University of Queensland (and online) in 2026.
In recent decades, scholars have called for greater attention to the mental health crisis in higher education today. Although much of the existing evidence focuses on mental health issues among undergraduate students, research has revealed that PhD students, academics and professional staff encounter significant pressures in their working lives. These systemic factors exist in higher education settings across the world, and include high workloads, heavy teaching and research demands, pressure to publish, insecure employment conditions, and increasing administrative and compliance requirements. Research also indicates that working conditions in universities are contributing to increasing rates of stress and mental illness among graduate students and employees, and urgent intervention is needed.
The inaugural symposium will offer an opportunity to share new research, insights, and practices that focus specifically on mental health in academia. The theme of the 2026 event is “The complexities and conditions of academic workers’ mental health” and we invite you to join us there.
Please see the full Call for Abstracts for more information, including registration costs.
Abstract submission deadline: June 8, 2026 at 5:00pm AEST.
We look forward to seeing you in September!
Dr Marissa Edwards, Victoria Lister, Dr Xuan Luu, and Emeritus Professor Neal M. Ashkanasy (Organising Committee)