The UK-Ireland Digital Humanities Association is pleased to announce the call for proposals for the 2026 Annual Event, to be held at the University of Southampton from 15-16 June with selected sessions streamed online. The theme for this year’s event is Sustainability.

Key Information:

• Information sessions: 16 December 2025, 4-5pm and 14 January 2026, 2:30-3:30pm
• Abstract submission deadline: 30 January 2026
• Expressions of interest for peer review deadline: 2 February 2026
• Notification of acceptance for proposals: 16 March 2026
• Conference dates: 15-16 June 2026
• Location: Avenue Campus, Highfield Road, University of Southampton, England, UK

The programme will be announced and registration for both in-person and online attendees will open in the coming months.

To register for in person attendance please register here. 

To register for online attendance please register here.

Registration fees

Standard in-person: £35

Students, early careers & independent scholars: £20

Online: Free

Plenary only: Free

Registration deadlines

Speaker in-person registration: 10 May

All in-person registration: 25 May

Online registration: 8 June

We are currently working on the programme for the Annual Event, but will update this page when the programme is finalised.

Plenary

The Annual Event also includes a Plenary panel discussion, ‘The Persistence of Infrastructure’, talking around the theme of sustainability in the digital humanities. This will take place in the evening of Monday 15 June.

This roundtable will feature:

• George MacGregor (University of Glasgow / Digital Libraries)
• Joan Murphy (DARIAH-IE)
• Oscar Seip (Software Sustainability Institute)
• Judith Musker Turner (Climate Action Program Lead, National Library of Wales)

Timings

If you are presenting, please ensure you keep to time as we have a busy schedule across the 2 days. The timings for each format are below.

• • Talks: 20 mins
  • Panels and/or roundtables: 75 mins
  • Workshops: 90 mins
  • Demos: 15 mins
  • Posters: 5-min introduction

Poster dimensions: please provide a poster in either A1 (preferred) or A2. 

Bursaries are now closed for the 2026 Annual Event and have been awarded. 

The Association plans to award a number of bursaries to support in-person attendance at the Annual Event. The bursaries are to make the event more accessible to those who would otherwise be unable to attend, with preference given to those who will be presenting at the event. Affordable accommodation will also be available to attendees.

Bursaries are now open. For more information please see our announcement, which includes criteria and further details. The deadline to apply is the 13 April 2026. **Deadline now extended until the 24 April 2026**

Please note, that all bursaries will be administered via expenses. This means that you should make relevant purchases yourself and then keep your receipts so that the Association can reimburse you the costs. Unfortunately, we will not be able to pay for any costs without a receipt or proof of payment. 

The 2026 Annual Event will be held at the University of Southampton from 15-16 June with selected sessions streamed online.

The Annual Event will primarily be an in-person event. However, we recognise the importance of remote participation to support inclusive access and so we plan to livestream the main elements of the programme for attendees to view online. We will do our best to ensure that both in-person and virtual participants will have a rewarding and valuable experience. We may not be able to livestream breakout sessions, working meetings, or other portions of the event, such as the posters/demos session. If you have specific questions about accessibility and inclusion, please contact the Programme Committee at uk-ie.digitalhumanities@sas.ac.uk.

If your proposal is accepted for inclusion in the conference, but you are not able to travel to Southampton, we are happy to discuss arrangements for making a virtual presentation on a case-by-case basis. There will be a place in the submission portal to indicate whether you can attend in person. If you have any questions, please contact the Programme Committee at uk-ie.digitalhumanities@sas.ac.uk.

More information on how to get to Southampton’s Avenue Campus can be found here.

By Plane

You can fly into Southampton Airport, which has flights to many European destinations including Dublin. The airport is a 10-minute train ride from Southampton city centre.

By Train

You can catch a train to Southampton Central Train Station, with direct connections to London and several other cities.

By Bus

Unilink buses stop directly outside the campus.

• Southampton Central Station is 2 miles away. It’s a 20-minute bus ride or a 45-minute walk from campus.
• Southampton Airport is 3.5 miles away. It’s a 30-minute bus ride or a 65-minute walk from campus.

By Car

Parking is available for blue badge holders. General visitor parking is limited, so if you are planning and would like to request a space, please indicate this on your registration form. 

The conference will be held at Avenue Campus, Highfield Road, Southampton.

We recommend booking your stay early. Nearby hotels include:

• Premier Inn Southampton (Cumberland Place)
• Premier Inn Southampton City Centre
• Leonardo Hotel Southampton
• Ibis Southampton
• The Star Hotel
• Novotel Southampton
• The Elizabeth House Hotel

The UK-Ireland Digital Humanities Association is grateful to our generous sponsors whose support makes the event possible.

Foundational support is provided by the School of Advanced Study, University of London. The School champions the arts and humanities, supporting researchers to demonstrate their contribution to the wider research and innovation landscape, and the impact of their research on policymakers, communities and individuals. 

Additional support is provided by the Social History Archive. The Social History Archive offers academics and researchers access to the largest collection of British and Irish and former Empire historical resources anywhere online. Catering to a range of academic interests, the ever-growing digital archive provides access to hundreds of millions of images of historical records and newspapers. Thanks to partnerships with some of the world’s most prestigious institutions and archives, like The National Archives and the British Library we can deliver a diverse range of primary sources, enabling research into the people, places and events that have shaped the world.

The Association is committed to running inclusive and accessible events. We want you to feel welcome, included and fully able to engage with the Annual Event. 

If you have any access needs, please share this with us by contacting us at uk-ie.digitalhumanities@sas.ac.uk. 

We plan to have a quiet room (no meetings or calls please) for users to decompress in, please ask the organisers for more information if you are interested. You can find information about access to prayer rooms by contacting chaplaincy@soton.ac.uk. Most activities will take place on the ground floor. Some activities will take place in the Digital Humanities Hub, which is accessible via lift.

Please be advised that there will be photography and/or videography taken during this event. Captured images may be used for the Association’s promotional activities, such as online media (incl. social media), print/publications, and media/press.

If you do not wish to be photographed, please either email us or let one of the organisers know in-person on the day. 

James Baker (University of Southampton)

Dawn Kanter (School of Advanced Study, University of London)

Graeme Kemp (University of St Andrews)

Jenny McHugh (UK-Ireland Digital Humanities Association / School of Advanced Study, University of London)

Órla Murphy (University College Cork)

Kristen Schuster (University of Southampton)

Valentina Vavassori (British Library)

Sharon Webb (University of Sussex)

Jane Winters (School of Advanced Study, University of London)

Steven Gamble (University of Southampton)

Vicky Garnett (DARIAH-EU/Trinity College Dublin)

Samuel Pegg (University of Southampton)

With additional special thanks to those who volunteered as peer reviewers and event assistants:

 Giota Alevizou (Kings College London)

Nathan Cornish (University of Southampton)

James Cummings (Newcastle University)

Delphine Demelas (University of Southampton)

Scott Feher (University of Southampton)

Will Foden (University of Southampton)

Alexandra Giles (University of Southampton)

Louise Hallman (University of Southampton)

Krzysztof Mikulski (University of Southampton)

Laurisa Sastoque Pabon (University of Southampton)

Evangelia Paschalidou (University of the Aegean)

Larissa Terranova (Inside AI & ChatGPT)

Justin Tonra (University of Galway)

Charlotte Tupman (University of Exeter)

Ellie Wakefield (University of Southampton)

If you have any questions, please email uk-ie.digitalhumanities@sas.ac.uk