Our History

For many years, the annual ISSOTL conference has provided a space for regional groups to connect, including a dedicated session for European delegates. During the 2014 ISSOTL conference in Quebec, Canada, the idea to organize a European regional event arose to attract more European scholars to share and discuss their work.

Supported by ISSOTL Europe regional VPs at the time, Dr. Bettie Higgs (Cork, Ireland) and Dr. Katarina Mårtensson (Lund, Sweden) lead the initiative to create the EuroSoTL conference. With enthusiastic support from the community, the first EuroSoTL conference took place in Cork, Ireland, in 2015. It was a great success, drawing around 200 delegates from across Europe (and beyond).

Following this success, the Europe VPs were committed to continuing the initiative under ISSOTL’s umbrella. The second EuroSoTL conference was held in Lund, Sweden, in 2017 and introduced the Joanna Renc-Roe Award.

The third EuroSoTL conference tool place in Bilbao in 2019, and was organized by Idoia Fernandez (Bilbao, Spain) ISSOTL Europe VP with her colleague Mirari Ayerbe. This event introduced another exciting feature: the opportunity to present and participate in different languages, embracing the diversity of the European region.

Every EuroSoTL conference builds on the foundations of the previous ones while having its own unique identity. One key decision made early on was that each conference theme should conclude with “…through the scholarship of teaching and learning.”

The fourth EuroSoTL conference was held in Manchester, UK, in 2022. This event was chaired by then-Europe VP Claire Hamshire. Simultaneously, Irma Meijerman (Utrecht, Netherlands), also a VP, took the lead in organizing the 2023 ISSOTL conference. Together with fellow VP Chris Ostrowdun, they initiated efforts to further expand the EuroSoTL initiative. Their work began with organizing a brainstorming session involving around 90 ISSOTL23 delegates, where they discussed ideas and wishes for a EuroSoTL Network. Following this, a dedicated team (Our team) was formed to continue developing these ideas and build the EuroSoTL network.

The EuroSoTL network supports the selection of conference hosts, starting with EuroSoTL 2025 in Groningen, in the Netherlands. However, EuroSoTL is no longer just about the conference. The initiative is expanding its reach for interested scholars and further initiatives.