Call for Submissions

2026 Call for Professional Development Workshop (PDW) Proposals

Division PDW Chair: Salimeh Pour Mohammad, University of Warwick Business School, UK

The Management Education and Development Division (MED) of the Academy of Management (AOM) is delighted to invite you to submit a proposal for a Professional Development Workshop (PDW) at the 86th Annual Meeting (AOM 2026), which will be held in person in Philadelphia, PA, USA, 31 July – 4 August 2026.

What is MED? 

MED is the Management Education and Development Division of the Academy of Management, dedicated to advancing education theory, practice, and policy research. Our mission is to amplify research and scholarship in management education, disseminate this knowledge to support excellence in teaching, and inspire all AOM members in their roles as educators. We promote effective management education and development by encouraging research on programs and institutions that address issues across all levels of management education, from individual learners to broader education and learning policies. Additionally, we foster the professional growth of our members through workshops focused on enhancing teaching effectiveness, learning strategies, participation, and engagement. 

Key Annual Meeting Dates 

• Submission Centre Opens: Early December 2025
• Submission Deadline: Tuesday, 13 January 2026 at 17:00 ET (UTC-5/GMT-5)
• AOM Conference dates: MED PDWs including consortia – Friday, 31 July to Sunday, 2 August 2026    

Submission Portal 

AOM Submission Center  

PDW Design  

We seek PDWs that serve as catalysts for innovation, collaboration, and growth aiming at advancing teaching and research in management education and fostering international academic and professional connections that extend beyond the conference. We encourage you to design a highly interactive, high-impact PDW that enables participants to learn through active engagement and leave with actionable insights, practical skills and tools. You will have a unique opportunity to shape the future of management education, inspire and equip educators and practitioners from across the globe with new skills, and create a lasting impact across the MED community.  

Your PDWs should present breakthrough and novel ideas that reimagine how we address organisational complexities of leading, managing, and organizing the management education with consideration to the interplay of innovation, policy, purpose, and viability.  

PDW Format 

We welcome proposals in any of the following formats:  

PDW Priority Topics  

For the AOM 2026, the PDW priority will be given to proposals that address the following themes with a focus on resolving the most pressing and emerging challenges in Management Education:  

• Pedagogical Innovation and Learning Design
• Curriculum Developments and Learning Pathways in Management Education
• AI, Digital and the Future of Management Education
• Leadership, Identity, and Faculty Development
• Inclusivity, Ethics, and Human-Centred Education
• PRME’s goals and UN SDGs in Management Education
• Cross-Disciplinary and Global Perspectives
• Impact, Relevance, and Societal Value of Management Education
• System Thinking, Organizational Learning, and Change in Higher Education

Value, Impact, and Reach   

We aim for PDWs that deliver excellence in three dimensions:   

• Value: Practical takeaways that participants can immediately apply in their teaching, research, or professional practice: How does the PDW deliver in terms of novelty and originality? What is the “unique value proposition” of the PDW?  How will the PDW develop some specific attendees’ competencies?   
• Impact: Long-term influence on participants’ works, the MED community, and the broader field of management education: How does the PDW enable communication, participants’ exchange, and cross-fertilization across fields and methodologies?  
• Reach: The ability to engage a diverse, global audience and create opportunities for ongoing collaboration beyond the session: How will the attendees be supported beyond their experience during the session to continue to reflect on their practice and competencies? 
• Duration of PDW: Typically, 60 – 120 minutes.  

Step 1: Before designing your PDW, you should consider the duration, topic, and focus of your PDW, based on which you can decide the most appropriate format from the table above.  

PDW Facilitation Requirement 

• To ensure smooth delivery, active engagement, and effective management of interactive components, each PDW should be led by one primary instructor and supported by at least one additional facilitator. 
• All instructors and facilitators will be required to register for and attend the AOM conference (see FAQs). Hybrid/virtual options for presenters will not be possible. 

Step 2: Requirements for PDW Proposal Submission 

Please clearly indicate the following in your PDW proposal. 

1. Format of the PDW session (from the table above), 

2. PDW Title, 

3. Primary instructor, Facilitator (s) (names, affiliations, and emails),  

4. Target audience,  

5. Learning objectives, 

6. Key takeaway, 

7. Session plan – descriptive/detailed plan of the session including facilitation,  

8. Evaluation – a plan for evaluating your PDW.   

PDW Selection/Evaluation Criteria 

 Successful PDWs will fulfil key criteria:  

1. Interactivity, engagement and practical focus
   Workshops should prioritise hands-on, participatory activities that encourage discussion, collaboration, and problem solving. Sessions must ensure participants are actively involved throughout, with a clear focus on applying concepts to practical, real-world management challenges. 

2. Excellence in Value, Impact, and Reach
   Workshops should demonstrate clear and substantial value for participants, with the capacity to generate meaningful impact within their organisations or professional communities. Submissions should also articulate how their workshop has the potential to reach and benefit a broad and diverse audience. 

3. Quality of facilitation and evaluation plans  
   Proposals must outline robust facilitation strategies that foster active engagement and applied learning, supported by well-defined plans for evaluating workshop outcomes and participant experiences. 

4. Novelty and Transformative Potential 
   Proposals should introduce fresh perspectives, novel methodologies, or breakthrough ideas that challenge conventional approaches to management education, with clear potential to inspire change or innovation in participants’ contexts. 

Submissions 

Submit your proposal via the AOM Submission Center. 

PDWs submitted to MED should specifically target the MED domain, as described above, rather than be an “all academy” submission. 

Recommendation 1: 
Submit early to give yourself time to identify and resolve any problems before the system closes to new submissions. Any submission that is not finalized/submitted by the due date or does not follow all the guidelines will automatically NOT be reviewed. 

Recommendation 2:  
If you wish to discuss your proposal before submitting, the MED PDW Chair is here to help! Please contact Salimeh Pour Mohammad, by 20^th December 2025 via email at [email protected] or by booking a Microsoft Teams meeting through Bookings with me – Pour Mohammad, Salimeh – Outlook 

Note: Given the work demand of the PDW chair, Salimeh will not be available to discuss your proposal after the 20^th of December 2025.  

Awards  

“Best AOM MED Division PDW Award” to the PDW that is judged to make the most significant contribution to the key objectives of the MED Division.   

FAQ 

1. AOM Membership: Do I have to be a member to submit a proposal? 

2. Conference Registration: It opens on the AOM website in late February 2026. Remember to register early to secure Early Bird reduced conference rates. 

3. Decision Notification: When will I know if my proposal has been accepted?  
   Decision notifications are sent at the end of March 2026. 

4. Conference Proceedings: When will the conference Proceedings be available?  
   The AOM Annual Meeting Proceedings will be available in late June 2026. 

The Rule of Three + Three (no more than three scholarly submissions + three PDW submissions) serves to ensure broad participation of members. Scholarly submissions are considered papers and symposiums.  Further information is available on the Annual Meeting Submission Policies and Ethics page.