IDEC Virtual Symposium 2026

IDEC Symposium Call for Abstracts

(Submission site opening soon)

Celebrating Teaching Excellence: Honoring Educators, Inspiring Learning, Shaping the Future

The evolving landscape of interior design education calls for innovative, pedagogical approaches that inspire creativity, foster engagement, and prepare students for an increasingly complex and interdisciplinary profession. The 2026 Virtual Symposium celebrates the work of authors whose submissions have been selected for IDEC’s Innovative Teaching Ideas (ITI) initiative. In addition to these curated presentations, IDEC invites educators, researchers, practitioners, and graduate students to explore how teaching methodologies, immersive learning, emerging technologies, and human-centered approaches are reshaping interior design education and to submit abstracts in one of two presentation categories: Panel Sessions or Spark Sessions.

We welcome abstracts that investigate, challenge, and reimagine the future of teaching and learning within interior design and the related fields. Abstracts that seek to cultivate meaningful dialogue, collaborative exchange, and forward-thinking ideas that challenge traditional teaching models and inspire transformative learning experiences. Submissions may address theoretical frameworks, applied teaching strategies, studio culture, assessment methods, community engagement, experiential learning, or the integration of technology into the classroom and studio environment.

We invite innovative pedagogy sessions that focus on topics such as, but not limited to:

• Immersive and experiential learning in design education
• Innovative studio pedagogy and curriculum development
• AI and emerging technologies and interior design instruction
• Community-engaged and service-learning models
• Interdisciplinary collaboration in design education
• Design thinking and creative problem-solving techniques
• Hybrid, online, and flexible learning environments
• Sustainable and socially responsible design education tools

Submission Categories

This 2026 IDEC Fall Symposium welcomes the following two submission categories in addition to the selected Innovative Teaching Ideas, which will be presented at the virtual presentation:

1. Panels encourage open discussion, exchange, and diverse perspectives on timely issues related to interior design education, pedagogy, curriculum, and the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning. Panel abstracts should clearly identify the topic, its relevance to interior design education, and the questions or tensions the panel will address. Proposals may focus on teaching practices, curricular models, pedagogical challenges, emerging methods, or disciplinary issues that invite dialogue across different institutional, cultural, or professional contexts. Abstracts should describe the panel’s structure, the range of perspectives represented, and the intended contribution to teaching and learning. Up to two moderators may submit the abstract proposal and invite up to five additional participants. No panelist names should appear in the abstract, though their names should be listed as co-presenters at the time of submission. This facilitates conflict-free scheduling. The topic proposed in the abstract should be one that would benefit from diverse opinions and open discussion.No appendix is required for any “panel” submission.
   
   Per IDEC policy, each panelist must be registered for the conference.

   The presentations will be 60 minutes in length, including time for discussion. When preparing a presentation, please plan for and leave time for the Q and A session. See rubrics for evaluation criteria.
   
   

2. Spark Sessions leave a lasting impression on your audience by sparking new ways of thinking about familiar topics. The wildcard “spark sessions” are reserved for presentations that break away from traditional formats to showcase unexpected, creative approaches to interior design education. It’s a chance to surprise, engage, and experiment with innovative methods! Live demonstrations, multimedia integration, storytelling, unique angles, real-time collaboration, and risk-taking can all be involved.No appendix is required for this category.
   
   The Spark presentations will be 30 minutes in length, including time for discussion. When preparing a presentation, please plan for and leave time for the discussion. See rubrics for evaluation criteria. 

Submission Requirements

Entries that do not adhere to all submission guidelines will be disqualified and will not be reviewed. To assure a blind review, submissions, including abstracts, appendix, files, and file names, must NOT include author(s) name(s), institutional affiliation(s), course number(s), or other forms of identification in the image or file names, including photographs, curriculum vitae, or assignments in the appendix.

All submissions must be made using the online submission portal, which will provide further instructions regarding contact information, how to submit an abstract, and other relevant information. Only abstracts submitted through the online process will be accepted for review. Duplicate submissions to another conference or venue and abstracts that have been published or presented previously are not allowed and will not be accepted for review.

Title of Abstract

• Maximum 75 characters, including spaces.

Abstract

• Ensure the abstract follows the requirements for the intended category and format.
• Maximum 4000 characters, including in-text citations and headings. The online submission does not support footnotes or endnotes.
• Please follow the guidance/submission requirements above for workshop submission.

References

• Must include one reference for all submissions. May submit up to five.
• Authors may utilize APA, MLA, Chicago Style, or any nationally recognized format that best represents the author’s style of scholarship.

Additional Information

The following information is required for all submission categories and formats, but is not included in the anonymous review process.

• Author(s)
  •  Use the online submission form to list author(s) and institution(s) in order. All panel, presentation, and poster primary authors and co-authors must be listed to facilitate accuracy in scheduling presentations.
• Summary
  • A summary of the submission, which will be published in the conference brochure exactly as submitted. Maximum 200 characters.

Checkboxes

The submission portal will ask the author to verify the following before submitting an abstract for review:

• My submitted abstract and appendices, if included, have no identifying information.
• I have only submitted my abstract to one presentation format.
• I have not submitted my abstract to another conference or venue, nor has my abstract been published or presented previously.
• Does your abstract promote health, safety, and welfare? If yes, please check the box.

Fees

Submissions requiring payment must be made online through the submission portal. Only credit card payments are accepted. Submission fees are nonrefundable.

Rates

• IDEC Members: A maximum of two abstract submissions, in any presentation format or category, as first author are free for IDEC members. A valid membership number must be provided.
• Non-Members: $25 per abstract submission. A maximum of two abstract submissions, in any presentation format or category, as first author.
• Non-Member Students: $25 per abstract submission. A maximum of two abstract submissions, in any presentation format or category, as first author.

Symposium Proceedings

All Spark and Panel submissions accepted and presented at the symposium will be published in the Proceedings. The abstract for the review process will be printed in the proceedings following the conference. There will be no opportunity for additional edits. Those who do not present at the conference will not be included in the conference proceedings.