© 2023 for the individual papers by the papers’ authors. Copying is permitted for private and academic purposes. Re-publication of material from this volume requires permission from the copyright owners. The EC-TEL Doctoral Consortium has been part of the EC-TEL since its beginning in 2005. It is part of the European Association of Technology Enhanced Learning (EA-TEL) doctoral program. Besides the Doctoral Consortium, this program includes the JTEL Summer School. Together, these two events have been shaping and enriching the experiences of many young researchers on their PhD journey. These scientific gatherings create and support new entrants as they join the EATEL community that addresses transdisciplinary challenges related to the TEL field.
This volume contains papers presented at the Doctoral Consortium of the Eighteenth European Conference on Technology Enhanced Learning (EC-TEL 2023) held on September 4, 2023, in Aveiro, Portugal. There were 19 proposals submitted and reviewed by at least two doctoral consortium program committee members (see the complete list in the following section). At least three doctoral candidates also reviewed each proposal as a part of the peer evaluation experience. A final 13 proposals were found eligible and were selected for presentation at the Doctoral Consortium event. These were the submissions that were published as full papers in these Doctoral Consortium proceedings.
Publication of the papers in this volume completes the cycle of feedback ofered prior to and during the EC-TEL Doctoral Consortium event. In itself, the EC-TEL Doctoral Consortium is designed as a training event for PhD candidates. Junior research students are ofered a networking space to present advances in their doctoral studies, discuss their research plans with peers and more experienced researchers, and improve their writing and presentation skills. Besides the emphasis on constructive feedback, the Doctoral Consortium provides a platform to discuss issues regarding methodology, supervision and career-related aspirations. The Doctoral Consortium event was structured into four thematic sessions, with presentations from three candidates and breakout groups where each candidate received detailed feedback. Some participants also presented their work published in these proceedings as a poster at the leading EATEL conference. As the last step in this formative experience, all papers in these proceedings have been reworked to address the reviewers’ and peers’ comments.
The EC-TEL Doctoral Consortium continues to show its international relevance and impact by receiving submissions from countries across and beyond Europe. The variety of topics with both technological and educational focus represented at the doctoral consortium highlights once again the highly multidisciplinary nature of the TEL field. EATEL’s activities for communitybuilding complement the efort to create a network of doctoral students through the series of webinars organised by the DETEL EU project.
We express our gratitude to the EATEL association and all senior researchers involved in the reviewing process who continue supporting feedback experiences for future EATEL researchers. Their input and that of the conference organisers remain key in supporting this event and its logistics. We wish all PhD candidates a rewarding and productive continuation of their PhD journey.