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Material / Machine – An Embodied vs Synthetic Debate in Creative Education
UCA Creative Education Conference 2026 at The University for the Creative Arts, Epsom on April 29th 2026, 10:00-17:00 BST.
Welcome to the UCA Creative Education Conference 2026, where we explore the meeting point of the Embodied and the Synthetic. This year’s theme, Material/Machine, invites educators, makers, academics, technicians, librarians, leaders, policymakers, and students to interrogate the tensions and harmonies between material intelligence and digital automation.
We are rethinking what it means to learn, make, and create in a cross-disciplinary world where physical and digital processes intertwine. How can we design learning environments that honour embodied practice while embracing synthetic innovation? How do we protect authorship and integrity while expanding participation and aesthetic diversity?
Join us for a day of debate, workshops, and demonstrations that surface practical blueprints for creative education’s evolving landscape.
Why Attend?
Connect with educators and practitioners redefining the future of creative learning
Share and test your ideas in an open, interdisciplinary environment
Explore hands-on methods for teaching with both material sensitivity and digital fluency
Contribute to a growing conversation about integrity, inclusion, and imagination in creative education.
Contact us: creativeedconference@uca.ac.uk
Call for submissions
This year we are calling for submissions that align to the Material/Machine theme, under any of the three tracks:
Track A – EMBODIED
Tactile and situated forms of knowledge.
Track B – SYNTHETIC
Digital, automated and scalable
Track C – BRIDGE
Hybrid approaches that reconcile A & B
We welcome provocations, practice demos, studios/labs, and position papers in A (Embodied), B (Synthetic), or C (Bridge).
Booking Tickets
Tickets will be available soon
- Standard ticket price - £50.00
- Early bird ticket price - £43.00 (available to buy until 31st December 2025)
Travel and Accommodation
The conference will be held on the Epsom Campus at the Business School for Creative Industries.
The address is: 21 Ashley Rd, Epsom KT18 5BE
Please note that there is no parking on Epsom campus, apart from disabled parking. Travelling to campus by car? Learn more about parking at UCA Epsom
By train: The UCA campus is a five-minute walk from Epsom train station. You can get there from London Waterloo or London Victoria. Visit the National Rail website for times and prices.
If travelling from Eurostar and arriving at London St. Pancras International, then take the southbound Victoria Line tube to London Victoria, or change at Oxford Circus (Bakerloo line, southbound) to London Waterloo.
By car: You’ll find our main campus on the outskirts of the town centre, close to the Ashley Centre shopping mall. Please note that there is no parking at the Epsom campus apart from disabled parking. Travelling to campus by car? Learn more about parking at UCA Epsom
The nearest car park to the campus is the Ashley Centre (postcode KT18 5AL), which is about a five-minute walk away. For details of public car parks nearby please visit the Epsom and Ewell Borough Council website.
By foot: Epsom campus is a short 10-minute walk from the town centre and the train station. Please put use the postcode to plan your route: KT18 5BE
There are a number of hotels in Epsom which are within walking distance of the campus.
Travelodge Epsom Central - (10 minute walk)
Premier Inn Epsom Town Centre (13 minute walk)
The Creative Education Conference Archive
In 2025 we explored Innovative Practices in Creative Education, focusing on bold and impactful approaches that shape graduates as critical thinkers, ethical innovators, and agents of change.
We were delighted to welcome Professor Susan Orr as keynote speaker, alongside a distinguished panel: Alan Atlee, Vicki Stott, Stella Fong, Koen Guiking, and Anastasios Maragiannis, who led an inspiring panel discussion on Creativity for a Sustainable Future: Redesigning Learning, Culture, and Industry.
Throughout the day, presenters from around the world shared authentic, practice-based research connecting education with real-world contexts and sustainable futures. Together, they showcased how creative education can empower students, foster collaboration, and drive meaningful innovation.
You can view last years schedule here