Since 2008, EDEN is continuously granting the Best Research Paper Award at EDEN’s Annual Conferences as well as at EDEN’s bi-annual Research Workshops. A high-quality standard selection process shall guarantee the branding of a distinguished and reputable award for scholarly conference papers in the field of open, distance and e-learning.

The selection process takes place in collaboration with the Ulrich Bernath Foundation for Research in Open and Distance Learning and is supported by a Jury, approved by the EDEN Executive Committee.

Members of the Jury for the 2019 EDEN Best Research Paper Award to be granted at the EDEN Annual Conference in Bruges are

• Alan Tait (Chair of the Jury), Emeritus Professor of Distance Education and Development, The Open University, UK;
• Sandra Kučina Softić, Assistant Director for Education and User Support, University Computing Centre (SRCE), Head of the E-learning Centre, University of Zagreb, EDEN Vice-president, Croatia;
• Kay MacKeogh, Independent ELearning Expert, Ireland;
• Isabel Vanslembrouck, Director Research and Innovation, VIVES university of applied sciences, Belgium;
• Ulrich Bernath & Thomas Hülsmann, Trustees and Directors of the Ulrich Bernath Foundation for Research in Open and Distance Learning, Germany.

Of all conference papers submitted and completed by the extended deadline for submissions on April 7^th 2019, 23 Conference papers were short-listed for the competition and evaluated against the following criteria:

1. contributes convincingly to the theme(s) of the conference;
2. deals with a research question of relevance for conference participants;
3. rigorous examination/research methods are applied;
4. findings, results and outcomes are convincingly presented and critically examined;
5. conclusions are thoroughly discussed (including aspects like applicability, transferability, and/or further research);
6. literature is reviewed against the state of art.

In addition, the authors needed to confirm that at least 30% of their paper has been originated for and at least one author has registered for participation at the 2019 Annual EDEN Conference in Bruges.

The Jury nominated the following FINALISTS (listed along the programme schedule):

 A1: Human Capital in Online Higher Education Settings: a Socio-Educative Perspective Applied to Graduates of an Online University by Riccardo Valente, Albert Sánchez Gelabert, Josep M. Duart, Universitat Oberta de Catalunya

B3: Digital versus manual. Two sides of the same coin by Ingrid le Roux, University of Pretoria, South Africa

B3: The instructional design of an online learning environment (RISSC) for Upper secondary school students’ research skills by Louise Maddens¹²³, Fien Depaepe¹²³, Annelies Raes¹²³, Jan Elen¹², KU Leuven & KU Leuven Campus KULAK Kortrijk¹, Centre for Instructional Psychology and Technology², ITEC, KU Leuven, also at imec³, Belgium

C3: Approaches and methodologies to support critical reflection by Jean Claude Callens, VIVES, Belgium

C3: Exploring the Emotions of Distance Learning Students in an Assessed, Online, Collaborative Project by Jake Hilliard, Karen Kear, Helen Donelan, Caroline Heaney, The Open University, United Kingdom

D3: Back to the future, the learner strikes back: feedback and reflection as key elements in MOOC re-design by Conchúr Mac Lochlainn, Dublin City University, Mairéad Nic Giolla Mhichíl, Dublin City University, Elaine Beirne, Dublin City University, Mark Brown, Dublin CityUniversity,  Ireland

D4: Future Skills and higher education “Future Skill readiness” by Ulf-Daniel Ehlers, Baden-Wurttemberg Cooperative State University, Germany

E3: Automatic Transcription software: Good enough for accessibility? A case study from Built Environment Education by Tharindu R. Liyanagunawardena, University College of Estate Management, UK

Previous winners of the EDEN Best Research Paper Award:

• 2008 EDEN Annual Conference in Lisbon: „Examining the effectiveness of distance education: Results from multi-level modelling” by T. Seifert, B. Sheppard, A.M. Vaughn, Memorial University, Newfoundland/Canada (Chair of the Jury: Michael Grahame Moore, Pennsylvania State University/USA).
• 2008 5th EDEN Research Workshop in Paris: „Opening access to higher education to all? What motivates academic staff in traditional universities to adopt e-learning?” by K. MacKeogh & S. Fox, OSCAIL, Dublin City University/Ireland AND “L’enseignement a distance en milieu carceral: Droit a l’éducation ou privilege?“ by Fanny Salane (Chair of the Jury: Torstein Rekkedal, Norwegian School of Information Technology and NKI Distance Education/Norway).
• 2009 EDEN Annual Conference in Gdansk: „Evaluating continuous assessment quality in competence-based education online: The case of the e-folio” by Alda Pereira, Isolina Oliveira, Luís Tinoca, Lúcia Amante, Maria de Jesus Relvas, Maria do Carmo Teixeira Pinto, Darlinda Moreira,  Universidade Aberta/Portugal (Chair of the Jury: Otto Peters, FernUniversität/Germany).
• 2010 EDEN Annual Conference in Valencia: “Mathematical Intimacy within Blended and Face-to-Face Learning Environments” by Oana Radu &Tim Seifert, Memorial University, Canada (Chair of the Jury: Michael Kerres, University of Duisburg/Essen/Germany).
• 2010 6^th EDEN Research Workshop in Budapest: „Establishing a Foundational Framework for Development of Reflective Thinking: Learning Journals in the MDE“ by Lisa Maria Blaschke & Jane Brindley, Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg/Germany (Chair of the Jury: Gilly Salmon, University of Leicester/U.K).
• 2011 EDEN Annual Conference in Dublin: „Student perceptions and preferences for tertiary online courses: Does prior high school distance learning make a difference?” by Dale Kirby, Dennis B. Sharpe, Canada & Michael K. Barbour, United States, and  ”Local support for online learners with possible learning disabilities” by Torstein Rekkedal, Norway (Chair of the Jury: Alan Tait, The Open University UK).
• 2012 EDEN Annual Conference in Porto: “Reconsidering ‘Gen Y’ & Co: From Minding the Gap to Overcoming it” by Emanuele Rapetti & Lorenzo Cantoni, Universita della Svizzera Italiana, Switzerland (Chair of the Jury: Ingeborg Bø, Norway).
• 2012 7^th EDEN Research Workshop in Leuven: “Students’ Attitude towards ICT Learning Uses: A Comparison between Digital Learners in Blended and Virtual Universities” by Iolanda Garcia et al., Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, Spain (Chair of the Jury: Martine Vidal, France).
• 2013 EDEN Annual Conference in Oslo: “Eliciting Students’ Voices through Screencast-Assisted ‘Feedback on Feedback’” by Maria Fernández-Toro & Concha Furnborough, The Open University, United Kingdom (Chair of the Jury: Albert Sangrà Morer, Open University of Catalunya).
• 2014 EDEN Annual Conference in Zagreb: “Digital Storytelling as a Reflective Practice Tool in a Community of Professionals” by Corrado Petrucco, University of Padova, Italy (Chair of the Jury: Terry Anderson, Athabasca University, Canada).
• 2014 8^th EDEN Research Workshop in Oxford: “Feedback on Academic Essay Writing through Pre-Emptive Hints – Moving Towards ‘Advice for Action’” by Denise Whitelock, Alison Twiner, John T. E. Richardson, The Open University, Debora Field, Stephen Pulman, University of Oxford, United Kingdom, and “Student Perspectives on the Use of Their Data: Between Intrusion, Surveillance and Care” by Sharon Slade, The Open University, United Kingdom, Paul Prinsloo, University of South Africa, South Africa (Chair of the Jury:  Tony Bates, President and CEO of Tony Bates Associates Ltd, Canada).
• 2015 EDEN Annual Conference in Barcelona: ”Technology as a Vehicle for Inclusion of Learners with Attention Deficits in Mainstream Schools” by Hanne Voldborg Andersen & Elsebeth Korsgaard Sorensen, Aalborg University, Denmark (Chair of the Jury: Christine Appel, Universitat Oberta de Catalunya).
• 2016 EDEN Annual Conference in Budapest: “How Social Networking Experience relates to Social Presence and attitude of Using SNS in education” by Jieun Lim, & Jennifer Richardson, Purdue University, United States of America (Chair of the Jury: Andrea Karpati, ELTE University, Hungary).
• 2016 9^th EDEN Research Workshop in Oldenburg: “Use of moocs in traditional classroom: blended learning approach” by Antonia Bralić & Blaženka Divjak, Faculty of Organization and Informatics, University of Zagreb, Croatia (Chair of the Jury: Dianne Conrad, Athabasca University, Canada).
• 2017 EDEN Annual Conference in Jönköping: “Effects of Multimedia Feedback on Pre-Service Teacher’s Perceptions, Self-Assessment, and Academic Achievement” by Gokcen Aydin, Mithat Cicek, Mustafa Gulec, Middle East Technical University, Turkey (Chair of the Jury: Antonella Pocce, Università Roma Tre Italy).
• 2018 EDEN Annual Conference in Genoa: “Stuck in the Middle? Making Sense of the Impact of Micro, Meso and Macro Institutional, Structural and Organisational Factors on Implementing Learning Analytics” by Paul Prinsloo, University of South Africa, South Africa, Sharon Slade, The Open University, United Kingdom, Mohammad Khalil, Delft University of Technology, Netherlands (Chair of the Jury: Ulf-Daniel Ehlers, Baden-Wurttemberg Cooperative State University, Germany.
• 2018 10^th EDEN Research Workshop in Barcelona: “Moody MOOCs: An Exploration of Emotion in an  LMOOC” by Elaine Beirne, Conchúr Mac Lochlainn, and Mairéad Nic Giolla Mhichíl from Dublin City University in Ireland (Chair of the Jury: Sanna Järvelä, Head of the Learning and Educational Technology Research Unit (LET), Department of Educational Sciences, University of Oulu, Finland.