2026 Keynote & Invited Speakers

Johanna Pirker
Technical University of Munich & Graz University of Technology, 
Germany

Sian Bayne
University of Edinburgh, 
Scotland

Alexander Fink 
ScMI Scenario Management International, 
Germany

Mutlu Cukurova
University College London, 
United Kingdom

Tuesday, May 26, 9 AM

Johanna Pirker, Technical University of Munich & Graz University of Technology, Germany

“It’s not a game. It’s a game changer: The Potential of Game Technologies for Education”

Abstract: Games but also the technologies around games are becoming powerful drivers of innovation in education. This talk explores the potential of games as well as tools and environments connected to games and to rethink learning environments. We discuss opportunities and challenges in designing future learning environments that are engaging, inclusive, and responsive to societal and technological change, offering a forward-looking perspective for educators, researchers, and innovators.

Bio: Johanna Pirker is a computer scientist working at the intersection of game development, education, and interactive technologies. Her research explores how games, VR, and AI can enhance learning, collaboration, and problem-solving. With experience in both industry and academia, including work at EA and research at MIT, she currently serves as a Full Professor at the Technical University of Munich and Associate Professor at Graz University of Technology. She is active in science communication, interdisciplinary research, and was named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 list for science.

Wednesday, May 27 , 9 AM

Siân Bayne, University of Edinburgh, Scotland

The Utopias, Dystopias and Near Futures of Digital Education

Abstract: The moral arc of digital technology has shifted over the last 20 years, from a utopic focus on connected community, new forms of access and creation of a new kind of knowledge commons, to an often dystopic orientation toward data extraction, profiling and automation.

This keynote will start by mapping this trajectory, providing an overview of the core ‘sociotechnical imaginaries’ that have shaped our field in the past, and are now being extended into its imagined futures. It will focus on how, as a community, we can work together to imagine preferable futures for our educational institutions and systems.

Using a selection of research-based, speculative scenarios for the near future of education, the talk will open up a much-needed conversation about how we can shape the future of digital education.

Bio: Siân Bayne is Professor of Digital Education at the University of Edinburgh, where she is Director of the Centre for Research in Digital Education and leads on Education Futures in her role as University Assistant Principal. Her research is critical and interdisciplinary, currently focused on higher education futures, utopia and the impacts of artificial intelligence on education. She is one of the authors of The Manifesto for Teaching Online(MIT Press 2020), gives regular keynotes on the future of digital and higher education and publishes widely. More information about her work is available on her web site at: http://sianbayne.net

Wednesday, May 27

Featured Panel: From Course to Learning Ecosystem – Designing “Impact Learning” that Scales and Endures

Abstract: Higher education is rich in promising innovations—challenge-based projects, hybrid pathways, community-engaged learning, and program-level redesigns. Yet many initiatives remain isolated pilots: inspiring, but difficult to assess, scale, and sustain. This panel is aimed squarely at educational researchers and instructional designers, shifting the conversation from “new formats” to robust educational design principles: how to build impact-oriented learning experiences that are pedagogically sound, assessable, inclusive, and institutionally durable.

Moderator & Panelists:

• Moderator: Prof. dr. Theo Bastiaens , Rector Magnificus, Open Universiteit, Netherlands – Theo Bastiaens oversees the academic strategy of a leading institution in distance and digital education. As moderator, he will bridge the gap between high-level institutional strategy and the practical pedagogical shifts required to move from isolated courses to integrated, impactful learning ecosystems.
• Panelist 1: Madalina Tincu, Ed.D., Senior Instructional Designer, Johns Hopkins University, USA – Madalina Tincu provides an instructional design perspective, focusing on the intersection of design frameworks and equity-forward Universal Design for Learning (UDL). Her contribution explores how faculty professional development drives the scalability and implementation of sustainable learning ecosystems.
• Panelist 2: Prof. Herman van der Merwe, Deputy Dean: Teaching & Learning, North-West University, South Africa – Herman van der Merwe addresses the transition from classrooms to ecosystems through university–industry partnerships and entrepreneurship. His lens explores how integrating education, research, and startups turns learning into real-world impact, supported by community-engaged learning and global learning networks.

Thursday, May 28

Alexander Fink, founder and CEO, ScMI Scenario Management International

Strategic Decisions in Uncertain Environments – Scenarios for the Future of Higher Education

Abstract: The rapid diffusion of GenAI is reshaping the foundations of education, challenging long-standing assumptions about what competencies matter, how learning should be organised, and how assessment can validly evidence human development. Drawing on recent international studies and his own research on human–AI complementarity, in this talk Prof. Cukurova argues that the central question for education systems is no longer whether GenAI improves performance, but under what conditions it enhances, or undermines, learning, agency, and professional judgement. The talk introduces a human–AI teaming perspective that reframes GenAI not as a replacement for human cognition, but as a partner whose educational value depends on intentional pedagogical design. It synthesises emerging evidence showing that unstructured GenAI use can displace cognitive effort and weaken metacognitive engagement, while well-designed human–AI teaming can support learning and improve teaching practices in education and beyond.

 

Bio: Alexander Fink is a futurist, founder and CEO of ScMI Scenario Management International. He holds a degree in industrial engineering from Paderborn University and completed his doctorate at the Heinz Nixdorf Institute on scenario-based corporate management. He has led scenario and foresight processes in more than 20 countries and numerous industries and subject areas. He is the author of several books, including “Scenario-Management and Strategic Foresight” (appears 2026), the “Handbook of Innovative Economic Development” (2021) and “Rethinking Germany” (2018). He teaches scenario planning, foresight, and strategic management at various universities and is chairman of the non-profit association “D2030 – Rethinking Germany”.

---

Friday, May 29

Mutlu Cukurova, University College London, UK

Human–AI Teaming in Education: Time to Distinguish Performance from Learning 

Abstract: The rapid diffusion of GenAI is reshaping the foundations of education, challenging long-standing assumptions about what competencies matter, how learning should be organised, and how assessment can validly evidence human development. Drawing on recent international studies and his own research on human–AI complementarity, in this talk Prof. Cukurova argues that the central question for education systems is no longer whether GenAI improves performance, but under what conditions it enhances, or undermines, learning, agency, and professional judgement. The talk introduces a human–AI teaming perspective that reframes GenAI not as a replacement for human cognition, but as a partner whose educational value depends on intentional pedagogical design. It synthesises emerging evidence showing that unstructured GenAI use can displace cognitive effort and weaken metacognitive engagement, while well-designed human–AI teaming can support learning and improve teaching practices in education and beyond.

 

Bio: Mutlu Cukurova is Professor of Learning and Artificial Intelligence at University College London, affiliated with UCL Knowledge Lab at the Institute of Education and UCL Centre for Artificial Intelligence at the Faculty of Engineering. His research focuses on human-AI complementarity in education. In parallel, he is actively engaged in international policy-making as an external expert for organisations including UNESCO, the OECD, and the European Commission, and has authored several influential policy guidelines on AI in Education. He has served as programme co-chair of the International Conference on Artificial Intelligence in Education (2020), CSEDU (2022), and the ACM Learning Analytics and Knowledge Conference (LAK 2026). Prof. Cukurova is listed in Stanford University’s Top 2% of Scientists in both Artificial Intelligence and Education fields, and currently serves as Editor-in-Chief of the British Journal of Educational Technology.