IAFOR > The European Conference on Education (ECE) > ECE2023

ECE2023

July 13–17, 2023 | SOAS & University College London, UK

The IAFOR European Conference Series 2023 (ECE/ECLL/ECAH/EGen2023), held between July 13–17, 2023 at SOAS University of London and UCL, UK, has successfully concluded, reinforcing The International Academic Forum (IAFOR)'s commitment to the advancement of international, intercultural and interdisciplinary study, teaching and research. With over 750 participants hailing from over 75 countries, the event underlined the organisation's role as a bridge to global academic dialogue.

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Download ECE2023 Conference Programme
Conference Proceedings

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Speakers

  • Anne Boddington
    Anne Boddington
    IAFOR, Japan
  • Evangelia Chrysikou
    Evangelia Chrysikou
    University College London, UK
  • Sara Custer
    Sara Custer
    Times Higher Education, United Kingdom
  • Eddy Davelaar
    Eddy Davelaar
    Birkbeck, University of London, United Kingdom
  • Maria Delgado
    Maria Delgado
    The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, United Kingdom
  • Joseph Haldane
    Joseph Haldane
    The International Academic Forum (IAFOR), Japan
  • Donald E. Hall
    Donald E. Hall
    Binghamton University, USA
  • Toshiya Hoshino
    Toshiya Hoshino
    UN Inspectorate General, Immediate Past President of IAFOR, and former Japanese Ambassador to the UN
  • Eleonore Kofman
    Eleonore Kofman
    Middlesex University, United Kingdom
  • Barbara Lockee
    Barbara Lockee
    Virginia Tech, United States
  • Fernando Loizides
    Fernando Loizides
    University of Cardiff, United Kingdom
  • Neelam Raina
    Neelam Raina
    Middlesex University, United Kingdom
  • Andrea Révész
    Andrea Révész
    UCL Institute of Education, United Kingdom
  • Li Wei
    Li Wei
    UCL Institute of Education, United Kingdom

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Programme

  • Phoenix Rising: Education in the Age of Disruption
    Phoenix Rising: Education in the Age of Disruption
    Keynote Presentation: Barbara Lockee
  • AI: Friend or Foe?
    AI: Friend or Foe?
    Interactive Panel Presentation: Sara Custer, Barbara Lockee
  • Research Practice, Practice Research – Integrity, Inclusivity and Impact
    Research Practice, Practice Research – Integrity, Inclusivity and Impact
    Featured Presentation: Maria Delgado
  • The Robotic Roommates Revolution: Embracing Needy Robots in Our Homes for a Better Future
    The Robotic Roommates Revolution: Embracing Needy Robots in Our Homes for a Better Future
    Featured Presentation: Fernando Loizides
  • Mental Resilience and Successful Ageing
    Mental Resilience and Successful Ageing
    Featured Presentation: Eddy Davelaar
  • Exploring the Cognitive and Neural Correlates of Speaking and Writing in a Second Language: Methodological Advances and Challenges
    Exploring the Cognitive and Neural Correlates of Speaking and Writing in a Second Language: Methodological Advances and Challenges
    Featured Presentation: Andrea Révész
  • Schrodinger’s Box of Interdisciplinarity – Inside and Outside the Box Thinking About Global Challenges
    Schrodinger’s Box of Interdisciplinarity – Inside and Outside the Box Thinking About Global Challenges
    Featured Presentation: Eleonore Kofman & Neelam Raina

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Anne Boddington
IAFOR, Japan

Biography

Professor Anne Boddington is Executive Vice-President and Provost of IAFOR, and oversees the academic programs, research and policies of the forum.

Anne Boddington is Professor Emerita of Design Innovation and has held executive and senior leadership roles in Higher Education including as Dean of Arts & Humanities at the University of Brighton, Pro Vice Chancellor for Research, Business & Innovation at Kingston and Pro Vice Chancellor for Research and Knowledge Exchange at Middlesex University.

In 2022 she concluded chairing the Sub Panel (32) for Art & Design: History, Practice & Theory as part of the Research Excellence Framework (REF2021) and has extensive experience in the governance and conduct of peer review, research evaluation and assessment in REF2014 (Sub Panel Deputy Chair and Equality Diversity Advisory Panel [EDAP]) and RAE2008. A former member of AHRC’s Advisory Board, she is the current Chair of the Advisory Board for the UKRI’s National Interdisciplinary Circular Economy Research (NICER) programme (£30M), Deputy Chair and a Trustee of the Design Council, the government’s strategic advisor for design, and a member of both the InnoHK Scientific Committee (Hong Kong) and the Hong Kong Council for Accreditation of Academic and Vocational Qualifications (HKCAAVQ).

Since the 1990’s Anne has worked across the UK and internationally with a wide range of quality assurance, professional, statutory, and regulatory bodies in the UK, Europe, the Middle East, Hong Kong, and India.

As an independent consultant she now works as a strategic advisor and mentor and is committed to promoting equity, diversity, and inclusion in practice, developing effective governance, supporting career development, reducing bureaucracy, and improving organisational design, integrity, and productivity in the changing workplace.

Previous Presentations

Plenary Panel (2020) | Embracing Difference? Adaptive Lifelong Learning
Plenary Panel I (2017) | Think Like a System, Act Like an Entrepreneur
Evangelia Chrysikou
University College London, UK

Biography

Dr Evangelia Chrysikou is a registered architect and senior research fellow at UCL. She owns the award-winning SynThesis Architects (London – Athens), that specializes in medical facilities. Her work received prestigious awards (Singapore 2009, Kuala Lumpur 2012, Brisbane 2013, Birmingham 2014, London 2014). Parallel activities include teaching at medical and architectural schools, research (UK, France, Belgium, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Greece and the Middle East) and advisory. She advised the Hellenic Secretary of Health and is the author of the new national guidelines for mental health facilities. Dr Chrysikou is the author of the book ‘Architecture for Psychiatric Environments and Therapeutic Spaces’, healthcare architecture editor, reviewer, active member of several professional and scientific associations and a TED-MED speaker. She is a Trustee, Member of the Board and Director of Research at DIMHN (UK) and Member of the Board at the Scholar’s Association Onassis Foundation.

Sara Custer
Times Higher Education, United Kingdom

Biography

Sara Custer is editor of Campus at Times Higher Education, having previously been digital editor. She has covered global higher education as a journalist for more than 10 years. Before joining THE in 2017, she was editor of international education website and magazine, The PIE News.

Eddy Davelaar
Birkbeck, University of London, United Kingdom

Biography

Professor Eddy Davelaar holds degrees in Biological Health Sciences and in Psychology from Maastricht University, as well as a PhD from Birkbeck, University of London. His early work was on the topic of computational modelling of human memory. After a postdoctoral period in the United States involving modelling perception, attention, and language, he returned to Birkbeck as a lecturer in 2006, where he is currently a full Professor of Psychology and Applied Neuroscience. He conducts research on cognitive ageing, with a particular focus on supporting healthy ageing and preventing/slowing cognitive decline. This work involves experimental testing and population level statistical analyses. Ongoing work is in direct collaboration with the target audience, with whom he co-designs intervention studies. Another area of his research involves neurofeedback for enhancing cognitive performance and mental wellbeing. Within that topic, he leads the way for understanding the neurocognitive mechanisms involved in successful brain training.

Plenary Presentation (2023) | Mental Resilience and Successful Ageing
Maria Delgado
The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, United Kingdom

Biography

Professor Maria Delgado is an academic, critic, and curator whose research interests include Spanish-language and European theatres and Spanish-language film. She is a daughter of Spanish refugees and received her education from the Universities of Wales, Leeds, and Newcastle-Upon-Tyne. Professor Delgado has taught at various universities, including Queen Mary University of London, Hull University, and Manchester Metropolitan University, and has held visiting professorships, fellowships, and residences at numerous institutions across the globe.

Professor Delgado’s work in research leadership and assessment involves membership of HEFCE’s Research and Knowledge Exchange Strategic Advisory Group, the inaugural Council of Research England, a range of AHRC panels, and the Leverhulme Trust’s Advisory Panel. She was Chair of Subpanel 33 (Music, Drama, Dance, Performing Arts, Film and Screen Studies) and Deputy Director of Main Panel D for REF2021. She has also been involved in research assessment exercises in Australia and Hong Kong. She has received several awards, including the Cross of the Order of Alfonso X the Wise and the Commander of the Order of Isabel la Católica, and was selected as one of the University of London's 150 'Leading Women'. Professor Delgado is currently a member of the Jisc/Elsevier Open Science Forum, Jisc's Research Strategy Forum, and also serves on the UK Committee on Research Integrity (UK CORI).

Keynote Presentation (2023) | TBA
Joseph Haldane
The International Academic Forum (IAFOR), Japan

Biography

Joseph Haldane is the Founder, Chairman and CEO of IAFOR. He is responsible for devising strategy, setting policies, forging institutional partnerships, implementing projects, and overseeing the organisation’s global business and academic operations.

Dr Haldane’s research and teaching is on history, politics, international affairs and international education, as well as governance and decision making, and he is a Member of the World Economic Forum’s Expert Network for Global Governance. Since 2015 he has been a Guest Professor at The Osaka School of International Public Policy (OSIPP) at Osaka University, where he teaches on the postgraduate Global Governance Course, and, since 2017, Co-Director of the OSIPP-IAFOR Research Centre, an interdisciplinary think tank situated within the University.

In 2020 Dr Haldane was appointed Honorary Professor of UCL (University College London), through the Bartlett School of Sustainable Construction. He holds Visiting Professorships in the Faculty of Philology at the University of Belgrade, and at the Doshisha Business School in Kyoto, where he teaches Ethics and Governance on the MBA, and is a member of the Value Research Center. He is also a Member of the International Advisory Council of the Department of Educational Foundations at the University of Hawaiʻi Mānoa.

Professor Haldane has given invited lectures and presentations to universities and conferences globally, including at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, and advised universities, NGOs and governments on issues relating to international education policy, public-private partnerships, and multi-stakeholder forums. He was the project lead on the 2019 Kansai Resilience Forum, held by the Japanese Government through the Prime Minister’s and Cabinet Office, and oversaw the 2021 Ministry of Foreign Affairs commissioned study on Infectious Diseases on Cruise Ships.

Dr Haldane has a PhD from the University of London in 19th-century French Studies, and has had full-time faculty positions at the Université Paris-Est Créteil, Sciences Po Paris, and Nagoya University of Commerce and Business, as well as visiting positions at the French Press Institute in the Université Paris-Panthéon-Assas, and the schools of Journalism at both Sciences Po Paris, and Moscow State University.

From 2012-2014, Dr Haldane served as Treasurer of the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan (Chubu), and since 2015 has been a Trustee of HOPE International Development Agency (Japan). He was elected Fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society in 2012 and the Royal Society of Arts in 2015. He lives in Japan and holds a black belt in Judo.

Previous Presentations

Featured Interview (2021) | A Life in Language: Lessons in Language and Language Learning
Panel Presentation (2020) | Embracing Difference? Adaptive Lifelong Learning
Panel Presentation (2020) | That's NOT Online Learning!: The Difference Between Emergency Remote Teaching and Online Learning
Donald E. Hall
Binghamton University, USA

Biography

Donald E. Hall is Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs at Binghamton University (SUNY), USA. He was formerly Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Sciences, and Engineering at the University of Rochester, USA, and held a previous position as Dean of Arts and Sciences at Lehigh University, USA. Provost Hall has published widely in the fields of British Studies, Gender Theory, Cultural Studies, and Professional Studies. Over the course of his career, he served as Jackson Distinguished Professor of English and Chair of the Department of English (and previously Chair of the Department of Foreign Languages) at West Virginia University. Before that, he was Professor of English and Chair of the Department of English at California State University, Northridge, where he taught for 13 years. He is a recipient of the University Distinguished Teaching Award at CSUN, was a visiting professor at the National University of Rwanda, was Lansdowne Distinguished Visiting Scholar at the University of Victoria (Canada), was Fulbright Distinguished Chair in Cultural Studies at Karl Franzens University in Graz, Austria, and was Fulbright Specialist at the University of Helsinki. He has also taught in Sweden, Romania, Hungary, and China. He served on numerous panels and committees for the Modern Language Association (MLA), including the Task Force on Evaluating Scholarship for Tenure and Promotion, and the Convention Program Committee. In 2012, he served as national President of the Association of Departments of English. From 2013-2017, he served on the Executive Council of the MLA.

His current and forthcoming work examines issues such as professional responsibility and academic community-building, the dialogics of social change and activist intellectualism, and the Victorian (and our continuing) interest in the deployment of instrumental agency over our social, vocational, and sexual selves. Among his many books and editions are the influential faculty development guides, The Academic Self and The Academic Community, both published by Ohio State University Press. Subjectivities and Reading Sexualities: Hermeneutic Theory and The Future of Queer Studies were both published by Routledge Press. Most recently he and Annamarie Jagose, of the University of Auckland, co-edited a volume titled The Routledge Queer Studies Reader. Though he is a full-time administrator, he continues to lecture worldwide on the value of a liberal arts education and the need for nurturing global competencies in students and interdisciplinary dialogue in and beyond the classroom.

Professor Donald E. Hall is a Vice-President of the IAFOR Academic Governing Board.

Keynote Presentation (2024) | The Work of the University in Perilous Times
Toshiya Hoshino
UN Inspectorate General, Immediate Past President of IAFOR, and former Japanese Ambassador to the UN

Biography

His Excellency Professor Hoshino is a UN Inspector General and former President of IAFOR. In this former role, Ambassador Hoshino was the Chair of the International Academic Advisory Board, as well as both the Academic Governing Board and its Executive Committee, and also sat on the IAFOR Board of Directors.

Ambassador Hoshino is an internationally-recognised scholar in the fields of Human Security, International Relations, and Politics, and has had a dual, complementary academic and diplomatic career, culminating in his appointment as Japanese Ambassador and Deputy Permanent Representative of Japan to the United Nations in New York, from 2017–2020, where he was in charge of socio-economic and budgetary affairs. He had previously served as Minister-Counsellor from 2006–2008 at the same mission in charge of political affairs, and earlier in his career, was Special Assistant for Political Affairs at The Embassy of Japan, Washington, D.C., from 1988–1991.

Ambassador Hoshino is currently a Professor of International Politics and United Nations Studies at Osaka University’s Osaka School of International Public Policy (OSIPP). Since 2017, Professor Hoshino has been the Executive Director of the IAFOR Research Centre at OSIPP. His current research interests centres on policy and implementation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through international multi-stakeholder public/private partnerships, and is the founding Director of the Environmental, Social, and Governance Integration Research and Education Center (ESG-IREC).

Previous to his second secondment to the United Nations in 2017, Professor Hoshino held a number of senior administrative roles in the University, including Vice-President (2014–2015) and then Executive Vice-President (2015–2016) for Global Affairs, having previously served as Dean of the Osaka School of International Public Policy at Osaka University from 2011–2014.

Before joining Osaka University in 1998, Ambassador Hoshino was a Senior Research Fellow at The Japan Institute of International Affairs (JIIA) from 1991 to 1998, and continued his association with the Institute as an Associate Fellow from 1998 to 2006. He holds a BA from Sophia University, Japan, an MA from the University of Tokyo, and a PhD from Osaka University.

Professor Hoshino has also been a visiting scholar and researcher, principally in the United States. From 1992 to 1993 he was a Visiting Fellow at The Princeton School of Public and International Affairs (formerly the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs); from 2000–2002 he was appointed Special Research Fellow at the Hiroshima Peace Institute, Hiroshima City University; from 2003 to 2006 he was a Research Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies (formerly The Stanford Institute for International Studies); and from 2007 to 2008 was a Guest Scholar at the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University.

Special Address (2023) | Demographic Change, Ageing, and Human Security
Eleonore Kofman
Middlesex University, United Kingdom

Biography

Professor Eleonore Kofman is a Professor of Gender, Migration, and Citizenship and the Co-Director of the Social Policy Research Centre at Middlesex University London. Her research interests include gender and migration, political geography, nationalism, cosmopolitanism, and Henri Lefebvre's urban writings.

Professor Kofman has conducted research funded by various organisations, including the European Commission, AHRC, ESRC, UN Women, and the Office of the UK Children’s Commissioner. Currently, she serves as the Co-Director of the Migration and Displacement stream of the UKRI GCRF Hub – Gender, Justice, and Security (2019-2024), led by the LSE Centre for Women, Peace, and Security. She is also a Co-Investigator of the project Gendered Dynamics of Labour Migrations, with Middlesex collaborating with academic and NGO partners across the Middle East and South Asia.

She was the Joint Editor-in-Chief of Work, Employment and Society (2018-2021), a journal of the British Sociological Association. Additionally, Professor Kofman is a member of the Executive Board and Board of Directors of IMISCOE, the largest European network of scholars in the area of migration and integration.

Featured Panel Presentation (2023) | Schrodinger’s Box of Interdisciplinarity – Inside and Outside the Box Thinking About Global Challenges
Barbara Lockee
Virginia Tech, United States

Biography

Barbara Lockee is Professor of Instructional Design and Technology and Associate Vice Provost of Faculty Affairs at Virginia Tech. Since 1996, she has engaged in teaching and research related to instructional design and distance education, and has advised the research of more than three dozen doctoral students. Her scholarly inquiry is focused on mediated and online education and has been funded by various federal agencies, including the National Science Foundation, the US Department of Agriculture, and the US Agency for International Development, among others. She has also consulted for a variety of organisations, including the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the US Army Training and Doctrine Command and the USC Institute for Creative Technologies. Her recent co-authored book, Streamlined ID: A Practical Guide for Instructional Design, strives to make the design of learning solutions accessible and pragmatic for those who develop educational courses and programs in workplace contexts.

Dr Lockee is Past President of the Association for Educational Communications and Technology, an international professional organisation for educational technology researchers and practitioners. She earned her PhD in 1996 from Virginia Tech in Curriculum and Instruction (Instructional Technology), MA in 1991 from Appalachian State University in Curriculum and Instruction (Educational Media), and BA in 1986 from Appalachian State University in Communication Arts.

Keynote Presentation (2023) | Phoenix Rising: Education in the Age of Disruption

Previous Presentations

Panel Presentation (2020) | That's NOT Online Learning!: The Difference Between Emergency Remote Teaching and Online Learning
Keynote Panel Presentation (2020) | Flexible Learning in Uncertain Times: The Hy-Flex Model in Response to COVID-19
Keynote Presentation (2019) | Interaction in Online Learning: A Design Paradox
Fernando Loizides
University of Cardiff, United Kingdom

Biography

Professor Fernando Loizides is a Senior Lecturer in Computer Science and Informatics at Cardiff University and the Director of the Data Science Academy, UK. He is also an Honorary Professor at the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid. His main area of research is Information Interaction and User Experience (UX), with a focus on Decision Making and Accessibility. He has extensive experience in user study design and facilitation using cutting-edge technologies, eliciting user requirements, performing systems evaluation, and developing working systems. He has published in leading journals and conferences, won awards such as Best Conference Papers, and secured and completed EU and nationally funded projects.

Professor Loizides is a highly experienced teacher, creating new modules and teaching curricula that have been successfully adopted by departments. He has won awards for both his innovative teaching methods and contributions to higher education. He has over 15 years of industry experience as a developer, creating startups, managing teams, and consulting for technology-focused companies. His work has been featured in various media outlets, including the BBC, radio, and online magazines. Professor Loizides is a co-founder of RapidLab, an initiative that creates rapid working prototypes for testing market validity.

Keynote Presentation (2023) | TBA
Neelam Raina
Middlesex University, United Kingdom

Biography

Dr Neelam Raina is an Associate Professor of Design and Development at Middlesex University, London. Her research interests include conflict, security, peace building, material cultures, gender, and livelihood generation in fragile, conflict affected states. Raina’s work explores notions of healing, trauma, peace and reflection through the embodied practices of making, using material culture and tacit knowledge as the underpinning for approaching violence and peace building and for sustainable income generation. Raina is a post conflict reconstruction expert with a focus on South Asia where she has conducted extensive empirical research over the last two decades. The Women, Peace and Security agenda is key to Neelam’s and her research seeks to foreground voices of vulnerable and marginalised women.

Dr Raina has led several large-scale competitively funded research projects which examine material and social practices through which Muslim women in conflict areas reproduce themselves on a daily and generational basis, and through which the social relations and material bases of capitalism are renewed. Her work allows connections to be built between, creative home-based workers who are largely seen as peripheral, to development economics, and on the fringes of formal employment and contributors to GDP; to the larger notions of peace building, countering and preventing violent extremism, poverty spirals and conflict theory through culturally significant, socially relevant practices. She connects the British creative industry into solution-based impactful approaches to global challenges through research.

Raina is a strong advocate for Afghan women and is the Director of the Secretariat to the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Afghan women and girls in UK parliament. Her research in Afghanistan is ongoing as she brings women’s tacit knowledge to commercially viable spaces from the confines of the home.

Raina has a PhD in Design and Development, and a Master’s in Design and Manufacture from De Montfort University, Leicester. From 2018-2021, she was the Challenge Leader for UKRI’s Conflict and Security Portfolio for the Global Challenges Research Fund. Raina has been a Visiting Fellow at the London School of Economics at the Centre for Women, Peace and Security. She is the editor for the International Journal of Traditional Arts, and her new work Creative Economies of Culture in South Asia – Performers and Craftspeople was published in 2021.

Keynote Presentation (2024) | TBA

Previous Presentations

Featured Panel Presentation (2023) | Schrodinger’s Box of Interdisciplinarity – Inside and Outside the Box Thinking About Global Challenges
Andrea Révész
UCL Institute of Education, United Kingdom

Biography

Andrea Révész is a Professor of Second Language Acquisition (SLA) at the IOE, University College London. Her main research interests lie at the interfaces of second language acquisition, instruction, and assessment, with particular emphasis on the roles of task, input, interaction, and individual differences in SLA. Currently, she is also working on projects investigating the neurocognitive processes underlying second language speaking and writing performance. Her work has appeared in international journals such as Applied Linguistics, Applied Psycholinguistics, Language Learning, Language Teaching, Studies in Second Language Acquisition, TESOL Quarterly, and The Modern Language Journal. She is co-winner of the 2017 TBLT Best Research Article Award and co-recipient of the 2018 TESOL Award for Distinguished Research. Currently, she serves as associate editor of Studies in Second Language Acquisition, co-editor of the John Benjamins Task-based Language Teaching series, and president of the International Association for Task-based Language Teaching (TBLT).

Keynote Presentation (2023) | Exploring the Cognitive and Neural Correlates of Speaking and Writing in a Second Language: Methodological Advances and Challenges
Li Wei
UCL Institute of Education, United Kingdom

Biography

Li Wei is Director and Dean of the UCL Institute of Education, where he also holds a Chair of Applied Linguistics. He is Fellow of the British Academy, Academia Europaea, Academy of Social Sciences (UK), and Royal Society of Arts (UK). He is Editor of the International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism and Applied Linguistics Review

Keynote Presentation (2025) | TBA

Previous Presentations

Keynote Presentation (2020) | Multi-Competence, Translanguaging and Multimodal Learning
Phoenix Rising: Education in the Age of Disruption
Keynote Presentation: Barbara Lockee

Throughout the history of educational systems, disruptions have emerged in a variety of forms, the impacts of which range from interference in planned instructional activities and pedagogical approaches to complete interruptions to instructional delivery access. Such upheavals originate in nature, such as the COVID-19 global pandemic, or are human-made, as with the evolving developments related to generative AI. Standing in the aftermath of these recent natural and technological disruptions, educational stakeholders are seeking strategies to respond, leveraging lessons learned from past emergencies and exploring the affordances of emergent educational contexts and tools to create a way forward. What opportunities can be found amidst the turmoil to help envision possibilities and promise for the rise of the next generation of teaching and learning?

Read presenter's biography
AI: Friend or Foe?
Interactive Panel Presentation: Sara Custer, Barbara Lockee

In this interactive panel session, Sara Custer, THE (Times Higher Education) Campus Editor will moderate a panel discussion on the recent and sudden entrance of Artificial Intelligence products into the global academy, and the enormous current and potential ramifications.

For the first time AI models are not designed for specific tasks, but rather rely on training data through large samples of language openly accessible on the internet to “learn” how to respond. This generative AI powers products like ChatGPT, which are already widely used by faculty and students alike.

As national and supranational governments struggle to improvise regulatory frameworks for the use of different AI products, so too do educational and research institutions in ways that seek to understand and allay myriad risks. Concerns abound around issues of personal privacy, misinformation, institutional and national security, and the enormous scope for AI misuse, including technologies being literally and figuratively weaponised.

Such practical, ethical and deontological questions will be considered in the context of the great opportunities and enormous innovative potential that AI brings, as a source of hope towards helping to power solutions towards some of the greatest problems facing us collectively.

This panel discussion will include several opportunities for the audience to give their opinion by responding to questions posed by the moderator live.

Read presenters' biographies
Research Practice, Practice Research – Integrity, Inclusivity and Impact
Featured Presentation: Maria Delgado

Research takes many shapes and forms and takes place across a range of institutions – from multi-faculty universities to independent research organisations. Yet many discussions about research practices and research cultures revolve almost exclusively around the model of the large multi-faculty university. In discussing the role of research in small specialist institutions that are often known for their industry-focused training, this presentation looks at the role of practice research as a means of thinking through research impact and forms of dissemination that go beyond the academic article. In examining the relationship between research integrity and inclusivity, the presentation asks what excellence looks like and how institutions might work towards cultures of doing that promote best practice in research.

Read presenter's biography
The Robotic Roommates Revolution: Embracing Needy Robots in Our Homes for a Better Future
Featured Presentation: Fernando Loizides

In today's global landscape, nations are witnessing a significant shift towards an ageing population, posing various economic and social challenges. One of the most pressing issues stemming from this demographic change is the strain on social security and healthcare systems. Consequently, there is a substantial demand for care workers, far surpassing the available supply. Over the years, the emergence of new technologies has promised to automate household tasks, enabling safe and independent living for older adults. Depicted as companions in films and popularised through social media, robots have been envisioned as capable assistants in domestic chores and social interactions. Regrettably, the current reality presents a stark contrast to these futuristic portrayals, with robotic automation in most homes limited to automated vacuum cleaners at best. In this keynote speech, we will explore the underlying reasons for this discrepancy, considering both technical limitations and human factors. Our focus will be on the crucial aspects of adoption and acceptability, aiming to redefine the concept of "useful" robots in the context of older adults' households. By examining the barriers to the widespread adoption of robotics in home environments, we can identify the necessary changes needed to facilitate successful cohabitation. We will delve into the notion of "neediness" and its significance in shaping a harmonious living environment for older adults in the near future. With these insights, we can embrace the transformative potential of robotics and catalyse positive global change, fostering a new era of enhanced well-being for ageing populations worldwide.

Read presenter's biography
Mental Resilience and Successful Ageing
Featured Presentation: Eddy Davelaar

Successful ageing can be defined in several ways. Here, the mental perspective of successful ageing is considered. I will summarise our research into three factors that have been discussed within the domain of successful ageing: positive emotions, cognitive reserve, and physical capability.

In a series of cross-sectional studies, we investigated the influence of positive emotional information on working memory performance in older adults. We found that emotional information only had an impact when the task requires processing its valence. In addition, unlike the common interpretation from current theories, emotional processing impacts different working memory functions differently. Current theoretical views would require adjustment to take into consideration this differential sensitivity.

A very popular theory that addresses a lifetime perspective of cognitive performance is the cognitive reserve theory, which is the mental resilience in the face of neurological decline. A range of neurological theories have been put forward that capture specific findings in the neuroimaging literature. For example, neural reorganisation theories propose that, compared to low performing adults, high performing older adults are more likely to use both hemispheres when conducting a task. We created a mathematical instantiation of a theory demonstrating that such a process is indeed possible.

Finally, our ongoing work on physical capability and successful ageing are congruent with the wider literature showing positive associations both cross-sectionally and longitudinally. Although using self-report instruments to ascertain physical capabilities is generally seen as an inferior approach, we recently explored the validity of such an instrument. The results are promising and allow a quick and non-intrusive assessment to identify at-risk individuals.

Overall, decades of research has culminated in a detailed understanding of the various factors supporting successful ageing and methods for ascertaining people's abilities. The field is ready to move from observation studies to intervention studies and investigate the optimal parameter combinations for community intervention programmes.

Read presenter's biography
Exploring the Cognitive and Neural Correlates of Speaking and Writing in a Second Language: Methodological Advances and Challenges
Featured Presentation: Andrea Révész

How does our mind and brain work when we speak or write in a second language (L2)? The rise of globalisation has seen an increased interest in learning second languages. For many, effective second language speaking and writing skills are key to achieve their academic, occupational and/or social communication goals. Yet, relatively little is known about the neuro-cognitive mechanisms involved in L2 speaking and writing. In this talk, I will describe and discuss various research methods that can be used to investigate L2 production processes, including subjective methods (think-alouds, stimulated recalls) as well as more objective tools (dual-task methodology, eye-tracking, keystroke logging, fMRI). I will also describe and demonstrate how adopting more novel data collection techniques (e.g., eye-tracking) and using these together with more traditional tools (e.g., verbal protocols) can help us gain a fuller picture of L2 processing and learning. In doing so, I will draw on my own and colleagues' recent work exploring the neuro-cognitive processes involved in second language production. I will end the talk with recommendations for future neuro-cognitively oriented research into L2 speaking and writing processes.

Read presenter's biography
Schrodinger’s Box of Interdisciplinarity – Inside and Outside the Box Thinking About Global Challenges
Featured Presentation: Eleonore Kofman & Neelam Raina

Where should we position ourselves in the global challenges we face in the Anthropocene, and what level of despair are we allowed? We have ticked the boxes of inclusions, sustainability, capacity building, innovation, carbon footprints, artificial intelligence, and shrunk the globe for communication. We have evaluated and eliminated silos and criticised unilateral approaches and decision-making. Interdisciplinarity, intra-disciplinarity, and transdisciplinarity have been called upon and recognised as the pathways to solution-driven approaches to global challenges. Yet we are here – in a post-global pandemic world, with almost every continent currently facing multiple crises simultaneously.

It is in this context that we shall explore the notion of resilience of silos. How does working across disciplinary spaces, between geographies, and within the microcosms of culture enable us to hold a mirror up to ourselves and honestly answer the question - how far have we really come? And where, within the academic research and policy-making spaces, do we now need to come full circle and recalibrate ourselves? We showcase this with a live example of ongoing work, funded by overseas development aid through the UKRI GCRF Gender, Justice, and Security Hub, that cuts across vast swathes of conflict-affected populations, displaced, moving, and existing in indignity, sizing up the scale of apathy in a polarised world. We take a deep dive into the understanding of ‘human development’ and juxtapose it against the idea of the COVID-19 pandemic being a ‘portal’ and arrive in a unique spot – where we fracture silos and comfort zones, and observe these cracks and ruptures from the outside.

This talk showcases empirical work undertaken in Turkey, Lebanon, Kurdistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, and Sri Lanka across various research sites, with over 200 people connected into the research and its design from 2019-2024. We bring forth the crossovers of disciplines that provided solutions and raised new questions, as each country shifted into multiple crises that created a spiral of exacerbated challenges.

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