Future Facing Learning Conference

Future Facing Learning and AI in Higher Education

15 - 17 April 2026

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The three-day conference will convene researchers, PhD students, educators, and technologists to examine the potential impacts of artificial intelligence (AI) in higher education. It will provide a platform for dialogue, collaboration, and knowledge sharing across several tracks, including peer-reviewed research, practical workshops, tutorials, and poster sessions.

Conference benefits

  • Inspirational talks, panel discussions, and networking opportunities, and hands-on workshops to enhance your understanding of effective teaching practices.
  • Showcase of cutting-edge research on AI in education.
  • Practical tutorials and workshops on AI tools and pedagogies.
  • Policy and strategy discussions on AI integration in higher education.
  • Promotion of ethical, inclusive, and equitable use of AI technologies.

Main themes

AI-enhanced pedagogy

  • Personalised learning at scale
  • Adaptive curriculum design
  • AI-powered tutoring and feedback
  • Student engagement through intelligent systems

Research, innovation and practice

  • Latest academic research and interdisciplinary studies
  • Institutional case studies and pilot projects
  • AI's role in reshaping scholarly practice and knowledge creation
  • Collaborations between universities and industry

Tracks

  • Research: peer-reviewed academic paper presentations
  • Practice: case studies, panel discussions, innovation showcases
  • Tutorial: Skill-building sessions on tools, data, and methods
  • Posters and demos: Work-in-progress, concepts, and applied innovations

Responsible AI and digital ethics in higher education

  • Mitigating bias in AI tools
  • Ensuring data security and privacy
  • Inclusive and equitable access to AI-enhanced learning
  • Ethical decision-making and governance frameworks

Rethinking assessment in the age of AI

  • Automated grading and academic integrity
  • Predictive analytics for student success
  • AI in formative and authentic assessments

Conference structure

  • Day 1 Foundations and Future
    Sessions and workshops

  • Day 2 Innovation in Practice
    Sessions and workshops

  • Day 3 Research, Tools and Skills
    Sessions

Sessions
Keynote on AI and the future of higher education
Panel on AI and the purpose of the university
Research track (session A)
Workshops and tutorials
Poster session and welcome reception
Workshops
AI made simple: helping you work smarter, not harder
From emails to insights: AI for the everyday academic
Sessions
Keynote on AI-driven pedagogical innovation
Workshops and tutorials
Research track (session B)
Innovation showcases
Poster viewing and networking
Workshops
Work smarter: real examples of automation in action
From manual to magical: automation that works for you
Sessions
Keynote on emerging research in AI and education
Research track (session C)
Roundtables on policy, ethics, and strategy

Call for papers

Future Facing Learning and AI in Higher Education 2026

The conference brings together scholars, practitioners, students, and innovators to explore how artificial intelligence is reshaping higher education.

Find out more

What guests from previous years have shared...

The keynote speakers were outstanding and allowed me to think about things from a different perspective.

My favourite sessions were AI: your new best friend, which offered excellent tips for engaging with AI in a HE teaching and learning environment and Authentic assessment, which included a case study of students producing podcasts.

I found it highly relevant to education right now, and felt very motivated and positive after.

I have a better understanding of the university position on AI and feel more confident to use it.

Dynamic, fascinating enjoyable.

This was an intellectually stimulating event.

A fascinating insight into some of the fabulous and innovative L&T practice that is taking place within the UK and internationally.

It was a privilege to present to such an enthusiastic and engaged audience.

A highly engaging, informative and very practical conference leaving me better equipped to understand and apply the content.

Thought-provoking, interesting and learnt a lot from the conference. Looking forward to 2025.

An excellent meeting of leading HE instructors to discuss innovations in teaching and learning.

Really impressed by the quality of the key speakers and the positivity and motivation I left with.

 

Keynote Speakers

Professor Mary Richardson

Professor of Educational Assessment

University College London

Professor Miles Berry

Professor of Computing Education

University of Roehampton

Ishan Kolhatkar

Global Client Evangelist, Inspera

Keynote speaker at THE Digital Universities UK 2025

Organising committee


Professor Mark Simpson

Professor Mark Simpson

Deputy Vice-Chancellor

Equality & Diversity Champion (Ethnic and Cultural Diversity


Professor Chrisina Jayne

Professor Chrisina Jayne

General conference chair

Dean, School of Computing, Engineering & Digital Technologies


Dr Ann Thanaraj

Dr Ann Thanaraj

Local conference chair

Associate Professor and Assistant Director of Digital Transformation at Teesside University


Paul Durston

Paul Durston

Local conference chair

Digital Learning Manager at Teesside University

Programme chairs


Dr Andrew Bingham

Dr Andrew Bingham

Teesside University, UK


Dr Matthew Watson

Dr Matthew Watson

Teesside University, UK


Dr Ann  French

Dr Ann French

Teesside University, UK


Dr Elias Pimenidis

Dr Elias Pimenidis

UWE Bristol, UK

Programme committee

Professor Zeng-Guang Hou

Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China

Professor Irwin King

The Chinese University of Hong Kong

Professor Stefania Tomasiello

Iuniversita Degli Studi Di Salerno, Italy

Professor Taro Toyoizumi

RIKEN, Japan

Professor Seiichi Ozawa

Kobe University, Japan

Professor G Kumar Venayagamoorthy

Clemson University, USA

Professor Petia Georgieva

University of Aveiro, Portugal

Professor Anne Canuto

Federal University of RN, Brazil

Professor Marley Vellasco

Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Professor Zenglin Xu

Fudan University, China

Professor Alastair Irons

Abertay University, UK

Professor Parveen Kaur

University of Warwick, UK

Dr Nicky Danino

Leeds Trinity University, UK

Professor Antonio Ragusa

Rome Business School, Italy

Dr Mike Knowles

Teesside University, UK

Dr Sam Goonerante

Teesside University, UK

Dr Annalisa Occhipinti

Teesside University, UK

Paul Hunter

Teesside University, UK

Dr Gok Kandasamy

Teesside University, UK

Dr Jibin He

Teesside University, UK

Alexandra McMorris

Teesside University, UK

Jackie Barlow

Teesside University, UK

Dr Natalie Butcher

Teesside University, UK

Clare Fletcher

Teesside University, UK

Dr Chris Massey

Teesside University, UK

Dr Victoria Bell

Teesside University, UK

Dr Jo Noble

Teesside University, UK

Dr Myriam Mallet

Teesside University, UK

Beverley Rutter

Teesside University, UK

Suzanne Hague

Teesside University, UK

Ross McPhie

Teesside University, UK

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Professor Chrisina Jayne

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