Conference Themes

Building on the theme of the International Teaching and Learning Conference (ITLC) of 2025, “Connecting Minds and Bridging Gaps”, which highlighted the importance of collaboration, networking, student support, and knowledge exchange in higher education (HE) practices, ITLC 2026 entitled: Hope through Transformation: Advancing Sustainability, Inclusion, and Digital Innovation in Higher Education Practices takes a step further. ITLC 2026 seeks to address the challenges facing HE in the realm of resilience, transformation, artificial intelligence (AI), sustainability, digital inclusivity, and hope. While last year’s conference underscored connection and collaboration, the current HE environment is confronted with a myriad of evolving challenges and opportunities. These encompass the rapid advancement of AI in teaching, learning, and assessment; addressing sustainable development needs (including Agenda 2063); promoting wellness; providing human-centred student support services; and driving transformation. This theme challenges institutions and their stakeholders to explore ways in which moments of crisis and places of desperation can be transformed into opportunities for innovation, inclusion, and sustainable growth, thereby harnessing AI and digital tools as a beacon of hope.

At the heart of ITLC 2026 is the interplay between sustainability, transformation, and AI-driven inclusive digital learning practices. In the context of ITLC 2026, transformation concerns rethinking, reimagining, and centralising HE curricula, policies, and institutional cultures to foster epistemic justice, equity, inclusivity, and diversity. By embedding AI in human-centric ways, HE institutions can shift from solving problems to empowering learners and fully equipping graduates for the future.

ITLC 2026 will also showcase research, practices, and experiences that leverage AI learning and digital technology to drive impact. Participants are therefore encouraged to demonstrate approaches that embed human-focused support within their educational practice. Ultimately, it calls upon the HE community to progress from vulnerability to empowerment, and from fragmentation to collaboration.

Tracks and themes of the conference (not limited to)

# Tracks Themes
1 Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Education
  • Integrating AI into teaching, learning, and assessment
  • Ethical and responsible use of AI in HE
  • AI for student support and personalised learning pathways
2 Immersive and Experiential Learning Environments
  • Virtual, augmented, and mixed reality for HE
  • Simulation and gamification for deeper engagement
  • Beyond the classroom: creating hybrid immersive spaces
3 Student Digital Resilience and Well-Being
  • Supporting student mental health in digital-first universities
  • Equity and access in the face of digital divides
  • Building resilience for lifelong learning in fast-changing tech landscapes
4 Inclusive and Decolonial Pedagogies in a Digital Age
  • African perspectives in digital teaching and learning
  • Culturally responsive in teaching and learning
  • Redefining knowledge systems for global equity
5 Reimagining Teaching, Learning, and Support Ecosystem
  • Data-driven decision-making and learning analytics for enhancing student support and teaching practices
  • New roles for academic staff in digitally transformed universities
  • Human-centred student support systems in HE
  • Future literacies for uncertain futures: preparing students through expanded cognitive literacies (inclusive language, code-switching, disability access), digital literacies, ethical literacies, and social and global literacies to thrive in complex, AI-driven and evolving HE landscapes
6 Sustainability, Green Technologies, and the Future of Higher Education
  • Eco-friendly digital infrastructures
  • Linking education technology to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
  • Responsible innovation for a just and sustainable future
7 Translanguaging in Higher Education
  • Pedagogical strategies for translanguaging
  • Language inclusion and equity
  • Digital tools and AI for multilingual learning
  • Africanisation of language practices
  • Approaches to assess multilingual students fairly while promoting translanguaging
  • Evidence-based studies and practices on the impact of translanguaging on learning outcomes, student engagement, and well-being
8 Curriculum/Scholarship of Transformation and Abundance Intelligence
  • Embedding African knowledge systems, values, and perspectives in curricula and institutional practices
  • Addressing access, diversity, and social justice in African HE
  • Leveraging technology to drive transformation in teaching, learning, and research
  • Integrating environmental, institutional, and pedagogical sustainability in African contexts
  • Supporting student, academic, and staff wellness as part of transformational initiatives
  • Developing institutional, national, and continental policies that drive African transformation in HE
  • Rethinking curricula and strategies for integrating AI and digital tools to create inclusive and accessible learning environments that meet diverse student needs
  • Showcasing case studies and best practices that leverage AI and digital technologies to enhance educational outcomes and promote Africanisation collaboration across institutions