About the Symposium

Welcome to a unique two and a half-day event that brings together two pioneering workshops:

• AHEAD2026 – The 1st Workshop on Artificial Intelligence and Assessment Design, exploring how generative and agentic AI are reshaping Higher Education. Key themes include AI-driven assessment redesign, academic integrity, and authentic learning strategies.
• NWISEd – The 4th Workshop on Co-Creating New Ways of Information Systems Education, focusing on innovative, collaborative approaches to teaching Information Systems in the AI era.
• AI in Higher education Collaborative Funding Lab  - designed to allow the co-creation and collaborative development of a large funding bid for AI in HEI policy and practice

This symposium is a space for dialogue, collaboration, and innovation. Academics, researchers, students, industry leaders, and policymakers will come together to address one of the most pressing challenges in Higher Education: rethinking teaching, learning, and assessment in the age of generative AI. Day 2 will spotlight Information Systems education and co-creation strategies for the future.

Submission Guidelines

All papers must be original and not simultaneously submitted to another journal or conference. The following paper categories are welcome:

The symposium welcomes submissions in a variety of formats. Papers can range from 6 to 12 pages, including short papers for work-in-progress, technical reports, position papers, and case studies. Contributions may present emerging ideas, experiments, prototypes, policy perspectives, or real-world examples of AI-enabled assessment redesign. In addition, we invite workshop proposals and special session proposals (2–3 pages) for interactive sessions, thematic panels, and collaborative activities. 

Papers should be original contributions and should not be accepted or submitted elsewhere until the decisions of the AHEAD/NWISEd 2026 program committee are announced.All contributions should be in PDF format and should be submitted electronically via the EasyChair submission system before the deadline.

All contributions should be in PDF format and should be submitted electronically via the EasyChair submission system before the deadline.

AHEAD 2026 

• The papers should be prepared in the CEURART template (http://ceur-ws.org/Vol-XXX/CEURART.zip),in its single column layout. Accepted papers will be included in the AITHE 2026 Proceedings (to be confirmed). An exciting opportunity is available  to publish in a special issue titled “Artificial Intelligence and the Transformation of Higher Education:  Redesigning Education for the AI Era”,  an  Emerald Publishing issue(further information to be confirmed, contact Dr Desiree Cranfield - ahead-symposium@swansea.ac.uk)
• Ahead Submission Portal:AHEAD: https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=aithe2026   

NWISEd 2026

• The papers should be prepared in the CEURART template (http://ceur-ws.org/Vol-XXX/CEURART.zip), available for LaTeX, Word and Libre Office, in its single column layout. For papers in LaTeX, an Overleaf template can be used, too.Accepted papers will be included in NWISEd 2026 Proceedings. At least one of the authors will be required to register and attend the workshop to present the paper in order to include the paper in the conference proceedings.The workshop will be held In-person only. NWISEd 2026 proceedings shall be published by CEUR Workshop Proceedings (http://ceur-ws.org) and indexed by “dblp: computer science bibliography”.
• NWISEd Submission portal: https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=nwised26

List of Topics

The symposium consists of a two and a half day set of workshops.  With each of the days focusing on the different streams as indicated below:

Symposium Day 1: AHEAD Workshop Stream 

            Suggested topics of Interest, not limited to

1. Authentic Assessment in an AI-Driven World
2. Ethics, Governance, and Policy
3. From Policy to Practice
4. Case Studies and Examples of Practice
5. Technology and Pedagogy
6. Academic Integrity and Assessment Security
7. Student and Faculty Perspectives
8. Agentic AI and Autonomous Learning Systems
9. Future Directions

Symposium Day 2: NWISEd Workshop Stream

           Suggested topics of Interest, not limited to

1. modern education approaches, pedagogical strategies, tools, and technologies (e.g., AR/VR/XR, digital twins, simulated environments, gamification etc.)
2. sustainable learning, teaching, and knowledge assessment experience
3. novel practices in the information systems education
4. integration of modern IT-supported teaching concepts, focussing on ...
   1. specialized AI tools (e.g., AI tutoring, AI grading, AI student profiling etc.)
   2. XR elements (i.e., the use of virtual, augmented or extended reality settings)
   3. simulations (e.g., digital twins or factories, business processes etc.)
5. the use of technology-rich learning spaces (e.g., Future Classroom Labs)
6. the use of AI for creating personalized learning experiences (e.g., personalized tasks matching students’ interests, formative feedback etc.)
7. proven best practices and lessons learned for the integration and use of different AI tools into modern teaching and learning settings (e.g. AI tutoring, AI grading, AI student profiling, etc.)

Symposium Day 3: Group co-creation / development of Bid for funding

      On Day 3 participants are invited to take part in a funding bid development workshop, after a Keynote talk.  A cultural activity will also be enjoyed.

Committees

Program Committee - AHEAD

• Dr Desireé Cranfield, Swansea University, UK (PChair)
• Prof Berry Billingsly, Swansea University, UK (PChair)
• Prof Salah Kapabanda, University of Cape Town, RSA (PChair)
• Prof Andrea Tick, University of Buda, Hungary
• Dr Frederick Boy, Swansea University, UK
• Dr Paul G Davies, Swansea University, UK
• Dr Sian Roderick, Swansea University, UK
• Prof Andrew Thomas, Swansea University, UK
• Dr John Mulyata, Swansea University, UK
• Dr Guoqing Zhao, Swansea University, UK
• Dr Bo Wen, Swansea University, UK

Program Committee - NWISEd

• Stephan Schlögl, MCI – The Entrepreneurial School, Austria (PChair)
• Luka Pavlič, University of Maribor, Slovenia (PChair)
• Arno Rottensteiner, MCI – The Entrepreneurial School, Austria
• Christian Ploder, MCI – The Entrepreneurial School, Austria
• Deepak Khazanchi, University of Nebraska , USA
• Dario Liberona, Seinajoki University of Applied Sciences, Finland
• Desireé Cranfield, Swansea University, UK
• Florian Merkle, MCI – The Entrepreneurial School, Austria
• Hanlie Snutz, University of Pretoria, South Africa
• I-Hsien Ting, National University of Kaohsiung, Taiwan
• Lili Aunimo, Haaga-Helia University of Applied Sciences, Finland
• Marjan Heričko, University of Maribor, Slovenia
• Michael Kohlegger, MCI – The Entrepreneurial School, Austria
• Raphael Weidhaas, Aalto University, Finland
• Stephen McCarthy, University College Cork, Ireland
• Tina Beranič, University of Maribor, Slovenia
• Veikko Halttunen, University of Jyväskylä, Finland
• Wendy Rowan, University College Cork, Ireland
• Willemijn van Kooten, University of Maribor, Slovenia
• Xiaodan Yu, University of International Business and Economics, China

Organizing committee

• Dr Desireé Cranfield, Swansea University, UK (Chair)
• Paul G Davies, Swansea University, UK
• John Mulyata, Swansea University, UK
• Berry Billingsly, Swansea University, UK
• Salah Kapabanda, University of Cape Town, RSA
• Andrea Tick, University of Obuda, Hungary
• Suzanne Wells, Swansea University, UK

Venue

The Symposium will be held in Swansea, UK, at the Swansea University, School of Management, Bay Campus, SA18EN

Contact

All questions about submissions should be emailed to 

• General enquiries and AHEAD symposium specific enquiries  -  Ahead-symposium@swansea.ac.uk  
• NWISEd speccific enquiries -  info@nwised.org.